52 Weeks, 52 Books

It started with a New Year’s Resolution. I decided that I would make the time to read at least one book a week in 2007. The goal, obviously, is then to read 52 books over the span of the next 52 weeks covering this year. I readily admit that reading a book a week on the surface isn’t a hard feat to accomplish. However, for the average person that works a regular job (as I do) and carries on a social life (as I try to do), it can be taxing and thus a legitimate challenge. The trick, as I mentioned, is that I must make the time for the resolution. In that respect, it’s just like all the tired resolutions trotted out yearly about going to the gym, eating healthier, getting your life organized, etc… If people resolving to achieve those goals would make the time, they’d be trimmer or better prepared, but as January fades in February so too does the drive necessary to complete a year-long goal.

Now, there will be weeks that I don’t finish the entire book that I pick or even start one for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons are pre-meditated: the annual SXSW music festival in March, my planned trip to Florida for Detroit Tigers Spring Training also in March and another planned trip to Detroit to see the Tigers in some regular season action sometime in the summer with my sister. There’ll be no reprieves, but that is why the goal is to read 52 books in 52 weeks. The coming weeks will present an opportunity to collect a few books and place them in reserve. With baseball (my true passion) still in the off-season and a lackluster football season winding down (and struggling to keep my attention anyway) my free time is easily devoted to the quest. I could always watch regular season NBA, but I’d rather read this than watch three minutes of a regular season game involving the Golden State Warriors or Charlotte Bobcats.

I had originally planned to post the entire 52-book schedule, but the fact of the matter is I’d never stick to it. My moods and reading habits will be fluid throughout the course of the year as will my selection process each Monday. As March approaches, I expect a flurry of baseball reading to dominate the landscape with impending season, meanwhile I may spend some summer evenings diving into a fictional thriller or two. Who knows? A steady dose of history, sports and sociology can be expected, but I’m not averse to switching things up. I have about 25-30 unread books on the shelf right now that are to be part of the journey, but that leaves around 20 or so more books to be selected.

In terms of posts you can expect to find here, I aim to post reviews of all 52 books read upon the completion of each. Also I aim to deliver updates throughout the week on how the book is and maybe just some off-the-cuff ramblings regarding whatever is on my mind. This post as well as the review of book one will be filed under the category Week 1 despite this being the second week of 2007. All other postings will be categorized with their corresponding week.