Early ending of reading 52 books in 52 weeks
and here is why…

Date: 2022-09-30

So, I am ending my 52 books in 52 weeks project. Originally I wanted to read a book every week to get back to reading, and try to reprogram my brain a little, to move away from internet and screens (despite that I read lots of books on my ereader).

Lately I have felt that I am racing against myself. There were months when I knew what I would read, but other times I struggled to pick a book, until Wednesday, which resulted in hectic reading sessions on the weekends.

Last week I couldn't finish Susan Cain's "Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole" book. I enjoyed her first book about being introvert, and I could understand myself a little bit better, why I am doing x things in my life. With "Bittersweet" I didn't struggle, but I felt more time was needed for me to process it.

Of course there were weeks when I finished a book one day earlier, so it happened to me both ways. But I feel that after 37 weeks and 37 books, I mostly read to check off the actual week. I would say the past 2 months I read maybe half of the books which I really wanted to read. The other half is just like, "OK this is short, I will read this on Sunday". I don't think this the way for me to continue with this project.

I am not really sorry, that I couldn't finish it, because I still read many novels and non-fiction books, and I genuinely enjoyed 98% of it. However I got really tired with this artificial one week limitation. Originally I did this, so I'd force myself to finish books, and to build a habit. I think I achieved that. It was surprising for me, how much I enjoy reading non-fiction, which I never really did before. In fact any time I heard something good, I looked up and put it on a list. Outside of February and July, I always had one or two non-fiction book to read every month.

One of the best thing that came out of this 38 weeks is that I read H.P. Lovecraft's "At the Mountain of Madness", and now I am the owner of "H.P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction". Really nice looking book, and I am looking forward to read his stories.

What's next? I read whatever I want, how long it takes, but still doing it regularly. Doing while not feeling pressured during the weekend.

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This is post #40 of the #100DaysToOffload challenge, where we write 100 posts in a year. If you are interested in this event, check out the official website: 100DaysToOffload.com. Happy writing everybody! :)