100 Book Challenge

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love to read. Growing up I read just about anything I could get my hands on; I was usually so desperate for title that found myself wandering the library shelves looking for interesting covers. (A terribly age-appropriate way to go about finding reading material, I promise). In the last couple years I found myself in the opposite situation: so many books, so little time! Between blogs, friends, and the super awesome librarians I worked with at Utah State, I was always hearing about something I was dying to get my eyeballs on. Of course, college wasn't really conducive to my bookworm lifestyle and I could never keep up. I had lists everywhere: on scraps of paper, in my journal, scribbled in the back of my planner. I could never keep track of anything for long. For awhile I tried to keep a little notebook--both for reading material and as a reading log-- but the pencil always smeared, and half the time I couldn't remember what the book was supposed to be about. I hated going to all the effort of tracking a book down when half the time it wasn't something I was in the mood for just then (the Logan Library has a frustratingly outdated system, and carried maybe half of the titles I wanted).

Enter my favorite website: Shelfari. It lets me keep two lists: one of books I want to read, and one of books I've already read. When I come across a book that looks interesting, I add it to my shelf. Then when I'm ready for something new, I browse through the cover art and maybe click on the book to read a jacket's description, and reviews from other members (I keep the maximum number of holds at the Hunter Library so I always have something coming in). When someone wants to know if I have any books to suggest, I can go to my shelf (where I can tag, rate, and review each book) and find something in the right genre. And I love having a record of the books that suck up so much of my time.

I decided this year to join one of the many groups on Shelfari and challenge myself to read 100 books this year. That's an average of two books a week and right now I'm even a little ahead-- which is good, since there's no way to keep up the pace come fall. By setting this goal, I've somehow given myself permission to stop feeling guilty about spending time with a book, and instead I've worked it into my schedule as a priority. I love letting myself get lost in a good story, but I'm also mixing in a good bit of non-fiction and I'm empowered by a lot of what I read, too. It's a nice change of pace from textbooks and lesson plans.

I've put a widget up on the left side that shows my most recent reads off my Shelfari list. I'm not sure how I feel about displaying all my nerdy interests, but there you go. It's a big part of my life and I want to put it out there.

Are you on Shelfari? Add me as a friend so I can see what you're reading, too!