The Magic of Beginnings

"And suddenly you know: it's time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings." - Meister Eckhart

In January of 2018, I decided to read 36 books for the year. This was a massive undertaking as I am often frustrated by reading, lose interest fast, and keep adding half-read books to my shelves. This year I am determined to change that! With a mix of reading and listening to audiobooks I am determined to meet my goal. The initial idea was to read three books per month. That did not last long.

I read one book in January and two in March, putting me behind my goal substantially. During April vacation something weird happened. Instead of binging TV shows, like is customary for me, I read... and read and read. I knocked out three books in one week. This was the first time I had EVER done anything like this. It was shocking and empowering. I read three books in June once school was out and two in July. Then came August.

Today is August 22, 2018. As of today, I have read ten books (nine read and one listened). Who I am and what have I done with myself? I've learned so much this month (so far):

1. I always thought you had to read and finish one book before starting the next. Ignoring this "rule" has made reading so much more enjoyable to me.
2. I like to finish books.
3. I like to know new things.
4. I prefer non-fiction and contemporary Young Adult fiction (even though I really really want to like fantasy and sci-fi... I just don't read it with the vigor that I read the others).
5. I like writing reviews for books that I like.
6. I'd rather read than binge on TV* (I don't entirely believe this yet).
7. Goodreads is my favorite social media.
8. I'm proud of my bookshelves.
9. That thing about creating habits is true. The more I read, the more I want to read. I need to try to apply this to exercise.
10. I break the cardinal rules of reading: I break the spine of my books and I dog-ear the pages and I don't care what you think! (I would never do these things with a borrowed book, but I am also unlikely to borrow a book for this reasons, except from the library.)

I think Lesson #1 has been the most important thing that I've learned. I can follow several different TV shows over several months. I can follow multiple podcasts. Why not read several books at once? Once I began doing this, the distraction that led to so many unfinished books ("ooh, look at this new one") disappeared. This way I can read a book as slow as I want (and need to) and speed through a book I find particularly enthralling. No need to wait. I also find myself reading two chapters of a book, becoming bored with it, then reading a chapter of another, than going back to the original or even picking up a third. Reading has gone from a labor of necessity (a means to an end) to a labor of love. This was so important and I wish I had figured it out sooner.

All of that said, this blog, named for the cardinal rules of book-reading that I love to break (literally and figuratively), is where I will post my reviews, lists, and any other book-related posts I feel like writing. I'm excited to use this blog to help me stay excited about reading. I'm going to review the books I've read starting in January 2018. This is not an exhaustive list (as I did read prior to this year), but I think the year I fell in love with reading is a good place to start.