I’ve always been a huge music fan. I listen to music a lot (and try my best to play it quite often as well), but reading books is something I’ve only started doing in recent years. At first set myself a goal: one book a month. Sure I slipped here and there, but looking back on a yearly level I was able to meet my goal. Now I’m setting myself another goal: two books a month. Why?

First of all, I love reading. My biggest passion is true crime. Probably half of my books are true crime books. Lately I’ve also started reading books about web development, software projects and of course music (mainly artist biographies, although I’ve got some business books on my to buy list as well). I enjoy reading a good book. It’s as simple as that and I want to do it more often. Early weekend mornings or late evenings after a busy day… Man, I just love having some time for myself and reading a good book.

Secondly, like so many other people, I stay motivated by my progress. Of course the greatest pleasure is reading the book itself and getting something out of it, but I’m not going to lie: expanding my bookshelf gets me more excited about reading. I read a book, enjoy it and can’t wait to read another one. Also, the reason I’m posting this is because like so many other people, publicly announcing something is a motivating factor that pushes me. The fact that I’m telling someone I’m trying to read two books a month makes me try harder to find more time for reading.

Sure two books are month isn’t too much, but I don’t want to set goals I know I can’t keep. I’d rather feel good if I happen to read more than that than feel like crap if I fail. I’m a busy guy and I think this is a good start.

What inspired me to post this tonight? I just finished my first book for May 2010: The Power of Less by Leo Babauta.