Yesterday I received an email from my Dad telling me about the death of J.D. Salinger and asking me if I had ever read, The Catcher in the Rye. After thinking about it I couldn't recall ever reading it, maybe I had in high school, but I certainly couldn't remember it. So I went to my personal library and perused the shelves to see if I owned it and sure enough there it was. As I thumbed my way through all my books I came to the realization that I hadn't read very many of them. I owned all these books, and I hadn't even read half of them? That's bad.

Every time I've visited a goodwill store or savers I would make a stop at the book section because I knew I could usually find classics for $1.00 or $4.00 at the most, it's a deal I just could never refuse. So over time this led me to accumulate so many books but yet not make a dent in a majority of them.

So I've decided to make myself a little challenge, The Personal Library Challenge.

The ultimate goal in the Personal Library Challenge is to read all of the books in my library.

I counted 167 books, not counting the 20 or so research books, then I proceeded to count the ones I have already read, and got 37. That means I haven't even read 25% of the books in my library but if we're being exact, I've only read 22% of the books I own. Embarrassing.

This 22% doesn't include the books I've started to read but for some reason never finished. Although I'm not sure how many to be exact, the number is probably around 20. I'm including those in the "not read" category to be fair in this challenge.

I should also mention the books that I've read, but where it's been so long that I don't remember them all too well. Things I've read in middle school and high school, for example. I am including these books in the challenge, but will save them for last.

As I work to complete this challenge, I am not allowing myself to go to the library to check out new books nor can I buy any books to add to the library. One of the reasons I invented this challenge was to not spend money on books when I can just go to my personal library if I want to read something.

Over the years it has become sort of a bad habit, buying so many books when I haven't even read all the ones I already own, so this challenge is my way of changing that habit. And hopefully once the challenge is completed I will only buy books I will read at the moment, and not just store it on my shelf.

I realize this is probably going to take me awhile because I know myself and my attention span. The reason a good chunk of the books I own have only been read half way through is because of my lack of interest and eagerness to start a new one.

Some of the heftier books I own like Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, and Doctor Zhivago will certainly take some time to finish but they are in my library so I will make a commitment to them. If I were to read 10 books a month I could finish this challenge in a year, which is probably not going to happen so I'll have to at least give myself 3 years.

I will post periodic updates on my progress and mental health as I work to complete this challenge, and hopefully I won't loose my thunder after month 5.







I thought I would kick start this challenge by reading The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, since his death is what catapulted this challenge in the first place.

Wish me luck and happy reading!