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Alexandra's avatar

I don't establish a goal. I just read. I'm fortunate to live within walking distance of a great library. We are fortunate to have so very many books to choose from here in the USA. You mention a mixture of books that "entertain and inform and force me to stretch my mind." I appreciate books that are well-written first of all, that hold my interest, and make me think. Not so very different. I'm a member of a "salon," a group of writers and friends of writers who got together over the spring to discuss George Saunders' A Swim In a Pond In the Rain. At the end of the book, we all offered recommendations of books we enjoyed for the other members to consider as summer reading. I've already chosen a book from the list and requested it from the library.

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Angela Zoltners's avatar

I've used reading as my escape during the pandemic. I'd always been a fierce proponent of printed materials versus e-books, but with libraries closed, e-book downloads were a lifesaver. I've been keeping a yearly list of my books read for a long time and my totals skyrocketed after the first lockdown. I read 311 book in 2020 and set a goal of averaging once a day in 2021. I ended up with 402. One thing I've noticed is that I don't retain information from e-books as easily as I do from physical books unless the subject material is truly gripping. E-books are often the Pringles of reading: easy to consume, but not particularly nourishing. I'm not setting a goal this year. I suspect 402 will be lifetime high water mark. Some that really stood out off the top of my head are: Say Nothing and Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe, the Dublin Murder series by Tana French, The Truly Devious series by Maureen Johnson, The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson, They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, and the Toby Daye series by Seanan McGuire.

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