So now that we have reached the half-year mark – this being the last day of June – I should probably do a check-in on some of my goals. Or, you know, at least ONE. Can I confidently talk about how I’m doing on even ONE fkn goal for the year?
Anything? Helloooo…?
ZOMG BOOKS!
Ah, I knew I’d accomplished something!
Maybe I stopped working on my book, maybe I haven’t lost any weight, maybe I still have ridden an elephant or visited Europe or even gone on a road trip.
But at least I can safely say…
With regard to the GoodReads 2015 Reading Challenge, I am crushing it!
My goal for 2015 was to read at least 50 books.
And then I proceeded to compose a list of which specific books I wanted to {force myself to} read. Because I’m an asshole like that, and I enjoy punishing myself, and I can’t do anything for simple pleasure, and I ruin everything I touch with lists and sticky notes.
Halfway through the year, I have discovered that 50 was way too low a number toward which to aspire. I’ve already completed 40 books! And as of this writing, I will likely finish two more before the end of this week.
Now before I give myself too many pats on the back for being such an excellent reader, I want to give credit where it’s due:
a) I switched out some of the books on my list.
Turns out I can boss myself around all I want, but I don’t listen to ME any more than I listen to anyone else. I removed books I knew I’d have a difficult time obtaining on audio {How to Be Black}. I pushed back on books I knew would just be too depressing {The Bell Jar}. And I dropped entirely some how-to / self-help / DIY-guides I knew I’d added because I felt OBLIGATED rather than EXCITED to read. With only ten books left, the list I have now is very different from the one with which I began the challenge.
If you’ve never heard the audio version of this, as read by one Samuel L. Jackson, I beseech you to stop what you’re doing right this second and examine what’s wrong with your life. Then go give it a listen.
b) Some of the titles I chose were extremely short.
As in, one was only five minutes long {Go the Fuck to Sleep}.
And some I breezed through in a day {Alice in Zombieland and Looking for Alaska}.
So it’s not like all 50 books were Moby Dickesque.
Sorry to disappoint.
c) I made great use of Overdrive’s audio features.
If you are unfamiliar with how this works, lemme ‘splain:
First, physically walk in to your local library {my neighborhood library is the Germantown Public Library, whose one branch is really nice; I also frequent the larger nearby Dayton Metro Library System, which consists of 20+ branches} and get a library card. I’m ashamed of you for not already having one. You get free stuff, moron. Not just books, either – most libraries now carry DVDs and CDs. Even if your local branch doesn’t have the newest Justin Bieber disc, you can ask them to order it for you from another branch, and 90% of the time, the answer is yes.
Now you can listen to disgusting, embarrassing music for free. You’re welcome.
Once you have a library card, visit your local library’s website. You should probably do this step while you’re actually still in the library because you typically need a PIN to log in to the library’s website and the librarians always forget to take care of that before they send you on your merry way.
{If your local library isn’t online, I’m super-dee-duper sorry for you, because things that are online are fantastic and the next few paragraphs don’t really pertain to you. Sorry. Tell your library to stop being such losers.}
AND IT’S ALL FREE. FREE, YOU GUYS. FREE.
From your local library’s website, there should be a big button to visit Overdrive. If there isn’t one, I recommend kindly urging your local library to join 2015 and get on the ball because there is no excuse unless it’s money and then I guess you should really have voted to pass that levy, now should you? You non-levy-passing mofos – You’re the reason we can’t have nice things.
Assuming you’re halfway literate, like maybe even as low as 5th grade level, you should be able to operate the duel websites from there.
If you can’t, your librarian will be happy to assist you because that’s their fkg job.
Once you’re all set up, the introverts around the world will be happy to know that you will never have to step foot into the physical library ever again, because pretty much everything you could ever want is available with the click of a button.
Here’s breakdown of how I do my reading.
– clearly I enjoy audio and free but I’ll take what I can get:
Audio via Overdrive {online and free}.
Audio via CD {physical and free}.
Audio via a paid subscription to Amazon’s Audible {online and about $15 monthly}.
Actual reading via text borrowed from my library, via Overdrive, sent to my Kindle {free and online}.
Actual reading via physical book borrowed from my library.
I made sure to include a variety of genres.
My list was extremely eclectic. My best friend described it as “all over the damn board!”
Non-fiction like comedy and memoir; writing and happiness resources; socially important stuff; etc.
Fiction, both genre and literary; children’s and parody; mystery and sci-fi; middle-grade and young adult; etc.
If you’re interested in what’s on my Reading Challenge list, be sure to follow me on GoodReads.
My username is andrejia and the list is called *2015-tbr-challenge (50).
- Are you participating in the GoodReads 2015 Reading Challenge?
- Do you supplement physical books with Kindle and/or audio books?
- How familiar are you with your library’s website? with Overdrive?
