I've had a terrible reading problem lately: difficulty to focus on a book more than twenty minutes at a time. I'm not sure whether it's my declining eyes (I haven't had them checked since the pandemic), or my mental condition (what with the pandemic, then my Parkinson's father), or.... is it just that my reading habit has been shifting due to social media? I don't know. But that's the fact. And that's why, alas, my reading in 2021 has been dominated by shorter books. Therefore, when I found Becky's challenge, I thought: why, this would be a perfect way to shake off that reading slump of mine, and be back in business again! So, without further ado, here it is... the first challenge I enter for 2022:
- A book must be 450 pages or more to be considered Chunkster
- Goal (up to each participant - yay!) : 4 (four) books
And these are the bulky guys I've challenged myself to read next year:
- Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens (832 p.)
- The Knight of Maison Rouge by Alexandre Dumas (560 p.)
- Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald (672 p.)
- Evelina by Frances Burney (512 p.)
Well, to encourage you, I quite enjoyed Martin Chuzzlewit and Middlemarch I absolutely loved!! If you can immerse yourself in the town and its inhabitants, it's riveting.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with this challenge! It's tempting but I'm having the same problems as you with reading so I don't think I'll attempt it next year but hopefully I'll be on track for the following year.
Thanks, Cleo, for the encouragement. Now I can't wait to read Middlemarch!
DeleteAnd good luck to you too with your fight against your reading slump. May it get better soon. :)
Middlemarch is wonderful, though I did find the first 100 pages a bit dry. After that I could hardly put it down! And Barchester Towers is among Trollope's finest. I haven't read it in years, maybe it's time for a reread.
ReplyDeleteAnd I know what you mean about long books. I'm in an online Trollope group and that's forcing me to read longer books, but my attention span has been terrible lately. I'm sure I spend too much time on social media. I'm way behind on my reading goal for the year and I haven't posted on my blog in 2 months. Maybe it's time to give it up, sigh.
Thanks, Karen, for the advice, I'll remember that when going through Middlemarch. I think I should pick a slow month in order to devour it real slowly but deeply.
DeleteSocial media is ruining our reading life, right? And the streaming services make it even worse!
When you said about giving up, it's the social media you mean, right? Please don't give up blogging... :( I love reading your posts, even though I don't always (rarely) leave comment. Hopefully you'll find your way back to reading and blogging. It's usually just a phase, so I'm hoping it's the case with you.