Year Four: Origins & Goals

Hey folks,
Yes Indeed it is YEAR FOUR of this blog. If you go back far enough in the archives you will discover that I began this blog way back in 2008. I've told the origin story before but I will repeat it for those who are new: I had been thinking about putting my own thoughts out on the inter-webs already. I needed an outlet for my thoughts and writings but I didn't see a viable vehicle.

Now why CNN forces Anderson Cooper to spend New Years Eve with Kathy Griffin is beyond me. It seems like unnecessary torture for a man who honorably reports from around the globe. I had to see this train wreck live so there it was New Years Eve and I was watching CNN. They started speculating on goals/resolutions for the new year. Anderson Cooper, looking handsome as ever, said that he wanted to blog more in the new year. And that's when I thought to myself, well if Anderson Cooper has a blog, then why can't I? Then I looked around and knew that one of my resolutions that year was to cut down on the amount of books in my TBR pile. Why not combine both? I would do a blog centered around my reading goals. So on Jan 1, which just happened to be a Tuesday I began The Reading List of a Book Pusher.

In YEAR FOUR here's a few goals and projects I like to through out there:
-I'm going to read 24 Jim Thompson books. That's 2 books per month. I'm really looking forward to this challenge since The Grifters is one of my favorite titles, but I haven't re-read it in 15 years. Nor have I read any other Thompson titles either.
-Going to read 1 short story a week. Could be Sherlock Holmes or a modern author. I just feel that this is a good habit to pick up.
-Zines. These unique materials exist in my department at work and my reader's advisory needs to be sharpened in this regard.
-Sandman. I'm reading it all this year, due to my new-found love of Neil Gaiman.
-Participate in the Get Your Read On challenge at my library. Sometimes I'm very competitive with my co-workers. I also like to read outside of my comfort zone.
-Last but not least: A 25% deduction in the TBR pile. More of a focus on the books I have lying around here, then library books. It's a good idea.

There it is. And I hope to maintain a regular posting schedule for you, Constant Reader. Life can get in the way, but I wouldn't still be doing this blog if I didn't feel it was worth something. So I hope you stick around. Have a great year! Book Slave.

Stats, Oh Stats.

Hello,
Hope you are all having a great start to the year. January is a time when we evaluate the past year and then set up goals for next year. Usually it means that you abandon those goals by the end of the month or set upon a new path. I felt that my goals for last year were pretty realistic. Unfortunately I didn't make it. I wanted to read 25% more than the year before. As you can see below I still needed another 10% or about 15 more books. It's not completely out of reach though. So I think I'm gonna keep that for 2010. I also wanted to read more of a variety of books. I want to continue to expand what I read. These goals will have to center around my TBR pile because that has been the point of all this. My TBR pile has become my Everest. It must be conquered. Or I'll have nowhere to sleep. Seriously, I'm not joking.

Here's Some Stats to Ponder
Books read in 2009: 103
Books read in 2008: 90
% difference between 2008 & 2009: +14%

Average read per month: 8.6 books/mo.
Average read per week: 2 books/wk.
Number read in worst month: 5 (December)
Number read in best month: 14 (June)

Fiction as percentage of total: 19%
Non-fiction as percentage of total: 7%
Graphic Novels as percentage of total: 58%
Everything else: 16%

Well there it is. Have a great week! Book Slave.

Oh this Reading Habit of mine.

Hello,
I hope you all had a great week. I've had a fine one myself. This week was only mired by a power outage and a self-to-blame lack of sleep. Honestly sometimes I feel as if even if it were possible for the day to be extended to 36 hours, I would still not get enough sleep. Again I only have myself to blame.

Tonight I pose a question to my fellow readers in cyberspace: Which is more fulfilling? Should one seek out writings that would challenge you? or stick to comfort food? I find I have much greater respect for writers that challenge my way of thinking. In my mind a great read can change your life. I'd rather have that then something that is reliable and non-threatening. Somebody said that art is about asking questions, not necessarily answering them. However I do acknowledge that I do often find myself walking down familiar paths. There are certain genres *coughromancecough* that I am relentlessly snobby about not wasting my time with. Although I do read a lot of books with the pictures and word balloons. Maybe they are my comfort food. Maybe a balance of the comfortable/challenging is always good.

Regardless January is always about setting goals. Then you either give up on them by the end of the month or strike out on that new path. I'm very goal oriented, although I've learned to have reasonable expectations of myself. So here's some genre specific goals for this year.

*Gotta read titles in the following genres: Science Fiction (spaceships, not capes), romance, a few books in a mystery series like Miss Marple, Cussler-like adventure.

*Foreign authors. Yeah I suck in this regard. Need to be more multi-cultural.

*Want to read Shriver, Lehane, Russo, Tyler. These writer set morality plays that sound challenging.

*Need to read more YA books. It is a part of my job after all to recommend these titles after all.

*Alright I'll try to read more manga. Again it is a large part of my job right?

So there you are. Let's see how this works out. Have a great week. Book Slave.