Chapter #08: Easier Read Than Done

We’re in the homestretch folks…

Feeling My Shelf is a bi-weekly newsletter about books, life, and well, life with books. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and get comfy. 

Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli

A well-written debut that follows all the stages and feelings of grief, as the main character grapples with the loss of her husband. (Content warning: This book contains mentions of suicide.) There were small bursts of humor throughout, but sensitive ole me was mostly in shambles. It feels weird to say I enjoyed it, given the subject matter, but I did. Keep tissues nearby.

Whiteout: A Novel by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

Ah, young love! Twelves teens band together to help one of their friends win back their girlfriend during an unexpected Atlanta snowstorm. It’s a very LGBTQ+ inclusive read and features tropes romance readers love: friends to lovers, second chance romance, and grand gestures. Sweet, magical, and a tad unrealistic at times, but whatever, I loved it.

The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin

Book two in N.K. Jemisin’s Great Cities Duology follows the human avatars of New York City who battle an extradimensional threat to the multiverse. Fantasy is not a genre I often enjoy, but this book (and the one before it) are so, so good. Both have a Lovecraftian (otherworldly) vibe and uniquely tackle themes of gentrification and cultural erasure.

What is time? Something that’s moving quite fast, that’s what.

We’re dangerously close to 2023, and the recap posts and “best of” lists have begun flooding the internet. Meanwhile, I’m over here struggling to finish books. Not because I don’t love reading. Not because I don’t have many unread books piled high on various surfaces in my apartment. And not because said books aren’t great. But because, I’m in the homestretch—a mere three books away from hitting my 2022 reading goal—and getting lazier and lazier by the second.

Isn’t it funny how the temptation to quit gets stronger the closer you get to achieving a goal? Even when that goal is as arbitrary as reading X number of books by December 31.

Sure, abandoning said goal is always an option. And sometimes, the best option. Because reading should not bring stress. But if you’re like me, and determined to push through, here are three things I always do around this time of year.

Avoid scrolling on Goodreads. 

Sure, I still log what page of my current read that I'm on, add books to my “want to read” list and give starred ratings, but I have no clue how my friends' reading challenges are going. Ignorance is bliss. Seeing others' updates only reminds me that I'm close to falling behind. And I don’t need that negativity in my life.

Ditch the seasonal reads if you want to. 

Holiday books are everywhere. Hell, I sent a list of them straight to (most of) your inboxes literally two weeks ago. And still, I can admit that sometimes you gotta ditch them. Often light and fluffy, they are great for staving off seasonal stress, but the cheesiness can be a bit much. Therefore a thriller smack in the middle of December might be just what you need to stay in the reading groove. 

Read a novella. 

Don’t have the attention span for 400 pages with shopping and traveling also on your plate? Insert the novella. Page counts typically fall between 100-200 pages. Bam! Quick easy reads. Feels a bit like cheating, but who cares? There are no rules! 

A Merry Little Meet Cute by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone. Another reason that I sometimes ditch holiday romances in mid-December? The closed-door…um…scenes (hi, mom!) feel dry and get old real quick. Given the premise of this (An adult film star is unknowingly cast as a lead in a family-friendly Christmas movie opposite an ex-boy band member trying to rehab his image) and the reviews I glanced at, I’m expecting holiday vibes and plenty of open-door steam! 

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