In March, I read a total of 40 books, and 13,174 pages, for an average of 424.96 pages and 1.29 books a day. That makes around a 75 page/day increase over February, and I more than doubled January’s pages/day average. March was simply a more productive month, reading wise.

There are a couple of reasons for this, I think. The first is that I read a lot of Swedish detective novels in March. Now, many of these novels were quite good, but they are also very easy to read. I tore through the Story of a Crime novels, for example, but it took me two days to read Dracula, because I had to slow down in order to digest it properly. Swedish detective novels are like potato chips, whereas Dracula was like a bony fish roast which forced me to pick my way through slowly and thoughtfully. Both had their merits.

I also think that as the days lengthen, I read more. I think that I am going to increase my averages through April and May, and possibly plateau out during the summer, when friends are visiting and I spend more time outdoors, and then my averages will start to decline in October/November as I lose daylight. Basically, when it’s dark more, I sleep more, and when it’s light more, I am awake more, thereby giving me more time to read. It will be interesting to see if this prediction holds true.

I think that my favourite book this month may have been Dracula, although Reading Lolita in Tehran was also quite good, as was Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Of these books, two were re-reads, and one was a recommendation from a reader, and I liked them for very different but good reasons. I also found A Tale of Two Valleys really valuable, so I’m adding that to my favourites list. All of these books are well worth reading, but if you live in a semi-rural community which is struggling with its identity and an influx of outsiders, read A Tale of Two Valleys.

I also note that I disliked a lot of books this month. I struggled with Faithless, because it failed to meet my expectations for short stories. I didn’t much take to Biting the Wax Tadpole, either, because I thought it was a pointless and stupid book. (And, for the record, although F recommended it, she had not actually read it. She heard about it and thought it sounded good, so she told me I might be interested. I just don’t want anyone casting aspersions upon her literary taste, which really is quite good.)

I definitely want to ramp up my nonfiction reading in the coming months, and I also wish that I was reading less garbage. As I’ve said before, it’s hard when you’re so hungry for reading material that you will read the phone book if that’s all there is. My reading taste is akin to a goat’s eating taste: if it’s in front of me, I’ll read it, although when I’m given a choice, I do have more discriminating tastes.

If you’re reading this post and wondering what in the heck the “book project” is and why anyone would care that I read 424.96 pages a day in March, the Book Project is my big mission for the year of 2008. Over the course of year, I am recording and writing about every single book that I read, no matter how questionable and embarrassing. Some of the reviews are very brief, basically taking the form of notes which say “I read this,” and some are longer, delving into why I like and don’t like the books I read.

I am welcoming recommendations from readers for the Book Project, because I love being introduced to new reading material, and you can feel free to leave them in the comments. Be warned that I am a rather blunt person, so if I read something you recommend and I don’t like it, I’ll say so. But I don’t see why that should hurt your feelings. After all, I’m only some random stranger on the Internet who spouts off about cheese and makes cupcakes sometimes. I have also pledged to read every single recommended book, if possible, assuming that I can get ahold of recommended books.

If you really want me to read something, you can mail it to me:

s.e. smith

po box 2764

fort bragg, california, 95437

I will read every single book which is mailed to me, without fail. If you want to loan me a rare/unusual book through the mail, rest assured that I will return it, as long as you indicate this in a note and enclose your mailing address. I can also pass books on after they are sent to me; otherwise, I’ll keep them, because I am a book hoarder. For local readers, there is a dead drop option, as sending things locally through the post is just sort of silly.