Reading plan for 2009

A poster on a board I frequent issued a challenge to read 52 books in 2009. With some reservations, I have taken up the challenge.

Last year, I read 31 books, so this is a relatively large increase. I'm concerned that in order to meet the reading goal, I'll have to lighten the quality of my reading. There's also the issue of time use. Certainly, I have a fair bit of Internet and TV time that could beneficially be replaced with reading, but I was also hoping to make progress on projects around the house: painting, cleaning the basement, and updating the photo albums. Will meeting the reading goal compromise my other goals? And is it worth it?

While I try to answer those questions, I've been reading.

First up was Gilead. My mom recommended this to me last year, so I was happy to receive it as a Christmas present from Michael's parents. This is a quiet book, and yet one I was loathe to finish.

Next I read The Book Thief, which I finally found checked in at the library. Although this is a young adult novel, EM didn't enjoy it. I'm not even sure he finished it. Grown women seem to like it quite a lot. It's been recommended to me by several people. A great book about the power of words and stories.

I'm currently reading two books: Living Faith while Holding Doubts and The Eyre Affair. The first I picked up from the church library on Sunday. The second is a book I've seen mentioned a lot, almost always with rave reviews. It's a quirky world, but so far I'm enjoying it.