173 | Why it's a terrible idea to read a book a week
Reading time: 3 minutes
I’m on track to read a book a week for 2024. This isn’t the first time I’ve done this. Am I bragging? Begging for help? Apologizing? Unclear, even to myself. It’s complicated.
Every time I do something unnecessarily hard like this, I learn a lot. (Maybe that’s why I do it?) This time I learned about all the terrible things that can happen as a result of trying to read a book a week:
You’ll miss out on social media
Reading a book a week dramatically curtails time-wasting activities, such as vacuuming the floor and rabbit-holing on social media. Ten minutes of scrolling = four or five pages in a book. If you want to keep up with the socials, reading a book a week is not the goal for you.
Your attention span will be too long
The mental endurance required to plow through a book a week means you’ll find TikTok, Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and most mainstream newscasts bewilderingly short. Just when you’ve settled in to really understand the story, it’s over. What a hassle, to be able to focus for so long on something.
Your expectations for stories will become impossibly high
This will ruin you for most Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Disney, Apple + shows. What you once thought was a charming series, you now see as formulaic with stupid dialogue. What might have been a riveting mystery movie, you now see as poorly constructed with weak character arcs. When you take in 52 books in a year, your understanding of what makes a quality story changes. You become deeply story-literate. Unfortunately, most shows and movies aren’t written for the deeply story-literate among us. Sorry about that.
You’ll always have something to do
If you enjoy being bored, reading a book a week is going to rob you of those opportunities to indulge in boredom. It’s the worst!
You’ll always have something to talk about
Engaging with friends and family about the stories you’re reading can be so tiresome for them. Who wants to hear about a good story on a rainy day? Nobody, that’s who. This can be hard because your brain will be filled with new ideas and you’ve got nowhere to share them. You’ll probably end up talking to yourself. See how far that gets you.
You’ll have to get very organized
First, a plan for how to read (Printed books—purchased or borrowed from the library? Downloads from the library? Purchased downloads for your Kindle? Audiobooks?) Second, build your list. Anytime someone mentions a book they enjoyed, or you come across a book review that piques your interest, add that title to your list. So you always have the next book ready to roll. Third, keep your book with you wherever you are; ten minutes waiting to pick someone up at the ferry is excellent reading time.
You’ll be escaping
Some think being present is a virtue, so escaping into a book is a moral failing. What a terrible thing, to step out of your world for a chunk of time each day, to let your mind roam the landscape of a story someone had the intelligence and grace to write. Instead of sitting with anxiety and worry, you’ll breathe easy. You’ll chuckle at clever dialogue. Sucks to be you. I hope you make it out ok.
Here’s a list of the books I’ve read so far this year
I’m currently enjoying the no-drama balm of listening to Stanley Tucci’s memoir “What I ate in a year”. (Sample sentence: “For breakfast I baked some frozen croissants for the children because I find those are often far better quality than the over-worked croissants at cafes in our neighborhood.”) I’m also reading Sally Rooney’s “Conversations with friends”.
You’ll notice a heavy emphasis on memoir as I struggle (and struggle) to figure out my own. (M = memoir.)
Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane
M | Two women walk into a bar (short story) by Cheryl Strayed
The hero of this book by Elizabeth McCracken
The wager by David Grann
No two persons by Erica Bauermeister
M | Tightwads on the loose by Wendy Hinman
Remarkably bright creatures by Shelby van Pelt
M | Rental person who does nothing by Shoji Morimoto
M | Deep waters: A memoir of loss, Alaska adventure… by Beth Ann Mathews
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
M | Monsters: A fan’s dilemma by Claire Dederer
M | Dirtbag, Massachusetts by Isaac Fitzgerald
M | Walking to the end of the world by Beth Jusino
So late in the day by Claire Keegan
After Annie by Anna Quindlen
M | Wintering by Katherine May
M | Lots of candles, plenty of cake by Anna Quindlen
M | If you can’t take the heat by Geraldine DeRuiter
Co-Intelligence: Living and working with AI by Ethan Mollick
Really good, actually by Monica Heisy
North woods by Daniel Mason
M | Finding Elevation by Lisa Thompson
Shimmering Images by Lisa Dale Norton
The lovers dictionary by David Levithan
The Heaven And Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
Again and again by Jonathan Evison
M | The salt path by Raynor Winn
M | Sociopath: A memoir by Patric Gagne
The Bee Sting by Paul Murray
Lost Boy by Kenneth Bennett
The Vacationers by Emma Straub
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
Lucy by the sea by Elizabeth Strout
M | Vanderbilt by Anderson Cooper
The winner by Teddy Wayne
All Fours by Miranda July
The midnight feast by Lucy Foley
M | The motion of the ocean by Janna Cawrse Esarey
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
The night we lost him by Laura Dave
M | Getting stoned with savages by J. Maarten Troost
The women by Kristin Hannah
M | You could make this place beautiful by Maggie Smith
M | More: A memoir of an open marriage by Molly Roden Winter
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
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Thanks for helping, friend.
I am tapping the ancient archives in my brain. There are lots of stories.
My daughter didn't give me a cell phone and must have thought i had too much free time on my hands. Instead, she gave me a subscription to Storyworth and sends me a question every week that i have to write a story about as it relates to my life. After 52 weeks of this, they compile it into a book for her. This is definitely a challenge in creative writing.