The close of the 10th year of Elliot's Reading

Today's post marks the close of the 10th year of Elliot's Reading. I have now posted on this blog an entry per day for the past 3,653 days (a few Leap Years in there).

When I started keeping this blog, in December 2009, I was in the midst of reading War and Peace. My stated goal was to keep a daily record of what I'm reading and what I'm thinking about what I'm reading.

What I've learned from this 10-year project: The commitment to post every day has made me a much more attentive and thoughtful reader; I can never read just a few pages and forget about them until the next time I pick up the book or magazine - I'm always thinking about the work in hand and what I'll say about it when I get back to this blog.

This project has also steered my reading toward top-flight literary fiction; I've been reluctant to sidestep onto books about which I suspect I'd have little to say. I've gone down many strange and sinuous passageways, as I've turned, especially in recent years, more toward world fiction and toward long-forgotten novels - though I have also, a few times a year, gone back to classic works I'd read many years before. I'm amazed, when I do so, how little I remember from previous readings and how much better (I think) I understand these works coming back to them from a different perspective and a different phase in my life.

It's also been troubling to me how quickly I forget some of what I've read; I frequently come across a mention of a novel that sounds like it might be pretty good and when check I'll see that I in fact read (and posted on) that book - sometimes only a year ago. It's been useful to me to have a record of my thoughts, however, humbling as it may be to look back on what I'd so quickly forgotten.

It's also a little sad to see the declining viewership for this blog; keeping the blog has been great for my own development as a reader, but I had hoped that this blog my lead to more dialog and discussion among a circle of readers, however wide. Sadly, the day of the blog has passed, replaced by the more instant gratification of social media. Viewership on this blog has declined from at least 250 per day to a few dozen a day, if that - and comments on the blog are almost nonexistent. Most viewers probably see the blog on a phone; to see the full blog where all posts are accessible and arranged alphabetically by author, see the blog via its web address, elliotsreading@blogspot.com (or search elliots reading) or by clicking "see web version" at the bottom of the screen when the blog appears on your phone.

Having reached this 10-year-mark, I think it's time to take a break from the daily posting obligation - because at times it feels like like exactly that, an obligation, like a burden I'm carrying on my back. I'm not giving up this blog, but I will no longer necessarily post every day. I will, however, try to post at least once on every book I'm reading or have finished reading.

Thanks for your support on this 10-year project!