30 books in 30 days

I just read a blog post that inspired me to try this myself. It is from Courtney Rodgers, and can be found here. This got me thinking. I already do a Goodreads annual challenge, where I decide how many books I will read in a year, and then challenge myself to exceed my goal. This year’s goal is 175 books; I’m already at 125, and I have a 4-hour flight ahead of me tonight, and 3 books in progress. I’m guessing I will hit 130 by the end of the weekend. Could I do a 30-day challenge like this and add it to my 175-book challenge? Should I make it part of my 175 books? September is a very busy month for me, as a rule. School starts up again, and I have a little different schedule every year. Plus, this year I have the added challenge of a new classroom (right across the hall from my old one, so I didn’t even change hallways), with a new roommate who has classes in the room during my prep periods. That just means I will adjust my free time a bit, but it also means that September is a bit rough for me. This year, I have the additional challenge of my partner working in the same building, and him not being able to drive, so I need to chauffeur both of us to our various appointments. By the way, you know you’re over 55 when you have multiple doctors for various ailments. Just saying. So, can I realistically complete this challenge? I think so, for many reasons. I have discovered in recent years that I’m a pretty competitive person, and I’m the most competitive with myself. If I challenge myself, I MUST succeed at the challenge. This also means that I’m careful about how I challenge myself, so I don’t set myself up for failure. So, yeah, 30 books in a month? I can totally do that. Another reason I think I will succeed is that I work hard to keep my home time sacred. I try very hard not to bring school work home - I don’t always succeed, especially when grades are due, but I try hard. This challenge will ensure that I keep home time sacred, because I won’t have time to do school work - I’ll be reading to meet my 30 books! Oh, and all that time waiting at doctors’ offices? I can spend that reading, too! I am committing to this challenge, then! Every day I will try to post the book I’m reading - and hopefully I finish - and a few words about my reaction to the book. I’m not a fan of writing reviews (gives me flashbacks to book reports in grammar school! Which I know dates me!), but I will give some feedback, mostly for my own information. My favorite books to read are romance novels and “chick lit.” I enjoy reading about relationships, but not in an angsty way. I look for happy endings, and ongoing relationships. Right now, I’m reading a few series: The Westcott Series, by Mary Balogh; The Black Dagger Brotherhood Legacy, by J.R. Ward; and the Scandal and Scoundrel series by Sarah MacLean. I falso started reading the Kat Holloway Below Stairs mystery series, by Jennifer Ashley. I’m not usually a big fan of mysteries, but this series sounds pretty good. Book 1 was good, anyway. I’ll let you know how the next ones turn out. I also love two Nalini Singh series: Psy-Changling and Guild Hunter. I don’t mind re-reading books I really like, so I might get into these again, before her new ones come out this fall. Wish me luck with this!