Yep. This is tough.

Reading two books a week is not easy. It is really, really not easy.

I have noticed, however, that this goal is already making me more resourceful. First, I always try to borrow books from the Smyrna Public Library instead of buying them. Second, I subscribed to the Kindle Unlimited service through Amazon so that I can download books without paying for each and every one of them. Finally, I got an Audible subscription so that I always have an audio book downloaded on my phone and ready for my commute. And last but not least, I have an immense shelf full of every book anyone could ever hope to read. (The problem is, I tend to buy books that are heavy, both in subject matter and weight. Of the something like 500 books that I have at home, only 8 of them are under 300 pages. Sheesh... thanks, Past Self, you screwed me.)

I read about two hours a day in an effort to achieve this goal, and that's already no joke. If I wake up early enough, I read for fifteen to twenty minutes in the morning. I read through my lunch break (a half hour) and read while my boyfriend is watching TV in the evening (another half hour) and then another fifteen to twenty minutes before bed. I have my Kindle or my smart phone with me everywhere I go, so I can whip one of them out if I have to wait twenty minutes at the nail salon or in line at the bank. I still feel like I need to step it up.

It's also making it more obvious to me that people who "don't have time to read" simply don't make time to read. If I can do it, so can you.

New Challenge, When Master's is Complete

Sooooo... I am a few months away from finishing my Master's of Science in Management - Healthcare Administration. I know that this will free up some time to read, and I intend to catch up on every bit of reading that I've missed while I've been reading ridiculously boring textbooks.

I'm toying with the idea of setting a new goal for myself - one that will require me to have my nose in a book ever spare minute of the day. The goal is to read 100 books in a year - that's about 2 books per week for an entire year.

I got the idea after reading a blog post about how this goal could be attained. The essential idea is to constantly be reading, whenever you can spare a moment. So, I figured why not? Here is my [working] plan:

• Read e-books on my Kindle, which can bookmark my progress from device to device (I tried it today going from Kindle to smart phone, and it works)
• Load the Kindle app on my PC at work and catch up on my lunch breaks, between projects, or when my brain needs a rest from writing
• Keep an audiobook going in my car, listening to it during my commute and any long trips.
• Keep a book on my bedside table and read - instead of watching TV - for at least thirty minutes before bed.
• Add audiobooks to my smartphone so that I can listen to them while I'm doing brainless repetitive database work that requires no cerebral effort.

I may decide to subscribe to Audible so I never have any down time between audiobooks, just in case my library holds don't come in in a timely manner.

I'm mom of two kids, with an OCD boyfriend, and a full time job. I figure if I can read 100 books in a year, anybody can do it.

God, just imagine what I'll learn about the world, about others, and about myself.