The 28 for 28 Project

I was once an avid reader.

I was constantly reading – aside from the newspaper every morning, I devoured about a book a day, if you can believe it. I mean, truth be told, most of them were short kids’ books: Animorphs, Baby-Sitters Club, Goosebumps, etc. I was slightly obsessed with children’s novels until I graduated high school.

When I entered college, life took over, and I stopped reading. I don’t regret it – I had a blast in college; A++++ would experience again. And it’s not like I stopped reading completely. I still read about one or two new books a year, usually during the summer. But when college ended, I didn’t pick the book thing back up. I re-read the Harry Potter series about 5 gajillion times, and the Chronicles of Narnia… and other kids’ books. (Old habits die hard.) And there were a few other “real books” in there: for example, The Secret Life of Bees, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, and My Sister’s Keeper. (I couldn’t remember the name of this book until I Googled: “Sister dying of cancer the movie is different.” Bam, first result.) Usually I’d read them during the summer, an influence of my friend Sharon who lent me books that she was reading that I thought looked interesting after she was done reading them.

This year, I’ve decided that I’m done being a non-reader and ready to begin once again. And, because arbitrary deadlines always help me, I decided that I would read a book a year for each year I’ve been alive. Hence the name: 28 books for 28 years. And next year, maybe the 29 for 29. Then 30 for 30! I figure by the time I get up to 52 books a year, I’ll be practiced enough to accomplish that without problem. And when I much more than that, I’ll likely be retired.

In addition to the book-per-year-of-life stipulation, I have also decided to broaden my book-reading horizons and read things other than contemporary fiction. For every third book, I will read non-fiction. For every fourth book, I will read a “classic.” I believe that will be my biggest challenge. Every time I try a “classic,” I end up quitting early because I find the language convoluted, the plot line undefined, or, more often than not, I just want to read something easier. Something that is a quick read and gives me instant gratification.

So TL;DR:

1. I am reading a book for every year I was born. I am 28, so I will read 28 books.
2. Every third book will be non-fiction, to get me out of the habit of reading solely fiction books.
3. Every fourth book will be a “classic” fiction book.
4. I will try to read the books that have been gathering dust on my bookshelf for months/years so they will finally get their chance in the sunshine.
5. I will blog about my experience here.
6. Suggestions for what I should read are welcome!

The 28 Books
(Currently reading in bold.)

1. Vesper by Jeff Sampson
2. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest by Stieg Larson
3. Lord, Help Me Change My Attitude by James MacDonald
4. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky