Steps in the right direction

This mini holiday break proved to be a good one to get some reading done and chip away at least some of the remaining pages to get this ship back on track.

Right now, my total for December is 1,972 pages, leaving 3,368 as the coveted number to reach the projected total for the month. In the broader spectrum of this year’s reading, my total had reached 43,596 total pages, and with 164 days left, I could say that things are in good shape. Good, not great.

Still, the goal remains to reach the 100,000-page mark, which the current projection marks it at 79,207 pages. Some work left to do.

Off to read

Azriel

’tis the season to be reading

My October and November reading was, to put it gently, underwhelming. Now as December approaches its final leg I´m determined not to let this cold streak reach the third month in a row. Although it is a monumental task, my plans for the end of the year total deserve a bit of extra effort on my part.

So what is the task you might ask, well, there are 9 days left to read 4,209 pages, which is around 468 pages per day, as I said, not the easiest of challenges but one that will surely be the steppingstone toward the first year over 100,000 total pages, this year in particular deserves it. My projection sits at 78,409 pages. There´s some catching up to do.

For this gargantuan task, I brought a familiar friend and one of my all-time favorite series in any medium, Berserk by the late great Kentaro Miura.

Now to jump into the deep end.

Off to read.

Azriel

At the edge of the knife

I’m at that point where the whole year of reading can go south in a heartbeat. Although my projections still put this year’s reading over the 80,000-page mark.

My current pace of reading puts me on pace to finish with the projected pages for the year, but just barely, not the whopping 120,000 pages projected at the end of the second month.

But have no fear, I will not allow myself to stir away from that gargantuan accomplishment. These will not slip my hand. At the end of the year of reading, there will be 100,000 registered pages, the first of the project, but not the last.

Off to read.

azr

Wise advice

I just finished reading, or better said, rereading Ray Bradbury’s amazing novel Fahrenheit 451, and while researching some of the background on the origin of the story, I found an amazing quote.

‘You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.’

Ray Bradbury

Well, Mr. Bradbury, I’ll just take your advice to heart.

Off to read

azriel

40,000 pages

Those last 600 pages to reach the milestone of 40,000 pages for the sixteen year of reading were quite trialing.

But, Alas, here we are, still some days away from the middle of the year, and with the possibility of reading 100,000 pages, just barely above that magic number, but with a real chance of achieving this earth shattering task.

I foresee some intense periods of reading, aligning with a few changes in my life, but if anything, I’ll use the upcoming tribulations as fuel for my inner fire.

Off to read.

azr

Daily Journal: July 31,2023

All in all, the weekend was really productive for my reading. I could tally almost 14 hours of total reading, but more importantly, I got to page 936 of Alan Moore’s Jerusalem, not quite the original goal, but a triumph.

Also, I finished the novella A Frost of Fear and Fortitude, which had been my favorite story from the Levanthria series, that dark spin on Saint Nick was just perfect. Hopefully, A.P. Beswick will make some more stories, besides the upcoming A Frost of Death and Deceit, to be released on December 1, 2023.

The only task left for the month of July is to reach the 12,000 net pages. Right now, I’m looking at 286 pages to do so. The best course of action is to read a bit of Mr. Moore’s book and finish the night with some graphic novels.

With that in mind.

Off to read

azriel

Daily Journal: July 30,2023

Yesterday was a very productive day of reading, from the challenge of reading those elusive 24 hours over the weekend, a monumental task that only achieved twice in several tries, I was able to rack up 9 hours 25 minutes, and 14 seconds, not bad for not really trying.

Hopefully, today will turn out to be at least as productive as yesterday, if the clocks passed the 12 hours mark, then I’ll be more than satisfied. The truth of the matter is that the true goal is to hit those mini challenges to close out the week of reading on a high note.

Speaking of which, and as posted in yesterday’s entry, the four challenges go as follows:

• Reach page 950 of Alan Moore’s Jerusalem (currently on page 852)
• Finished the third book of the Levantria Series A Kingdom of Courage and Cruelty
• Read the novella “A Frost of Fear and Fortitude” (currently on page 43 of 128)
• Read 12,000 net pages on the month of July, my current total is 11,525, leaving only 475 pages for the next two days.

On the broader picture there was some forward momentum. In the next milestone, to reach 750,000 pages, the new date is set to be October 16, 2030, pretty close to the deadline of the whole project, but has decreased by 56 days in the last two weeks. My goal to reach this next waystation is on April, 2027. which puts me 1,266 days behind, things that doesn’t make me sweat, judging by my reading rhythm, I’ll get way faster than that.

For the major prize, the current date of achieving the herculean task is now on February 17, 2038. The last time I calculated this projection, back on June 12, my end date was February of 2039, that means that over a month of reading I have close the gap to a whole year less, pretty impressive if you ask me.

The main focus of today will be Alan Moore´s Jerusalem, and lighten the mood, I´ll throw in some graphic novels. I have considering revisiting one of my favorite Green Lantern story-arcs, Blackest Night, written by Geoff Johns back in 2009, and it shaped Green Lantern as we know it today, which remains one of the few series that I read from the major two comic publishers.

Off to read.

azriel

Daily Journal: July 29, 2023

I know that in order for these posts to be called a “Daily Journal,” they should be exactly that, but there’s so many things to read that sharing my daily ranting just skips my mind.

The good news is that I have already reached the 20,000-page mark for this year of reading. Those gears are moving just perfectly. There’s still the possibility of a 100,000-page year, but I will not get ahead of myself.

For now, I’ll focus on the task at hand, reading 12,000 net pages in the dwindling month of July. This leaves me with 1,258 pages to read in the next 3 days, and just for fun, I’ll throw in another attempt to achieve 24 hours of reading over the weekend to spice things up.

In the mix of all of these, I have three more mini challenges to reach over the weekend

• Reach page 950 of Alan Moore’s Jerusalem (currently on page 700)
• Finish the third book of the Levantria Series A Kingdom of Courage and Cruelty (currently on page 130 of 238)
• Read the short story “A Frost of Fear and Fortitude” set also in the Levanthria series, a retelling of not so jolly old Saint Nick, the monster hunter

I have a lot on my plate for the weekend. The only thing that I can assure is that it is going to be very fun.

Off to read.

azriel

Daily Journal: July 25, 2023

It has been a couple of really slow reading. This is mainly because my focus has been on the behemoth task of tackling Mr. Moore’s intricate novel Jerusalem. The setting of his native Northampton, going thru several ages of the once Saxon capital in England, has been quite the challenge. The second part book, which I’m currently navigating, is focused on some of the dead residents of the enigmatic town.

To say it is a difficult endeavor is an understatement, but as with all of the work of Mr. Moore, it’s worth the challenge. Being realistic, my goal is to reach at least 75% of the book. The original plan was to finish in July, but with such a complicated story, it’s best to take it slowly.

What comes next on my reading queue? that’s a great question. There are three possible paths to follow. The first will be to pick up where I left the Dragonlance series. The second would be to read the next two books of The Vorrh Trilogy by the late Brian Catling. The third option is to continue the adventures of Glen Cook’s Black Company.

That decision will be made once my journey thru the treacherous streets of Northampton ends.

Off to read.

azriel

Daily Journal: July 24, 2023

To be honest, I have been meaning to get back sooner to share my progress of this crazy project of mine, but my focus was so caught up on getting the first milestone, which I did as announced on my last post.

So, on July 14 of 2023, after 5,392 days of reading, the first 500,000 pages were achieved. For me, it was such a joyous occasion, and having great people around that have shared the process, some for a short while, some for a very long time, it made it all that much special.

Now, I have some new challenges ahead of me, including the next 500,000 pages. This next step will have to be achieved just a fraction of the time, 2,874 days to be exact. But fear not, judging by how the first 48 days of the current year of reading, I’ll be fine.

Speaking of that, my current total is 19,980 pages for year sixteen. If by some miraculous feat I keep this pace up, I’ll be reaching in November of this year the total quota of 64,850 pages. Pretty impressive

Obviously, I can’t sit still even in these booming times. My main focus is cutting down the days that my schedule has fallen behind. Currently, the projections for achieving the 1,000,000-page mark are on March 12, 2038. That puts me 2,472 days behind my 50th birthday

There’s so much more reading left to do, but the tides are changing, and I will jump head on at these momentum and ride the waves to that coveted goal.

Off to read.

azriel