the beginning of something wonderful?

i bought this book a while back:

in it, Nick Hornby keeps a pretty detailed account of the books he buys and reads over 28 months.

i'd like to do the same.

the thing is, i buy a lot of books. i read a lot, too, but not nearly enough to keep up with my buying habits.

i'm one of those people who is continually telling themselves that they should be reading this, or reading that. and yet, i never do.

i've torn numerous lists out of magazines: "100 books to read before you die." "21 books you should read before 21." things like that.

so i've decided to put myself to work. i have no delusions about my reading habits, so i'm not aiming to complete a mountain full of books. besides, i usually start about 10 books at a time, rarely finishing any of the books i dive into.

i'm going to keep a record of the things i read each day. i'll let you know how i come by each novel i crack open, and i'm sure i'll find myself relating the things i read to myself. this is an experiment. i'd like to find out if i can actually read all of the books on my shelf. after that, we'll see where the literary winds take me.

the challenge starts tomorrow.