Read for a Year

Since I like to be able to be in the loop when it comes to film references, my 23rd year consisted of a lot of movie watching. (Apparently I'm "far behind" when it comes to what movies I should have watched.) But after some time I thought, why don't people behave the same when it comes to books?

Inspired by Emma Watson and this short documentary HERE, I decided to take up reading for a whole year, sticking to one rule: read for at least 30 minutes every day. I didn't exclude audiobooks, but thirty minutes? Take a second and reflect on how much time we spend on our computers alone. In the grand scheme of a single day, 30 minutes is a trivial amount of time, merely a trifle.

From the documentary I wondered, If I read 30 minutes a day for a year, how much further will I be when the year is up? How many books will I have read? Would I be any smarter? (Just kidding on that last one...or am I?) July 8th, 2019 I began my quest to read more with these thoughts in mind.

I should say, an important thing for me was that I didn't see this as "something I had to do." This endeavor was purely for self-betterment and for fun.

Bolded titles were audiobooks.

Books I Read

(July thru October)

"Wuthering Heights" by Emily Brontë

"Hush" by Eishes Chayil

"Alice in Wonderland" by Lewis Carroll

"Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

"Through the Looking-Glass" by Lewis Carroll

"The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman

"The Millionaire's Secrets:..." by Mark Fisher

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: The Original Screenplay"

"The Tenant of Wildfell Hall" by Anne Bronte

"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho (a new favorite)

"A Slap in the Face: Why Insults Hurt and Why They Shouldn't" by William B. Irvine

"What Is This Thing Called Love?" by Gene Wilder

"Something To Remember You By" by Gene Wilder

"Kiss Me Like a Stranger" by Gene Wilder

"5th Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman" by Sam Wasson

"War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy

I took November 'off,' meaning I didn't read 30 min every day and if I did read, I'd keep an eye on the clock, but wouldn't really track any time. I actually did this because reading daily started feeling like 'something I had to do'. (I'm sure we've all reached this feeling at some point.) I wanted to enjoy the experience, not feel obligated to complete it.

December Books

"Blink" by Ted Dekker (my favorite book of all time)

"Twelfth Night" by Shakespeare

If you don't like reading much, here's something you could try: Watch a movie with it's book. I've done this before with "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky and the "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling (except for the last book at this time). I like seeing how they are similar and comparing the differences too.

Granted, this version of 'reading a book' does take a little longer (i.e. read a chapter, watch that part in the film , and repeat), but it's interesting to see how things shift to make a book work as a film. If you try it, you may notice the film portion takes a lot less time to cover than the reading.

Let me know if you think I should keep this up or maybe start including a "What I've Read" section in my Monthly Favorites. Accouuuuuntability!