I want my students to learn what life readers know: reading is its own reward. Reading is a university course in life; it makes us smarter by increasing our vocabulary and background knowledge of countless topics. Reading allows us to travel to destinations that we will never experience outside of the pages of a book. 

Reading is a way to find friends who have the same problems we do and who can give advice on solving those problems. Through reading, we can witness all that is noble, beautiful, or horrifying about other human beings. From a book’s characters, we can learn how to conduct ourselves. And most of all, reading is a communal act that connects you to other readers, comrades who have traveled to the same remarkable places that you have and been changed by them, too.
— Donalyn Miller, The Book Whisperer: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child

This year in addition to my regularly scheduled reading (which bears little resemblance to a schedule at all), I committed to reading 25 books I already own. The plan was to read two a month, but in typical eyes-too-big-for-my-stomach fashion (reading is like a wonderful meal, isn’t it?), that schedule fell away as I tackled recommended titles and library holds and other books that took my fancy. Reading should be fun!

In October I realized I needed to get serious if I wanted to read the books I committed to. (Also fun, just in a more disciplined manner.) So I buckled down (with a steady selection of library finds to supplement). Since then I’ve read:

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running — Haruki Murakami
Pride and Prejudice — Jane Austen*
Poison — Bridget Zinn
The Game of Silence, Porcupine Year, Chickadee — Louise Erdrich
The Cloister Walk — Kathleen Norris
Daughter of the Forest — Juliet Marillier
Their Eyes Were Watching God — Zora Neale Hurston
Blue Highways — William Least Heat-Moon
The Moonstone — Wilkie Collins**
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth — Sheila O’Connor

Still to go are

Born Naked — Farley Mowat
The Shepherd of the Hills — Harold Bell Wright
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters — John Steinbeck

Here are my takeaways:

• Part of my job is staying current with my reading. This is something I enjoy, but it can also be never ending. Giving myself permission to step back from reading predominately newer titles has been freeing. There are plenty of older books worth my time and interest.
• With the number of unread books I own (both on my shelves and Kindle), I could do this challenge (and will do this challenge) for years to come.
• It is good to add structure to my reading. I appreciate the discipline a commitment like this brings. Assigning myself books (as a book club might) meant I read books I might not ever have gotten around to. While I didn’t always feel like reading a particular book in the moment, I can say I appreciated everything I read, enjoyed a lot, and adored a few. I’m so glad I did this.
• There is deep satisfaction finally reading books I’ve meant to tackle for years!

Next year, while I’ll continue clearing my shelves (and Kindle), I’ve decided I want a bit more freedom. I’m committing to fifteen books I already own. This time around I won’t select them in advance. I’ll simply keep record as I read.

My hope it to keep this going for years to come (in whatever manner strikes). Have you ever done a challenge like this? I’d love to hear about your experience!

*Yes, I’d never read this. No, it didn’t start the year on my list. I switched out a title to suit my whims.

**I listened to this one to ensure I’d keep to my schedule. Also, Wilkie is a man. I had no idea.