Words, thoughts, and reading at pace.

Those of you who've joined me before should probably turn to those who have not and assure them I am just as crazy about reading as they think. If I could spend all day in the hammock chair in the garden reading and sipping my coffee, I would.
We are not quite a quarter of the way through the year and my read book list is maybe 1/3 of its usual length. (I post a full list every year so you can look at them if you want to.) Part of this speed is related to the fact that I'm taking some classes. My personal rule from my undergrad years of not reading for pleasure when I should be studying has resurfaced. Only this time I permit some fun fiction once the homework for the day is done.
When one of the book bloggers that I follow posted her 1000-page reading challenge for the month of March, I wondered how my reduced rate would affect something like this.



First thing in my favor: I read multiple books at once. They are usually very different, allowing me to keep the themes and characters separate. If I happen to pick up two similar tales, I will pick one and finish it before returning to the other.
I began keeping track of the number of pages on 3/1/2019.

A cool graphic novel I got at the library.
#of pages read = 238

Also a library book. I've read parts of it before.
Too verbose, *very* Eurocentric.
#of pages read = 58

Awesome graphic novel.
#of pages read so far = 96

An ebook from the library. This is really where the
count gets weird for me. I have the font size set pretty
large so that I can hold the phone further
away from my face (getting old sucks). The page
count would be different if I were reading the same
book on a different device, or if the font was smaller.
#of pages read = 38
 

Reading his other book (here somewhere) made me want
to reread this series. #of pages = 344

I love his writing. I'm looking forward to finishing it
this weekend. #of pages read = 23

54 pages read so far.

Not as good as I hoped it would be.
#of pages read = 174.
I may not finish it.

One of the many periodicals I get for the library at work.
I don't always read them, but this one pulled me in.
#of pages read = 88

For those of you who have not added up the numbers, I've hit 1,113 pages in a little over 7 days. I've only finished two of the books, both of them graphic novels, and the one magazine. 

There you have it. A breakdown of my 1,000-page reading challenge. I mentioned it to a co-worker and she felt 1K pages was an awful lot. It can be. It depends on the speed at which you read and how much you enjoy it, I suppose. To me, all reading is reading, whether you are reading comics, magazines or listening to audiobooks. How do you count pages on an audiobook anyway? Challenges like this are interesting, I think, to sample where you are; does your speed surprise you? Or disappoint you? How can you change so that you are happy with the result, no matter what it is? The only person I am "competing" against in this sort of challenge is myself. 

Keep reading, friends. I'll be here to cheer you on!