reading by the day

I've decided that the only way I can read everything that I need and want to read in the time that I have is by sticking to a schedule. It sounds crazy, I know. Something I do for pleasure is really starting to take over my life a little. But I'm OK with that. I just need a plan.

It starts with the book club books. And I'm not complaining. I genuinely want to read them. The trick is that we've been slacking a little of late and we want to pickup the pace to an every-three-weeks meeting routine. And these are good books (mostly), I might add, so it shouldn't take nearly three weeks to read one, which should provide downtime for reading other books.

Admittedly, I was practically narcoleptic for the first three months of this pregnancy, so any and all reading time was unceremoniously dumped in favour of sleep. This set me a little behind. So, I was relieved when the last book club meeting was postponed and I had a little more time to finish A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Confession: I still haven't finished. Next on the LitWits roster is A Dive From Clausen's Pier. Haven't cracked it. In fact, I lent my library copy to another club member because I knew she would read it faster and then she'd give it back to me to read myself. *In fact, since I started drafting this post, she already finished it and returned it to me and I have yet to crack the cover. I am the biggest book club failure. I have six days to complete it before our next meeting.

On my own, I have a few books on the go. I was about half-way through the second Hunger Games book, Catching Fire, when I had to put it down in favour of a time-sensitive book-club read and failed to pick it up again. I want to get back to that soon.

I've also been bitten by the 50 Shades of Grey bug. I'm about half-way through that one, too.

And then, a co-worker lent me a copy of Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by The Bloggess Jenny Lawson. If you read The Bloggess, you have to know why her book made it to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List ... this gal is hysterical. I can't wait to dive into her book. But, where to find the time?

So here's the plan: Book club books at night before bed. Every night. Even if it's only two or three pages before I'm nodding off. I've got to be in the habit. My personal book picks on weekends or in spare time. This is often hard to come by, but for the right book, I'll make the time. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

And now I'm now thinking about the sewing projects that need to be completed, scrapbooks that need to be updated ... the list goes on. How do you find time for "me" stuff, like reading or hobbies?