December 31, 2018
Setting A Reading Goal
I tend to think of the yearly cycle as starting / ending sometime in September. I spent 17 years of life in schooling, when September was the beginning of everything, as well as the 7 years since, when Sarah has been working in some form of education. On top of that, I also identify with the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) as a more meaningful time for me to reflect, accompanied by the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur.
But alas, December 31 still has some meaning, if for no other reason than the wonderful barrage of listicles and year-end summaries that hit the ether and give some time to reflect on a year well-spent. Last year, entering 2018, Sarah and I were spending it at the Santiago apartment of our now-friend and Couchsurfing host Amaranta, sleeping on a twin-sized mattress on the floor. Tonight will not be too different, as I’ll be staying with a new friend I made just a week ago in Hong Kong, on a couch that likely will be too small for my abnormally large frame.
I don’t often make big, yearlong resolutions, as I consider goal-setting to be a daily activity, and something that ought to morph and change with the unpredictable circumstances of the coming days. However, I did want to take a stab at something I knew would be a part of my life, something that I had really dreamed of before I set out on this journey, something that was a real reach.
Traveling in the way I have been for the past 500+ days is a test in many small challenges, small bits of stress that constantly pervade the mind and the body. Shoulders hurting from carrying a now-ponderous 19 kg on the back and 6 kg on the front. Little aches, soreness, and sniffles that I’m not sure of their origin, when they started, or when they will end. The goals I think of are smaller, more short-term in nature: go the a certain museum today, find that restaurant someone told me about, hike that mountain before sunset even though you mixed up the directions and the light is fading quickly. I find them to be just as fun to achieve, and just as disappointing to sometimes abort.
A few years ago, one of my friends (and a coworker at Stella), Melissa, a fellow Kindle fanatic and avid reader, told me she was planning to read 100 books in a year. This was astounding to me, and even more so when she crossed that invisible line and got through all 100. I decided to make a challenge that year as well, wanting to read 24 books in the span of the year. Going into this trip though, I knew I would be able to prioritize my time towards more reading, and have more downtime alone, out of cellular / wifi service, when I’d be able to sink into books and not worry about getting off at the right subway stop, or meeting up with someone for dinner.
The beginning of my trip in Alaska was a bit of a smack in the face for this goal. I began in August 2017 with a ton of hiking, movement, driving, and time well-spent with my friend Jen. However, I realized that I was now reading at a slightly slower pace than even when I was working! I couldn’t understand it beyond the fact that when we were camping in a tent, once we finished cleaning the dishes and roasting marshmallows, sleepiness hit hard and fast in the tent.
By the time 2018 was on the horizon, I felt more comfortable in my travel style and pace, and thought that 52 books in a year, one per week, would be a great stretch goal. The most I’d ever read before was 25 in 2015. Just saying this out loud excited me, as I felt I would be able to take more risks on the books I read, and not feel like I was “wasting time” on a book that didn’t completely envelop me from start to finish.
61 Like Roger Maris
I am proud to say, that as of today I have completed 61 books, finishing my most recent one this afternoon (Becoming by Michelle Obama).
I wanted to write this post not as a way to pat myself on the back.
I broke through 52 last month in the Philippines and shared that news with some friends and fellow avid readers more as a way to be in shock with someone else that I’d done it, but also as a way to encourage others to take on big goals and recognize their importance, or lack thereof.
Thanks to my trusty friend Goodreads and a spreadsheet, I’m able to tell you a little more about this journey.
Nerding Out
The 61 books I read were not in any linear fashion. There was a week in the beginning of my time in the Philippines when I read two books in two days. Then there were weeks in New Zealand, where even though I was road tripping with my friend and fellow bookworm Tammy, I often found myself too beat at the end of the day to put in much time.
At the end of Q1, I had read 13 books, largely thanks to a week I spent totally disconnected in the cloud forest region of Ecuador at Sueño de Vida (more to come on that joyous week soon). In those seven days, I read 3 books, which by the end of March, put me ahead of “schedule”. I was excited by this, and felt really energized to keep pushing towards this goal.
Then, I got to New Zealand, started spending most of my time in a van or on a mountain, and started “falling behind”. This was exactly when I started thinking about this goal in earnest. Why was I doing this? Just to say that I could? For the glory? For the pat on the back? To show off on Goodreads?
No.
I made this goal because I love to read. Because I know that reading is how I continue to educate myself outside of a formal, classroom setting. Because it’s where I can nurture my imagination, my mental health, and continue to learn new perspectives. It’s also a great way to learn about a place you’re traveling to. The first time I remember reading a book while traveling in the same country was in Cambodia in 2010, when I read, cried, and loved First They Killed My Father, which is a fabulous read, and recently made into a Netflix movie directed by Angelina Jolie.
So Q2 was a bit of a struggle. I read 10 books, and finished June in New Zealand at a total of 23, 3 “behind” schedule. But again, I still felt excited and motivated. Half a year is a long time, and I thought that after New Zealand, there would be more time on buses and trains to soak up some pages.
I spent nearly all of Q3 in Australia, where again, I was largely in a van, or in the home of a friend. It’s not to say that I felt badly reading in the presence of these people, but more that I wanted to take advantage of that special opportunity, a unique time to reconnect and build relationships with people I had not seen in 15+ years, and also those who I’d met only a couple weeks prior.
For my entire final month in Australia, I actually didn’t stay in a single hostel, something truly remarkable and so-appreciated. The generosity of these new and old faces brought me a humility and gratitude I’d never experienced, but also shifted my focus away from books.
I ended Q3, in September, with “only” 9 books read, bringing my 2018 total to 32. I will be honest that I was a bit daunted at this point, arriving in Japan just before the end of the month, feeling a bit dread at the thought of reading 20 books in the next three months. I considered taking the goal down from Goodreads, or making it private. I considered just saying “screw it” and being more leisurely about when I would read.
But then I remembered an article I’d read a couple years ago about reading more books, and it had some reference to Stephen King. Not an author I’ve read a lot of, but when I do, I enjoy a lot. He’s also incredibly prolific, and known for being a voracious reader as well. His advice, which rang very true in our society, is to just always carry a book, and always be reading it. Take every moment where you’d normally be flipping tiles in another endless game of 2048, every time you’re waiting in line for coffee, every time you’re on the subway. Even minute counts. Every page adds up. I took that to heart at the time, and began carrying my Kindle in my back pocket nearly everywhere – sporting events, concerts, work, bars, everywhere. And it definitely helped me and forced to me think more critically about how I spend my time, and how much time I spend on my screens (I don’t count my Kindle as one of those).
So I began Q4 with a fervor for reading I’d never had. I also was blessed to be in a situation conducive to this – traveling alone in Japan for four weeks. This gave me a ton of time reading in parks, buses, metros, hostels where most people didn’t speak English, and of course, my favorite – on the endless network of high-speed trains called shinkansen.
I started listening to some audiobooks too, which helped in that respect. I can’t listen just any book on audio, but there are many that were conducive to this, in particular Nelson Mandela’s tome of a biography – Long Walk to Freedom – which I’d started listening to with my travel buddy, Nate, in Australia nearly three months earlier. I had to choose to put some podcasts on hold, but I ultimately found this more rewarding as it allowed me to follow a longer story, testing my brain, and forcing myself to focus more.
During my month in Japan, I read 12 books! That brought me into November with 44, bringing me “back on track” to finish the year at 52, with 9 weeks to go.
November began in the Philippines, where I holed up at one of my favorite places I’ve traveled to, Nuts Huts, a little hostel in the jungle of an island called Bohol. I had already seen the major tourist attractions in the area during my trips there in 2010 and 2013, so I dedicated my time there to reading, writing, mangoes and river swims. In the week I spent there, I eclipsed my previous record in Ecuador and completed 5 books, and wrote about 20,000 words of blog posts, which I’m still sitting on publishing!
Closing In On 52
On November 23, I finished my 52nd book, achieving my goal, and a dream that I really wasn’t sure was possible. That 52nd book was The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which I would say was very good, albeit a bit of an odd structure (4 stars).
Some quick hits:
- Of all the books I’ve read in my life (tracked since 2006), I’ve read more than 25% in just the past year. This one really amazed me
- 25% were written by women. This was something I had never considered before, but tried to make a conscious effort at. Just like Congress, I have a long way to go
- 46% were written by non-white people. Similar to the above, this was a sub-goal of mine, and I feel good about progress there for myself, but still a long way to go, and many perspectives to gain, particularly from women of color
- Fiction and non-fiction was about an even split, with a slight preference towards non-fiction. This is a good sign for me, as I used to read nearly all non-fiction
Ratings & Recommendations
For a few years now, I’ve kept track of my reading on Goodreads, which is a book tracking / social network for reading, now owned by Amazon. I like it mostly for the list functions, and was a very nice replacement to the spreadsheet I’d kept previously. After I read a book, I give it a 1-5 star rating, so before I go into my recommendations from the year, let me describe what each value means to me:
5 stars – this is one of my favorite books of all-time, and I think it would be good for anyone to read
4 stars – this was an excellent book. Not an all-timer, but still great, and would recommend to most people
3 stars – solid, but didn’t love it. Probably some people will really like it, but wasn’t my cup of tea. Would not re-read
2 stars – didn’t like it, but finished it anyway. I have trouble putting down books
1 star – didn’t like it, and didn’t finish it
Most of mine are 4 and 5 stars. I like to read books that come recommended to me, either by a friend, article, podcast etc., so that should not surprise that I liked most of them.
Here was my breakdown for 2018:
I’d love to talk to anyone who’s willing to listen about how I felt about these books, I love to discuss and hear what you thought about the book, or what you’re thinking of reading!
My 5-star books, listed from most-recently read, were:
For me, the biggest surprises here were Pound Foolish, which takes a big stab at the shenanigans and deceit built into the personal finance industry and culture in the US, and the Osho book (recommended by my friend Alex), which has become one of my favorites of all-time, which I will definitely be re-reading this year.
My favorite novel was Crossing to Safety, which is just a beautifully-written, well-crafted story about two sets of couples and how their friendships blossom, grow, and shift.
Also, for sure, was Hiroshima, which was published in 1946 by a New Yorker reporter who followed the stories of six Japanese people who survived the atomic bomb, and then followed up with them again in the 1980s. I read this book while in Hiroshima in October, and it totally changed my perspective of this city, the war, and the world.
Looking Forward
For 2019, I’ve set myself a soft goal of 36 books. I’m not gunning for it like I did last year, but also I was to explore more of the long-form articles that I’ve neglected in the past. There’s a neat Send to Kindle plugin for Chrome that sends webpages (best for articles, IMO) to your Kindle for later reading. I like this option, as I’m trying to minimize the time I spend on my phone day-to-day.
Another tip I want to write about is to use your library! Libraries are beautiful, and important places. Sarah sent me this great piece, a series of authors’ essays about their libraries, and I often read and listen to books from my Kindle / phone that I’ve checked out online. Check your local library to see if they have online access. Many US libraries can be found on the Libby app using your library card, which I’m a big fan of.
I have set a goal for this year of reading at least one Spanish-language book. After really upping my speaking skills in Central and South America last year, and continuing to speak with travelers I meet along the way, reading in Spanish is something I’ve wanted to do. There’s only so much I can learn as I stumble my way around conversations.
Hope you all have lovely reading / listening time this year!