125 Reviews and Counting!

What have I learned?

I got this crazy idea to read and review 50 books between Memorial Day and Labor Day of 2023. At the time I was a trustee for my local library and we were considering going out to referendum to raise bond money to build a new building. I wanted to show how valuable my library was to me. At the end of this post, I will do a review of just how valuable my library and my library card have been to me over these past 18 months. 

That said, this wasn't the only I learned. So here my top ten take-aways.

1. Times change, the structure of a good story doesn't. My friend and fellow writer, J.M. Guilfoyle and I were talking about this on our podcast Until the Tea Runs out, where we occasionally sip tea and talk all things reading and writing. Michael Connelly and Agatha Christie share some characteristics, namely short punchy sentences, and shorter chapters at the beginning and the end.
2. Simple, direct language makes for an engaging read. Forget the fancy words, forget the lush sentences. Easy to understand words makes a better book. 
3. The quality of your prose is more important than the quality of your plot twists. I've read true crime, history, economics, and of course novels. The higher the quality of the prose, no matter how bad the plot, will keep a reader engaged. By contrast, even a very high quality story with awful prose, makes a mediocre book at best. 
4. Indie and new writers have more inventive plots, experienced trad writers have more conventional plots with better prose. Anne Perry's first book, The Cater Street Hangman, takes place inside the household of family where two of the men are suspected of being a serial killer. Fascinating, to say the least. The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie innovates moving the world of the detective from the big city to a country manor. The household is small, the detective shows up late, and interestingly enough, when Hercule Poirot delivers the denouement, he does it in front of all of the suspects in a living room. A brilliant change insisted upon by her editor.  
5. Challenged books are almost always well written. Books that people want to ban are more than worth reading. They are well written and engaging. If they weren't people wouldn't be so afraid of them. They are typically enjoyable. If you look up books as they are challenged over the years, you will find what society was most worried about at the time. Challenged books reveal more about the zeitgeist of the moment than they do about the book, theme, or subject itself. 
6. A little reading every day goes a long way to making me a better writer. By having read so many mystery novels over the past few years I feel my ability to weave complex characters into the plot mechanics has improved. It's allowed me the freedom to take more risks, and the skill set I need to evaluate my writing more effectively. 
7. The discipline of review each book means I have had to develop my critical thinking skills. This has greatly improved my love of reading. I find myself more excited to share a really great turn of phrase, or to tease out meaning in an exciting passage or plot twist. 
8. Reading is fun. Reading novels is a great way "to while away the hours" as the Scarecrow sang in the Wizard of Oz. In a world where we are pressured to say something about anything on social media, to speak up, to speak out, to use our platform, there is something relaxing about shutting that world out. I am so glad I read before I go to sleep. I find that sitting in a darkened room, with me, a book, and my small reading lights makes for a better night's sleep. Or at least my fitness tracker says so. Bonus points, I'm not doom scrolling, tearing up sanity because somebody feels the need to express their particular opinion in an objectionable way today, or feeling left out when I see my friends having fun without me. I have plenty of fun. My friends should have great fun with their friends, and I should look at that in those times when it bring me joy. 
9. The rhythm of writing a blog post each week has helped me professionally. I push out a Substack post each and every week now. It's not a challenge now that I've been doing this for so long. No, I don't think this documentation makes me an expert, although it is leveling up my game. I love the self study. But it's the rhythm to writing to this particular deadline that has made me a more effective writer. YAY!
10. My library card is the most valuable thing I own. Well, maybe not literally, but it is pretty great. Tracking it has been one of the best things I could have done. I did it because I used to be a library trustee and I wanted to be able to talk to my constituents in a tangelbie way about my library. Below you will find a summary of how many books of the 125 I have checked out of my library and how much money my library card saved me. And how much, in taxes, goes to my library each year. 

By the Numbers

Books Read                                                                                       $125

Library Books Read                                                                          $105

Other Books                                                                                        $19

Other Media                                                                                          $1

Total Savings From My Library Card                                        $2087.82

Savings per Year From My Library Card                                     $695.94

Money Spent on Books                                                                  $24.00

Savings from Books Lent to Me By Friends                                $103.82