Reading Burnout

One of the most difficult parts of reading comes from burning yourself out.

I keep track of all of the books I've read recently in a spreadsheet, where I break them down into columns based on the final rating I give them and color the squares according to the broad-stroke genres or settings I've categorized them under.

During the month of October, I read 30 books. That's basically one book a day for the whole month, minus a Halloween cheat day. That was 7236 pages across them all.

And then I burned out. In November, I only made it through 7 books. 1641 pages. 6 out of 7 were graphic novels, which are easier for me to get through, even through problems like "crippling migraines" and "brain fog". The last was an anthology, which is also pretty damn easy to dig through.

So I'm easing the pace on myself for December. I'm taking my time and even reading more Juvenile-level fiction for my own entertainment. My current project is reading through all of Katherine Applegate's books - I just got done with The One and Only series, which will end with the fourth book (The One and Only Family) coming out in May 2024.

I also have a goal for 2024 onward: I'm going to be collecting physical copies of every Magic: The Gathering novel, art book, official guidebook, and so forth. This is going to be a pain to both my spirit and my wallet.