So, here’s the thing. I’m reading like a fiend this year. And it’s been making me a little crazy. Pleasantly crazy. But crazy all the same.

And I look at the list of books I’ve read and I start to believe that spending every spare second reading is a balanced and healthy approach to life. So even though it’s spring and the world is turning green and beckoning me out-of-doors, I’m thinking that I could read just as well on the verandah or a park bench or even lake-side…and still read just as much.

It’s unreasonable. And in some ways I’ve bogged myself down in reading lists more so than any English teacher I’ve ever had. (Although their kind hurt more, cuz I didn’t pick the books and authors myself.)

But having these lists makes me read more and, simultaneously, want to read more. So it might seem that I’m just adding more craziness to the bookishness, but I’m really just adding structure.

Yah, that’s it: I’m simply focussing the reading lists, making each page count.

And here’s how I’m planning to focus freshly in the coming months:

1930s Mini-Challenge
(How can I resist, one of my favourite reading decades?!)

Daphne du Maurier Challenge
(I think I’ve f-i-n-a-l-l-y gotten over my embarrassment over reading the racy scenes in <i>Frenchman’s Creek</i> on public transit.)

1% Well-Read Challenge
(Soooo many books that I already want to read are on the 1001 Books List that it almost seems redundant to join this one.)

I’m torn on writing about this kind of thing because it seems more of a personal dilemma and does anyone really care whether or not I take on another reading challenge blah blah blah. But then I think about how influential other readers are on my reading choices and I know I’m not alone in trying to find a balance.

I’m just one of many readers who wants, on the one hand, to challenge myself to read more based on goals I set myself and, on the other hand, finds the idea of  joining in on challenges that other readers have developed to help them meet their own reading goals irresistible (especially when those goals align or brush up against each other all-cozy-like).

So I guess I’ll share these thoughts and, at the very least, someone else can feel smugly satisfied at having kept his/her own reading list more tidy and reasonable in comparison to my bustin’-out-all-over reading plans.