Just a few days before October!
As the year comes to a close, I look back on my book snake and the reading goal I set for myself of forty-eight books for the year. With three months left, I am at twenty-one books—twenty-seven left to go. I am definitely not going to make that goal unless I read short novels and novellas for the remainder of the year.
And, that’s just the thing: is it worth reaching a reading goal when I am doing so based on the length of the book rather than the content and context of the book? What about the book’s quality? My overall experience and enjoyment?
Intentional Reading
Yesterday, I picked up Titus Groan from the Gormenghast Trilogy by Mervyn Peake. It was published in 1946, and is part of the era of fantasy literature before Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. I was inspired to get my hands on the trilogy after learning of fantasy books from the same era in a video essay.
After only fifteen pages, I was hooked by Peake’s extensive imagery, attention to body language, and the gothic details that put the introductory characters of Rottcodd and Flay on full display as colorful eccentrics of a beaten down estate.
It was the kind of imagery I am desperate to have. The book reminded me why I read. And, it isn’t to consume as many short books as possible. I read to feel. I read to process. I read to explain the world around me beyond the limitations of my five senses. I read because I love a good story. And, I read to make me a better writer. My quest to consume short novels fulfilled very little of my reason to read.
Instead of trying to reach a goal, I decided to just read. The practice is enjoyable again.
Stifling Reading Goals
There is nothing wrong with having a reading goal. For my purposes, however, a more tangible goal is to read more books than the year before. Or, read three philosophy books. Consuming books with the empty goal that is numbers takes away the power and impact that a book can inflict on the reader. This impact is what I seek.
Of course shorter books are capable of this impact. However, the impact (at least for me) should be based on the quality and content of the writing over the number of books read. I can read a hundred books full of empty calories. Or, I can keep on chugging along with my slow reading of better stories.
