Every year, I challenge myself to read a certain number of new books, in an effort to keep from stagnating by reading the same favorite titles repeatedly. This year, I decided to try something a bit different: my challenge is to read all the books that I’d bought but never read. In some cases I’d read a few pages, then decided it didn’t suit my mood at the moment — and there was always something newer, more enticing, and possibly shorter, and so they sat, perpetually neglected. Some have been winnowed out over the years — I decided I was never going to read them, so they got sold or donated or gifted away. But after moving twice in 2 years, I decided that this is the year of reckoning: I either read what’s left or get rid of them. So I’m reading.

It’s not easy, especially when I’m tempted by all the shiny new books I could be buying and reading. So far this year, I’ve finished 7 books. Not all of them were from the Pile of Lost Titles — in fact, one was a new book that I got last month (sigh!) — but I’m slowly moving into the older books and making some progress. I have 12 titles to go. The lure of new books is strong, but I’m trying to be stronger. We’ll see what happens.