52 Books in 52 Weeks: A recap

A lot of people have asked me how my 52 books project went, so here goes. In a nutshell, it was most definitely a rewarding and satisfying endeavour that I hope to continue into 2011, for the following reasons:

• It was a good lesson in the power of goal setting and gave a rewarding sense of accomplishment. To tackle a goal that seemed so difficult yet at the same time realistic and doable on the day-to-day scale was pretty eye-opening, and to see myself accomplish that goal over the year was pretty empowering. In fact it's motivated me to do some goal-setting in other areas of my life for the upcoming year.
• Tracking my reading and seeing that list grow was also rewarding- who knows how many books we read over the years but to see it on a list was awesome to see just how those numbers add up! Again, I'm going to continue with the numbers thing, because it's so satisfying to quantify accomplishments, so a lot of my personal goals are going to be similar- 30 hikes, 10 snowshoes hikes, stuff like that.
• I finally got around to reading some of those books that I've always wanted to or felt I should read but never made the time for.
• It gave me the chance to really work through my never-ending reading list. It's nice to be crossing books off that list, not just adding new books to it.
  
• A book a week was a comfortable pace and worked out well- some books were short and took less than a week, others were bigger and took a couple of weeks. I briefly considered upping the ante after reading about the 10-10-10 challenge (10 books x 10 genres by Oct 2010) but then I realized that if I read that fast I wouldn't remember any of the reads by the end of the year. As it stands, I did start to lose track a bit after hitting the two-thirds mark but I still have a basic idea of the plots of all the books I read this year. It was a calm enough pace to still enjoy all of the books I read.
  
• I talked to a lot of people about my 52 books project, and inspired a few to try something like it. I think it will be a lot more fun to be reading alongside other people this year!
  
• Lastly, I read a few articles about how the world needs more readers- people are reading less although plenty of books are getting written and published every year. For that reason I think I'm going to continue at the pace of a book a week for 2011.

So yes, I will be continuing. For anyone interested, a couple of variations could be reading a designated number of books in a particular genre (classics, poetry, mystery, graphic novel, etc) or following certain book clubs or reading lists. My own list was strictly fiction (yup, pleasure only) and included reading the short list nominees for the Giller Prize and the Governor Generals awards (back to 2007) and the BBC '100 Books everyone should read list' (working my way through it). I've thought of adding the Canada Reads short list, the Man Booker Prize short list or the Commonwealth Writers' Prize (I read a lot of Canadian fiction!), and possibly the winners only of the Giller or GG Awards prior to 2007. But heck. That's a lot of books! Happy 2011 and happy reading!

52 Books in 52 Weeks (52/52)

40. The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank (+) I expected this to be a more emotionally difficult read but it was more of a coming of age story.
41. Slave: My True Story - Mende Nazer A very good read about one woman's experience with slavery in Africa- some difficult to read descriptions but really an eye-opening read.
42. Incontinent on the Continent - Jane Christmas (-) Travelogue of the athour and her senior mother taking a trip around Italy. I looked forward to an off-the-beaten track look at Italy but what I got was a lot of griping and moaning about having to 'drag' her elderly and disabled mother around Italy, thereby 'missing out on all the fun'. bleah.
43. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson (+) Crime/mystery novels are not typically my genre, but this one was done with creativity, adrenaline, and a lot of twists!
44. The Girl Who Played with Fire - Stieg Larsson (+) Continues on in the style and story of TGWTDT.
45. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - Stieg Larsson A little too much Stieg Larsson at this point, partly because the books become formulaic and partly because I read them so darn fast!
46. Day After Night - Anita Diamant I loved The Red Tent, however this novel of hers didn't win me over.
47. Born With a Tooth - Joseph Borden (abandoned) Loved his novels, but his short stories failed to draw me in. I tried, really!
48. My Journey to Lhasa - Alexandra David-Neel (+) Awesome woman, awesome story. In 1923, dressed as a Tibetan pilgrim, the authour walked from the Chinese-Tibetan border all the way to Lhasa, sleeping mostly outdoors on the ground, and carrying all of her belongings.
49. The Skystone - Jack Whyte (+) The first in an enjoyable series about the Arthurian legend, this books begins with the Roman occupation of Britain, and sets the backdrop for the creation of Camelot.
50. What the Psychic Told the Pilgrim - Jane Christmas Ugh. Once again sucked in by Ms. Christmas, once again wholly disappointed. An intriguing plot in which the authour sets out to walk the entire Camino de Santiago de Compostela- sounds enticing- instead be prepared to read, once again, a lot of the author's b!tching and complaining.
51. The Singing Sword - Jack Whyte (+) Continuation of the Arthurian legend series.
52. Stroke of Insight - Jill Bolte Taylor (+) ? I may actually have read this in 2009 but I can't remember. It's been a long year! This is a fascinating read about a neuroscientist who suffers a major stroke in her 30s and goes on to write about the experience in great detail in this book. Very insightful indeed.