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Terms of the Duel

New-Year's resolutions have a pronounced and infamous tendency to fall by the wayside by, say, the 1st of February. Perhaps, however, that is because they are resolved upon, adhered to, and discarded, by solitary individuals. Perhaps what's needed is some good old-fashioned competitive spirit.

The participants:

  1. Ilya Gandelman - desk jockey from 9-5:30, Monday thru Friday. Free time activities include, but are not limited to, writing, reading, watching tv/movies (very selective in this area!), eating Meredith's delicious food, playing with Gizmo, spending time with family and friends.
  2. Meredith Gandelman - also a desk jockey, from 9-6, Monday thru Friday. Free time activities include, but are not limited to, reading, watching tv/movies, cooking/baking for Ilya (and others), snuggling/playing with Gizmo and spending time with family and friends.

The resolutions:

  1. To read more books
  2. To watch less television
  3. To spend less money (by reading library books, and by making our way through unread volumes gathering dust on the shelves)
  4. To spend more quality time together with a shared interest

Therefore, the challenge proposed: who can read the most books in a year? On one side the wife, on the other the husband: who'll get the most volumes under her or his belt before 2015?

The rules:

  1. Books will be chosen independently. Any genre or subject is eligible.
  2. No second thoughts once starting a book. An uncompleted book is not counted, except of course as time lost. We shall have to choose carefully; and if a book seems to be disappointing, best to soldier on through to the end!
  3. A 300-page minimum. However, books briefer than 300 pages may be combined with others to count as one entry in the Duel.

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Invocation goes here

Pages read today: 144

 Lacking at this precise moment the wit to invent a suitably grandiose opening, an Invocation to the Muses or a "Call me Ishmael," I'll just summarize our intentions. It's the beginning of a New Year.  Meredith, my wife, is armed with a not new yet far from old Nook device. We both have a bookshelf full of books we mean to read or re-read, and I also possess the ability to borrow books from the amply-provisioned Rush Rhees Library at the University of Rochester. What better way to encourage a high rate of reading, a lower rate of TV-watching, and some money-saving yet high-quality time together, than by invoking to our aid a little competitive spirit?  Which of us can read the most books in a year?  This blog is intended to track the resolution of that question. We hope, Gentle Reader, that you find the process interesting and illuminating.

 Until next time, keep the pages turning --
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