Round 6! I ah…somehow astonishingly read 80 books last year. I kept a list so I clearly did it I just dunno how I did it. That is surreal…although it’s equally surreal how little that actually dents all the fantastic books that get published every year…or have already been published.

Undaunted I press on…I dunno if I can bat 80 books this year but I will continue to let my curiosity dictate my choices while hoping for moments of synchronicity. At times it feels like I’m stockpiling ideas like a redneck stockpiles guns. I’m not yet certain what form all these ideas echoing in my head will become in the real world. They’re gonna be something…they hafta be. But what?

Sammy Fun Fact: I’ve until September 28 (my birthday) to read 5 books (like with no pictures). If I can do that I’ll have read 80 books (all with no pictures) in a birth-year. I’m currently at 75…mostly non-fiction with some novels tossed into the mix for spice. You can see the whole list via Birth Year Readings V.

Round 5! I’ve no interest in a Fitbit so reading is pretty much the only aspect of my life I’m curious about tracking. Since September 28, 2011 I’ve read 199 books! Which is mildly impressive (“Hello Ladies!”)…and yet it doesn’t dent all that is constantly published, what else I’d like to consume and the dark and strange corners my curiosity pushes me into…asking better questions is far more fun than getting answers: I’m born in the wrong era I’d totally fit in on a Star Trek 5 year mission. Onward, forever forward I go.

To Recap:
Year 4: September 28, 2014 to September 27, 2015 I read:
360 comic books

56 books

100 comic book trades/graphic novels

Year 3: September 28, 2013 to September 27, 2014 I read:

442 comics

65 books

115 comic book trades/graphic novels

Year 2: September 28, 2012 to September 27, 2013 I read:

466 comics

43 books

100 comic book trades/graphic novels

Year 1: September 28, 2011 to September 27, 2012 I read:
486 comic books

35 books

99 comic book trades/graphic novels

And now…here’s where I’m at with Year 5:

Round 4! Since I’ve started tracking most of what I read I find it fascinating: I might be the only one. Heh…So Be It. Some adventures are smaller than others. In Round 3 I hit my one and only goal: more than 52 books in 1 year. I’m satisfied now, not sure that I could top that or keep going at that intense level: I’ve Been to the Mountaintop!

To Recap:
Season 3: September 28, 2013 to September 27, 2014 I read:

442 comics

65 books

115 comic book trades/graphic novels

Season 2: September 28, 2012 to September 27, 2013 I read:

466 comics

43 books

100 comic book trades

Season 1: September 28, 2011 to September 27, 2012 I read:
486 comic books

35 books

99 comic book trades

Currently I am reading:

Saturday September 28, 2013 was my birthday.

Since my 2011 birthday I track, each birth year what I’ve been reading. Only comic books, comic book trades and books. If I tossed in blogs, magazines and cereal boxes this would be a horribly long and boring blog post.

So recently I wrapped Season 2 and now, sans drum roll here are the results…

Season 2: September 28, 2012 to September 27, 2013 I read:

466 comics(monthlys, annuals and one shots)

43 books (still mostly non-fiction but I’ve been rediscovering the novel)

100 comic book trades

And for fun…

Season 1: September 28, 2011 to September 27, 2012 I read:
486 comic books (monthlys and one shots)

35 books (non-fiction mostly)

99 comic book trades (dagnabbit, had I known I was so close I’d have pushed for 1 more)

Whew. Sad thing is, though that may seem like a lot of reading I am not even denting all that’s been written and all that’s been published. Combined this reading would barely stock a small book store. Madness.

Still undaunted I read on! Well, at least until Season 3 concludes on Sunday September 28, 2014.

Friday September 28, 2012 was my birthday.

Not a particular milestone, another notch on the belt of time. Though one year ago I started Birth Year Readings…from birthday to birthday I was curious to see how much I read. I did not include all the various articles, blogs I tend to chew on, rather focusing on my three primary food groups: comics books (monthlys and one shots), books (like with no picture…novels to non-fiction) and comic book trades (collections anywhere from 4 issues to 10 or more).

And it turned out to be a crazy experiment.

From September 28, 2011 to September 27, 2012 I read:
486 comic books (monthlys and one shots)

35 books (non-fiction mostly)

99 comic book trades (dagnabbit, had I known I was so close I’d have pushed for 1 more)

Nuty nuts that is. Still let’s do it all over again and see how much I complete by Friday September 27, 2013.

Wednesday September 28, 2011 is my birthday.

Not a particular milestone, just watching my youth flee like a prison break. I got curious, wondering if I listed everything I read in a birth year how much I actually consumed. I was going to list articles but thanks to twitter and google I…can’t. I go through tons of articles and it’d just be too much, compounded by my avid laziness. So here is what I’ve been reading since Wednesday September 28 2011 (with occasional commentary) to Thursday September 27, 2012. {Special thanks to Brian E for facilitating my crack like connection to comic books.}