When I was profiled on BC BookLook a couple weeks ago, they mentioned that I’d read 65 books in 2013, and was gunning for 75 in 2014. My first thought when I saw this was:

I put way too much random information on-line.

My second thought was:

Is that a lot? Or a little?

Hang out with a few librarians, and you end up feeling like 65 books is nothing. On the other hand, I received some e-mails like this one:

And I was feeling a little guilty that I’d read 30 books last year. Good luck making it to 75. I’d like to compete with you, but I’m afraid that’s even out of my league.

What it boils down to, of course, is that reading is not a competitive sport. It’s ridiculous to feel guilty about reading too much (is there such a thing?) or too little. We read to explore and to see the world through other people’s eyes. Some books are long and some are short. Some are hard and some are breezy. Some leave us craving more and others leave us needing to rest our hearts and our brains and soak in what we’ve discovered.

I track my books on the 50 Book Pledge because it’s fun, because it keeps me motivated to finish some of those non-fiction tomes that threaten to linger on my end table forever, and because it reminds me to turn off the computer and open my book. Whether or not I make it to 75, I have pages and pages of pleasure ahead of me.