I find it helpful to have a plan. I may not follow the plan perfectly [life is so unpredictable] and I may not reach my goals [though I try] but if I have a reading plan, I get a lot more done. So, here’s my 2020 reading plan.
“Here’s the plan,” as they say.
She takes out her little notebook (computer) and starts writing.
Agent Q – “Tell me about it.”
Reader/Planner – “I’d like to read as many books as possible that fit the prompts for the 2020 PopSugar Reading Challenge,” she said, smiling to herself knowing full well that she’s never ever been able to complete one of these fifty book challenges. Still, it is good to have a list of books, and some direction. “I like the PopSugar Reading Challenge because it makes me read books and genres I wouldn’t otherwise have thought to read. For example, this year in February I read Native Tongue by Suzette Hagen Elgin just because the challenge requested that I read a book with a made-up language. Native Tongue is sci-fi published in 1984, a genre I’d usually avoid, and a title I’ve never heard of before. It was interesting! It expanded my reading horizons.”
Agent Q – “Before we go on, can you please tell me why you’re writing about your reading plan in March rather than prior to January, which would have been an ideal time for planning?”
Reader/Planner –“I was homeless, you could say, in December and most of January, living in my van. I like to think of my van as my home, but it wasn’t conducive to computing or making Booktube videos or anything like that. I think it set me behind this year, though I do still read while I’m vandwelling.”
Agent Q – “Do you have any other reading plans for 2020 besides the PopSugar Reading Challenge?”
Reader/Planner –“Yes, I do. I’d like to have one art book and one writing book in progress at all times. Last year I tried to do one art book monthly, but again, I fell behind in the latter part of the year once I moved into the van. I’m not doing a different art book monthly this year. I’ll read one until it is done, then choose another. Same with books about writing.”
Agent Q – “Anything else?”
Reader/Planner –“My friend and I are reading a “Bible in a year” type Bible right now, called the Pray For America Bible. I also have a devotional about praying for my children, that uses the same one-year Bible reading plan. To be honest, I’m behind on my reading right now, but not so far behind that I have no hope of catching up.”
Agent Q – “Sounds like quite a bit. Do you expect to be able to fit anything else in?”
Reader/Planner –“Maybe. I’m a Booktuber and like doing Booktube readathons. I will do them as time permits. I like to be flexible and fit in whatever it is my heart calls me to read. That’s what usually drives me off track with my challenges and readathons – but that’s me… and of course, none of this really matters in the long run. Reading is a fun adventure, and not something I should guilt-trip myself over. That said, I’d really like to go lose myself between the covers of a book.”
Agent Q – “Which one are you reading right now?”
Reader/Planner –“Ramona, by Helen Hunt Jackson. It is the current reading choice for my local book club, the River Readers. It is a classic, published originally in 1884.”
Note: At this point in the interview, the reader/planner lost her planning focus and opened her Kindle, where she discovered more about the evolution of the complex relationships between the Señora, Felipe, Alessandro, and Ramona. So many innuendos and unspoken feelings!
I apologize for the abrupt end of this interview. Be back with another posting at another time. – Linda Jo Martin
Good for you. I do better with a plan too. Must get back in step. Haven’t done a lot this new year. Other things keep popping up. So a plan might help me. Nice to hear from you. Hope all is well.
So happy to see your comment here Beverly!! I’m going to include one of your novels this year.