What a marvelous year 2011 was.
Not only did I marry my favourite man in the world – that alone would’ve sufficed to make last year extraordinary – but Gribook was launched, and Gribook Accessories hit off. Truth be told, I was taken by surprise with how successful and rewarding both these project have turned out to be. Side-note: Married life has also been an incredible experience – I’m the happiest in my life, by far.
With Gribook.me and Gribook Accessories, we embarked on an adventure. We wanted to have fun, to grow and to share the gifts and opportunities we’ve been given. False modesty aside, we had as many as 230 visitors in one day alone and we made about 20 customers-slash-bookworms happy with our sleeves and bookmarks. This means a lot to me, it means a lot to the team behind Gribook Accessories.
We’re grateful to God. We’re grateful to you. We’re blessed – oh, just how blessed!
Other than the above mentioned, another joy was completing the Goodreads Reading Challenge by mid-November. Besides the 50 books you already know about, I’ve read 4 more in December – which makes 54 books in all. Today, time has come to set a Reading Challenge for the year ahead. After carefully considering my plans, as well as the fact that I read more now that I have a Kindle, I’ve come to the following conclusion:
For 2012, I plan to read 60 books.
Disappointed? Well, I was considering aiming higher, but then stopped myself at the thought:
Why do I read?
To impress? It’s awfully tempting – impressing people with the amount and the renown of the books I read, especially now that I blog about my reads.Ā A review of Ullyses by James Joyce, or of a dozen Dostoyevsky novels, even one of some popular series, like Stieg Larsson’s or Suzanne Collins might give a certain status and respectability amongst bibliophiles. Yet, what will I gain, really? Achievement comes and goes. Status comes and goes.
The point of setting a challenge is that I continue to read and share about fascinating, heart-warming and inspiring books. Not many, but good.
Why do YOU read? Have you set yourself a Reading Challenge for 2012? If you want to, I’ve a few suggestions, just drop a note in the comments section below.
p.s. The featured picture describes my year very well: marriage and books. My friend Liuba got married around the same time I did, and has kindly accepted to share this exquisite wedding photo. Thank you, Liuba.
Gribook 
I am proud to know you and read about what you have accomplished with God’s help, this past year. I hope and will pray that He gives you strength and vision for the 2012! I do not have reading plans so far… I am stuck on Kon Tiki. I hope to manage it soon. There is lots of stuff I will have to read for my studies – I wish I could switch to other type of books instead. I hope to start Ullyses, though… Will see what it will turn into. Best wishes!
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Vika – thanks a lot for the encouragement and prayer, girl! Very much appreciated. May God bless your studies – I’m sure you’ll find gems amongst the book you’ll be reading, even if they don’t seem as exciting. Do share about them, I’d like to know about the things you’re studying š And very curios about how your Ullyses reading project will unravel – so keep us posted. Hug!
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A lovely post.
I must confess that I really missed your posts these 2 weeks and was really looking forward to reading this one…
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Aw, you put a smile on my face, Cris! You often do, you know š I’m back to posting every week and my mind’s buzzing with exciting new blogposts and projects – the guest post from Igor is on the way, too and I think you’ll enjoy that. love you and thank you so much for the wonderful friend you’ve always been.
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