Sunday, July 8, 2012

#52Books - The Halfway Point

Okay, so last Sunday marked the end of the 26th week of the year, and therefore the halfway point of the 52 Books challenge. And as of that date, I had completed 24 books, was about halfway through the 25th, and about a third of the way through two more. And that’s about where I’m gonna leave it.

Right from the start I didn’t think I had any real chance of finishing it, but I hoped that in the attempt I would at least eat a fair way into my TBR pile, and hopefully get me back into good reading habits - I’d gotten seriously out of the habit in 2011. It has done both of those things, but it’s also introduced some bad habits (though I do think I could have limped over the line if I hadn’t been working so much lately).

I am indeed making more time to read, but I’m strongly prioritising shorter books that would otherwise be low priorities. I have made some good progress on the TBR pile, but I also bought several new books (which isn’t unusual) that were deliberately tailored to be read quickly (which is).

So I’m not going to keep pushing myself to stick to the timetable any more, especially given I’m already several books behind now - but hopefully I can retain the good habits and nip the bad ones in the bud. I will of course still keep reading, and I will still keep track of what I’ve read, and posting about it here as I feel the need.

According to Goodreads I’ve already read more books this year than in any previous year - my previous best was 22 in 2010, although it still thinks that was my best year because several of the ones on the 2012 list don’t show up for various reasons

I may have some thoughts on the things I’ve been reading lately, if I can write it up in a way that I don’t completely hate. Stay tuned. For now, here’s the list as it stands at the halfway point:

1. Richard Dawkins - The Selfish Gene
2. George Orwell - Animal Farm
3. Noam Chomsky - What Uncle Sam Really Wants
4. Noam Chomsky - The Prosperous Few
5. Noam Chomsky - Secrets, Lies and Democracy
6. Noam Chomsky - The Common Good
7. Peter Singer - Practical Ethics
8. Tucker Max - Sloppy Seconds
9. Robert Cialdini - Influence
10. Virginia Woolf - A Room Of One’s Own
11. Chuck Palahniuk - Survivor
12. Bill Bryson - Mother Tongue
13. Robert Greene - The Art of Seduction
14. Sam Harris - Free Will
15. Alain de Botton - Religion For Atheists
16. Lawrence Krauss - A Universe From Nothing
17. Kings Way
18. Everfresh: Blackbook
19. Akmal Saleh - The Life of Akmal
20. Albert Camus - The Plague
21. Madeleine Connellan - Resilience Among Adults
22. Philip Zimbardo - The Lucifer Effect
23. George Orwell - 1984
24. Benjamin Franklin - The Autobiography

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