I Give Up

Ok, the voices in my head can quit shouting at me now!  I give up! I give in!  I have joined the Goodreads 2013 Reading Challenge.  I know I said I wouldn't but I have.  I suppose it was meant to be.  I had pretty good luck with the same challenge in 2012 and, even though I didn't meet my goal, I came very close so, this year, I lowered my goal to 20 books.  I am sure that is quite do-able since reading and cross stitching are  about the only things I do anymore! However, between this, the classic children's challenge and babysitting,  I think that is all that I can handle.

I have to say that my decision to join was made  this morning when I was reading JLSHall's blog, A Little Reading.  It seems that she has signed up for twelve -- 12 -- 1-2 -- challenges.  Needless to say I felt quite the underachiever so I decided to forge ahead and sign up for one more.

For those who don't know, JLSHall and I are cousins.  I like to refer to us as sistercousins because were raised more as sisters than cousins and  our  relationship dynamic has always been more sisterly than cousinly.  She is a couple of years older which means she got to experience "life" first.  I found myself following in her footsteps.  Whatever she did, I had to do and my mother used her as sort of a parameter of what I could/could not do.  I was sort of like a puppy following her around and I am sure that became very annoying.  Over the years, however, our differences emerged and we became our own women -- each having strengths and weaknesses that  the other doesn't have.  However, we are more alike than different and I still look to her as a role model and I still follow in her footsteps although not quite so "in her face" as I used to.  That would explain my foray into the book challenges for this year.  Not as committed as she is but, as it has been all my life, if Joy is doing it then it must be a  good thing and I shall do it as well.

So, that coupled with  my opinion that one of the best things that a person can do in life is learn to read and do it was gusto, I will persevere.  I believe that reading is the most basic, most important skill a person can learn because if you can read, you have the world in your hands.  I thank JLSHall for all those reading lessons while playing "school" and for introducing me to the books that I hold dear now (Star Girl will be one of my choices) and, for that matter, writing such compelling reviews now that I go to when looking for new reading material.

With that, off I go, to Lakeport to join the Bobbsey Twins and back to Old Vic with my new BFF Judi!