Reading to Build Self Esteem
2021: The Year I Read a Book a Week (and Then Some!!)
As I’ve shared, I’ve been working to revive my love of reading over the last few years. Initially, I’d set a goal to read 21 books in 2021 but, when I reached that goal pretty early in the year, I decided to aim higher!
I set my sights on reading a book a week for the year — 52 books in total. I figured this was possible (given how quickly I’d hit the first goal) but still a stretch goal given my full-time workload, community commitments, and the ongoing pandemic of it all. This was an arbitrary goal but I found myself gaining self esteem with each completed book. I wasn’t doing it for anyone but myself and the fact that I was meeting this personal goal, one book at a time, was really a boost and reaffirmation of my self control and dedication.
As an “Obliger” (see Gretchen Rubin’s 4 Tendencies Framework) my ability to do this without external accountability was huge and I closed out the year feeling proud of my accomplishments. In total, I read 58 books in 2021 — surpassing my revised goal and exceeding my own expectations! Here are some of the best (and worst) books that I read, a few to really get you thinking, and some of my key takeaways from a year of reading extensively.
The Best of…
