I just checked my posts for December 2019 and January 2020. It seems I didn't do a 2019 wrap, nor did I say anything about plans for 2020. Did I somehow have a hint that 2020 would be crap?
I did set a Goodreads goal of 200. Surprisingly I didn't meet it even though at times it seemed that all I did was read. But a lot of that reading was online stuff that wasn't worth recording here.
What I miss most during quarantine? My weekly Mahjong games, my several times a week water exercise class, the day trips to explore Connecticut with stops for lunch & ice cream, and browsing the library shelves. (I did a lot of online browsing and curbside pick up, but I miss going inside.)
Are there any positives from the quarantine process? Perhaps. We did discover some new places to shop for food. A farm market in Durham (CT), a couple of wholesale/restaurant supply places in Hartford that sell vegetable and fruit boxes to the public (one also partners with restaurants for weekly dinner boxes), and some new (to us) small markets.
We also discovered a few new (again, to us) outdoor spaces.
As far as reading goes the quarantine hasn't changed my habits much. I think I may have read more biography and nonfiction then in the recent past. And, contrary to what I expected when this all began, I read fewer short stories. Because my daughter actually braved going inside a couple of libraries she picked some things she thought might interest me. Many of them did and I think she and I spent a little more time than usual discussing books.
So what about 2021?
Goodreads Challenge: I read 156 (out of a goal of 200) in 2020. I think I won't make 200 this year because if the quarantine thing begins to ease I'll be spending more time "doing other things" so I'll aim for 150 and, as usual, I won't fret if I fall behind.
As far as what I read, I'll just let that develop. Some of that will depend on which library holds get filled. I probably won't join any reading challenges but might listen & watch to more bookish (and other) media stuff (podcasts & video).
First up: Finish library books that are due next week*, then there are the holds waiting to be picked up**, the books I received as birthday & Christmas gifts***, four or five Goodreads, LibraryThing, & other review copies****, etc, etc, etc. That pretty much takes care of January & February. For the rest of the year? Whatever.
**A thousand moons on a thousand rivers; Xiao, Lihong
City squares : eighteen writers on the spirit and significance of squares around the world
Perestroika In Paris: a novel; Smiley, Jane,
Igifu; Mukasonga, Scholastique,
The end of a family story : a novel; Nádas, Péter
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