How are we already halfway through the year?
It feels like Christmas was only a few weeks ago, yet somehow we’re already in the middle of June. As a reader, I always like to take a moment around this time of year to look back at what I’ve read so far and see how I’m getting on with my reading goals.
So how many books have I read so far?
At the start of the year, I set myself a goal of reading 45 books.
As I write this, I’ve read 13.
On paper, that doesn’t sound particularly impressive, and if I’m honest, I’m quite a long way behind where I expected to be by this point in the year.
The truth is that I’ve found it much harder to make time for reading this year than I did last year.
Partly because work has been busier and more stressful, partly because my mind is constantly full of all the jobs and responsibilities that come with adult life, and partly because life with a toddler looks very different these days.
Last year, my little girl was still quite content to play independently for longer stretches of time. This year, she’s talking, exploring, asking questions and demanding my attention approximately every two seconds!
As wonderful as that is, it does mean that finding a quiet moment to sit down with a book has become much more challenging.
When I finally get a bit of free time in the evening, I often find myself gravitating towards the sofa and the television instead. After a long day, sometimes I just want to switch my brain off for an hour rather than concentrate on a story.
For a while, I felt a little guilty about that. Reading has always been one of my favourite hobbies, so seeing my Goodreads challenge fall behind wasn’t exactly how I imagined the year would go.
Recently, though, I’ve started looking at it differently.
Reading 13 books is still 13 books.
That’s 13 stories I’ve experienced, 13 worlds I’ve visited and countless hours spent doing something I genuinely enjoy.
Would I like that number to be higher? Of course.
But I’m also trying to remember that different seasons of life look different, and right now I’m in a season that’s wonderfully busy, noisy and full of interruptions.
The books will still be there when life slows down a little.
