Have you read all the books on your list from last year, or should I mind my business? No shame if you only read a few or none at all. I must admit, 2020 was a year like I’ve never seen before in my entire life, and while it gave some of us plenty of time to devour so many books, some of us were crushed by the weight of existential dread to pick up a book.
Last year I only read six books from cover to cover, while starting some and never finishing, in between. The amusing thing about it all is the books I ended up reading last year were outside of the list I made except for one. Here are the list of books I had intended reading last year:
• The Beautiful Struggle by Ta-Nehisi Coates
• A Darker Shade of Brown by Ernest C. Jones
• What Moves At The Margin by Toni Morrison
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
• The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
• Black Fathers: A Call For Healing by Kristin C. Taylor
I chose these authors because I wanted to read more books by people of colour and also because I’ve always wanted to read these authors. However, here’s what I ended up reading:
• The Secret History by Donna Tarrt
• Born A Crime by Trevor Noah
• How to Murder Your Life by Cat Marnell
• Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
•Zikora by Chimamanda Adichie
• The Water Dancer by Ta- Nehisi Coates
Comparing both lists you’d easily see that I almost completely veered from my list but I found comfort in the fact that I at least read 3 authors from my list even if it wasn’t the books I had intended to read. The books I read turned out to be very satisfying. I loved every one of them. Like I stated, I started reading some books but never got to finish them. Books in that list include The Alchemist by Coelho Paulo, Dead Poet Society by N. H. Kleinbaum, Ego Is The Enemy by Ryan Holiday, and Love In The Time Of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
This year I’ve began another list and even though it’s not a complete list yet I feel like sharing it anyways just to encourage anyone who wants to start a reading list. The books on my list this year include those from last year that I didn’t get to finish, particularly Love In The Time Of Cholera, and Borrowed Body by Valerie Mason-John. New additions to my list are Finding Fisher by Antwone Fisher and Heredity by Jenny Davidson. When I complete the list I’ll post an update.
So that’s it for now. Cheers to a great reading year, and remember it’s not about the number of books you read but the quality of the experience. So whether you read just a book this year or a dozen of them, make sure you’re truly enjoying it and that it’s adding up to a pleasurable experience.
If you have any book recommendation or want to share some from your list, I’d be happy to see it.
If you’ve read the post up to this point please I’d like you to go follow me on twitter, I’m trying to build a community of mutuals who love books, art, science and music. Thanks for reading and check back for future posts.
LareWrites 