I refuse to break my 16-week streak of achieving the total quota of reading. The only thing standing between me and keeping it alive is 1,178 pages.
For the next 5 hours, I have only one task in my scope.
Off to read.
azriel
Beacons of hope
After many months of hiatus, I’m finally back and with a vengeance.
This year has proven to be a behemoth. Each and every one of the categories or milestones that have crossed my path have been achieved with flying colors.
Today marks the 123 day of reading, and I’m already way ahead of schedule, 93 days to be precise. My current total is 38,589 pages, and if this pace is kept, the final tally would put me around the astronomical total of 118,000 pages, which gives me the motivation to at least shoot for the first year over 70,000 pages or better yet, to cross the threshold into a realm that I could have never imagining, but I will not get ahead of myself.
On the broader picture, and since I have already achieved the very significant milestone of getting past the first half of the project, currently at the astounding total of 521,150 pages, my focus has shifted toward two goals.
The first is to get to the next milestone of 3/4 of the way or reach the 750,000 page mark, which, according to my projections, I will achieve on May 4, 2030. Not an ideal date, for it would only leave me with a little over a year to read the final quarter of the project, but as always, this number is slowly dwindling.
The other goal or the whole enchilada, as the namesake of the project clearly states, is to reach the 1,000,00 page mark. Currently, the end date is July 11, 2037, making me 6 years, 1 month, and 6 days late. This date has seen the most drastic shift. In the last 4 months, it has decreased by almost 2 years. The fact of the matter is to keep pounding away at those pages, and eventually, I’ll achieve balance.
One of my current “side quests” was to read a whole bunch of books that have been sitting on my shelves for far too long in an expanse of two months. I’m not pleased to say that there’s still 6 whole books left, and with only 8 days left on the deadline, it’s nearly impossible to reach that goal. Knowing me, that “nearly impossible” is always the catalyst for the craziest and most bat-shit crazy reading sessions.
With that in mind, I’ll better get back to reading.
It’s good the back to dwell between my most beloved abode, to get lost in an infinite sea of ink and words.
Thanks for staying connected and keeping the fire going, I really appreciate it.
Azriel D
A.D.N.
3 little letters that will contain everything this project was always meant to be.
I will shortly be back to writing and share the amazing progress that year sixteen of Lost in a Million Pages has presented.
Off to read
azr
Of Broken Things
I come to realize that in my literary journey, there’s a clear magnetism toward broken and tragic figures. It is no coincidence that one of my yearly traditions is to read Frankenstein.
“Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from Earth. Such a man has a double existence: he may suffer misery, and be overwhelmed by disappointments; yet, when he has retired into himself, he will be like a celestial spirit that has a halo around him, within whose circle no grief or folly ventures.”
Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
But what is it about these figures that call out thru the vast eons of ink and words with such a strong resounding voice? For me the answer is easy, I have felt broken all my life, like an amorphous creature, sawn together with the pieces of what was left over from existence, animated only by chance and a few thousand volts.
There’s a deep echo in the search for meaning by Frankenstein’s Monsters, that there’s more to life than the deformed Visage that his creator bestowed upon him. The major question that comes to me from the harrowing story is: Does the creature deserves the pursuit of a dignified life?
The answer will always be yes, no matter how broken we feel, we deserve redemption, and as our path leads us to the harshest condition the final destination is finding that all the cogs that are inside of us can only be repaired by ourselves.
This is why I think the tradition of reading Frankenstein should come to an end. I need to mend not only the visible scars that have made up the creature that I’m today but more importantly, find the faulty inner gears and gently put them back in place. The time has come to not feel broken, redemption is well within reach, I just have to believe that I deserve it.
Remember, you are a unique beautiful creature that by insurmountable odds is experiencing the breathtaking miracle of existing.
You are enough and you always were.
azr
Fades to black
I came to the realization that a hiatus is well overdue.
I’ll keep on reading.
I will be back pretty soon.
azr
10,000 pages
As I was saying on my last post, there was only the matter of tallying my most recent reads, and second milestone of the year was surely would be surpass.
According to my projections, the 10,000-page day is August 2, of the current year, achieving this a couple of days before is a first in all of my fifteen years of the project.
My current total is 10,827 pages, and my projections still put me over 70,000 total pages at the end of the year.
Off to read.
azr
First challenge of (Y-15)
Here come the impossible tasks that keep me on my feet, and pushing every forward to reach, firstly 500,000 pages, and eventually the coveted 1,000,000 pages.
So, to close-out the week long celebration of my birthday, I’m shooting for a 1,500 pages weekend, with the possibility of a 1,000-page day.
To start the binge reading, I’ll go back to the origins of Middle Earth with the tale of The Fall of Gondolin, the mythical elvish city.
Off to read.
azr.
Pure Bliss
I did it.
I finally crossed the final milestone of the year, 64,942 total pages.
Actually, my current total is 65,150 pages, and with some days left on my year of reading, which ends on Monday, with my 41st birthday.
There’s still a full fleshed update of how things are moving along, but for now, my mind is fixed on other challenges.
Now the challenge is how many more pages I can rack up until then.
For starters, there’s one more book left on the list, Children of Blood Bone by Tomi Adeyemi, just a few pages in, and I’m hooked.
In between, there’s a whole bunch of graphic novels that I’m eager to read. I’ll say that maybe another 1,500 are in order to close-out the year with a bang.
Off to read.
azr
13 years ago
13 years ago I was sitting on our multifunctional table, which at the time function has everything from eating to plotting the future, it was there were this project first came to being.
Now, 4,745 days later I can account for many joyful things both big and small, so many little precious moments that have made this and incredible ride.
That journey is now approaching a new stage, and I am more than excited to see what it brings.
Right now, my total is 369,456 pages. All my efforts are focused on the 241 days left on the current year of reading. Hopefully, I’ll reach the goal of 64,492 pages for this year, my current total is 19,320 pages, and light the way for the next 9 years.
The golden prize of 1,000,000 pages is on the horizon, so buckle up, for it’s going to be one hell of a journey.
Off to read.
azr.
Back in time for Spooktober
After almost a month of digital detox, I’m back just in time to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year, Spooktober.
I have a lot of reading to make-up for, and what better way to reignite this reading engine than some spooky stories.
To keep with the science fiction theme of the year, I’ll start this month’s festivities with one of my favorite franchises, Aliens.
I have been saving this 6 volumes for over a year, this are compilations of some of Dark Horse comics classic stories, I love this kind of edition, because you get some nice variety of stories and amazing artwork.
I start this month with a great reading challenge ahead of me. The total so far for this year is 18,071 pages, around 2,000 pages under my projected total.
That gives me a total of 8,099 pages, this including the 5,000 pages of this month, in order to get back on track.
Although I do not expect to tackle this gargantuan task in one month, my intentions is to at least knock off 1,000 pages from what has accumulated from the pass two months, which have been underwhelming, to say the least.
Now to get to that next milestone for the year, and the bottle of wine that accompanies it.
Off to read.
azr.
lostinamillionpages.com 