Goodbye

This is so sad. It is sad that on ending this project, I am not sad. I thought it would be bittersweet and that when it was over I would walk away knowing I tried my best. Instead I am closing this book knowing that once again I did not finish something I set out to do. Oddly, I am not down on myself for that. On the contrary, I feel empowered because I chose not to continue with this when I realized that it was no longer beneficial to me.

Pressuring myself to read a quantity of books was really silly. Books are not like that. I may still have book challenges in my future, for instance maybe I will read all of Proust. But putting a time limit on a quantity of books isn't paying respect to the work, the author or yourself.

It has been a year since the invention of this challenge; the purpose was to see that I could accomplish something. I did. I dealt with the tragedy of my dog's heart condition, I gave money to charity and it felt amazing, I survived another Christmas in Miami, I bought a car, I poached my first egg, I went to Boston and strolled through Harvard, I started recycling, I got 2 internships, I got a year closer to graduating, and the greatest things I did this year is I learned that I am fine. I am not what I do or a product of my failures or successes. I guess that is it right there, this book challenge taught me that if I don't finish something, nothing changes. I am no better, I am no worse, I am only who I am, and that is enough.

Almost over

I have read a dozen books and not even recorded them, yikes! I am taking it as a good sign though; like maybe I have lost and then found my love of reading this year. I have been so busy. I can't believe there was a time that I had enough free time to even consider reading 100 books.

62, 63, 64

Wow, I have been reading and not even sharing it with you, that pretty much signals then end, yes?

62. Heart of Darkness
63. Things Fall Apart
64. The Stranger

I am sorry, little project, I am a fickle lass, but we had a good couple of months.

One month from now it will be a year, can you believe it? I whole year already!

61. The Fever-Wallace Stone

OUCH! I hate being faced with things that make me re-think my whole way of life! Since reading this book I have not been able to make one single decision without thinking about every ramification of that decision. Do I eat cheaply, healthfully or organically? Grocery shopping brings about a existential panic attack. Every decision I make seems wrong, for the wrong reasons. I don't know what to do with myself, I rue the day I met my Cultural Imperialism teacher, how dare he remove my blinders.

The Fever

60. Coming Home-Rosamund Pilcher

Almost 1000 pages of World War II, English Cottages, and Cornish towns, yum! I throughly enjoyed this book and if felt like a good cleanse from rushing through so many others.

I am back in school this semester, and on top of my insane school, work, internship schedule, I am taking a 7 week course on Cultural Imperialism, with this course the required reading in in the realm of 50-150 a night. So I have been reading, a lot, and fast, just not for this project. that makes me a little sad, but let's face it, we all know my heart hasn't been into it since January.

Book Project Guilt and Acceptance

I do feel super duper guilty about neglecting my little project, however, it was a bit of a calculated neglect, so I have come to terms with everything.

I am reading a big fat Rosamund Pilcher book and various others. I just got back from Boston and all the used book stores were just divine. They inspired me, but the opposite direction from my 100, they helped me remember the importance of that one good book.

59. Ernest Hemingway: Rediscovered and 60. A New Earth

This book was mostly photographs of Papa looking macho with his leather vest and rifle on knee or at the helm of his boat practicing his own brand of politics. I can't help myself, I love this guy. I am glad he isn't a law maker or in charge of governing the world, but I sure am glad he existed.

I haven't completely abandoned my 100 book quest, but I have been very sluggish about my discipline for finishing up anything. I did read A New Earth again, but it just wasn't the same, I was hoping that every time I picked up this book I would be overcome with the urge to clean, like I was the first time. It was not so. Either way, it counts.

I am still lumbering through 5 or so books. We will see what happens.