Six Month Reflection

Not long after I got married in January, I realized that I wanted to be more conscientious about what I chose to read. Now that I'm halfway through the year, I think it would be good to consider how I've been doing in the last four or five months since I determined to make some changes.

Summary

In my original post, I bemoaned the fact that I'd read or listened to a lot of fluff that I didn't love in 2022. I recognized a desire to read better quality books and decided that 50 books read in 2023 was my goal. Next, I listed books that had been listed on my to-read list multiple times, followed by books I knew I wanted to get to this year, and finished with books that were being read at the time or waiting patiently on the shelf.

So, How am I Doing?

Fluff

Let's start by look at the quality of books I'm reading. My gut feeling is that I'm doing better on reading better-quality or more desirable books overall. However, after looking at the monthly lineups, I noticed that January was a weak month, and February was a little "fluffier" than I'd like to see. I recognize that while June had some great reads, I've been getting into more fluff and less interesting reads because I'm participating in a summer reading program that isn't conducive to improving my reading game. January was the month before I'd created my resolution, though, so I'll give myself a pass there.

I've reached a point where I'm starting to wonder if I should consider more children's books "fluff" for my standards. There are a lot of interesting-sounding ones out there, but I think there are fewer that impact me like some of my more serious reads.

Book Count

It looks like I read or listened to 26 books during the first half of 2023. I am happy to see this number because it means that I'm already just over halfway to my reading goal. However, I know that August is usually a low-book month for me, and I've had an autumn slump develop the last few years. I've finished two books in July already, but with a long honeymoon coming up, I don't think I can bank on getting a lot of titles read before summer ends. I think my goal is achievable, but it's also possible that I will miss it. In any case, about 25 books in half a year is nothing to be upset with.

Titles on the Lists

I had listed 29 books or documents in my February post:

Of my targeted reads - which I guess I consider highest priority for the year - I've read one. The Betrothed was fantastic and I'm so glad I made it a priority to read this year. I hope to pick up Love and Responsibility from my alma mater after vacation, and I've been floating around the possibility of starting up Planet Narnia again. I'm not sure that I'll keep Three to Get Married as a priority because I think that some marriage books don't benefit me with where I am right now in life - yay for being a newlywed!

So, there's one. Of the multiples on my list that I've been wanting to tackle, I've read two and most of a third one. I'm having trouble finishing the audiobook Made for Love, but it was nice to get Shadows and Images and Egg and Spoon off the list.

That gets me up to four. Of the books sitting on my shelf or that were being read at the time of the original post, I've finished five. That gets me to nine total, which is about 30% of the books on the list. They also comprise about 32% of the total number of books I've read this year. I honestly don't think I'll get to too many more of the books on the list, but it's nice to have focus to what I'm reading. 

Conclusion

I'm not doing too bad. I like this system and have concluded I'm generally reading less fluff and more of the books I actually want to get around to reading. I'm looking forward to seeing how this more intentional method of picking books is going to play out during the rest of this year.