2016 Reading Challenge: Challenge Accepted!

I used to read a lot, but then I stopped.  I wrote out a detailed post about how much I used to read and all of the excuses that I made for not reading so much anymore, but it turned out to be pretty depressing.  To sum it up: college, work, and new hobbies took up so much of my time that I allowed them to almost completely replace leisurely reading.  In 2014 I re-read the Harry Potter series and Mockingjay - the most books I'd read for pleasure in one year in a long time.  Last year started off strong - I read four books in less than two months, none of which I'd ever read before - but then more excuses came along and I didn't read for the rest of the year.

Towards the end of the year, I started seeing the 2016 reading challenge floating around on Facebook:

A lot of my friends, who are avid readers, were pretty excited about it.  I was interested as well, but nervous because it had been so long since I actually read 12 books in one year.  (Not counting the semester I took two classes on Classical mythology, wherein I read at least 15 books and plays.)  But my friend Elizabeth told me not to worry about last year, and I realized that she was totally right!  Last year is last year, and this year is going to be this year.

In order to encourage myself to read more, I bought a bookshelf from IKEA and strategically placed it next to my TV.  Hopefully, seeing the shelf full of welcoming books will help me to keep myself from binge-watching shows and do some reading instead.

I haven't quite chosen all 12 books yet, but I will blog about the challenge as I go along!  Will you challenge yourself this year, too?