Progress Report - January 2017

I just felt like doing a little update on my reading progress, seeing as January has now come and gone.

As I mentioned at the beginning of the year, I've set myself a Goodreads goal of 35, but will aim to reach 40.

So far, I have finished six books: Flawed by Cecelia Ahern (review here), The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister (the book I got for Christmas!), Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (which is part of an online book club reading challenge), Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake (review here), Da Vinci's Tiger by L.M. Elliott (review here), and Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (review here).

For February, I'd like to finally finish The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George - the book is nothing like what I imagined it would be, and I've had such a hard time getting over that. If I can't finish it in February, I think I will officially DNF that sucker and get it out of my life!

Aside from that, I will most likely tackle another OwlCrate book or two, as well as some of my more recent acquisitions, because there have been so many lately!! I'm almost embarrassed, but then I remember that I am far from the only one!

I do have quite a collection of books that I, honestly, will probably never read. I tend to pick up interesting looking/sounding used books everywhere (yard sales, rummage sales, used bookstores, thrift stores, hand-me-downs from relatives, dollar stores, etc. The supply is nearly endless!). However, the books I tend to pick up in loads like that tend not to be books that I will read. If I had nothing else to read, I suspect they would fit the bill and could be quite captivating, but there are just so many books, and not enough time! In my reading, I tend to lean more towards books that are more popular/well-known, or classical novels (to say I did), etc. In my foraging, I do occasionally find books that are on my wishlist, or by authors I recognize, but for the most part, those thrifty finds are usually just random books that have either a charming cover/title or a very intriguing synopsis. It seems that the prettier the cover and longer the title, the more likely I will be to buy the book; but the more well-known it is, the likelier I am of reading it.

Anyway, all that to say that I think I may need to attempt another purge of my book collection. The last time I tried I went through 3 bins and got rid of maybe 5 books. I am a collector by nature, it's difficult for me to leave interesting things behind at a store (I want it, therefore I need it!), and often even more difficult to let go of said things once they are in my possession. It probably comes from some underlying need/desire, but that's far too deep and philosophical for this post.

Suffice it to say that I will try again soon to purge my book collection, and I may be giving away (used) books on my bookstagram account or in the OwlCrate Society Facebook group, so keep an eye out!