54. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – Louis de Bernieres (100 book challenge)

Fifty-four books done!

In my very first post back in 2014 – when my almost now-10-year old was a little baby and I was wondering where I was going to find the time to read all these books – I calculated that it was going to take approximately 1,500 years to get through the 100 book challenge, at the rate I was reading at the time.

The other day I mentioned to my partner that I was about to finish Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, that I’d started 6 months ago.

“It must be a terrible book!”

No.

“It’s actually a great book. I’m enjoying it a lot.” I’m just REALLY slow at reading.

So here’s the thing. The 100 book challenge hasn’t helped me read any faster (I’d hoped that maybe it would). Some nights I’ll get through just one or two pages before I start dozing off… but that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m reading a bad book.

Captain Corelli’s Mandolin is the perfect example of a book I loved, that simply took a long time to get through. Amongst the busy-ness of everyday life – work, kids, school, family – I loved escaping to the islands of the Ionian Sea to gaze at the blue-green waters, hunt for snails, and run my fingers through the fur of a pet goat. I heard the chords of Corelli’s mandolin, was mesmerised by Pelagia’s beauty, could smell the chopped onions, and felt the deep fear when the Germans finally invaded.

It’s a book that spans a lifetime and gave me a view of another part of the world that I’ve had very little to do with to date. So many of the books in this challenge have done that – allowed me travel the world (and travel in time) when life itself won’t allow it.

(PS my maths-loving almost-10-year-old reading over my shoulder right now has done an updated calculation on my reading rate. He’s predicted that I’ll finish this challenge in January 2030, when I’m 49 years old… that actually sounds pretty achievable!)

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In July 2014 I set myself the challenge to finish 100 must-read books before I die. For my ongoing tally click here.

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