Bookshelf Zero - 52 book in 2016 looking dicey

I could have stuck with 30 and been comfortably over my target at this point in the year. No, I saw that I was getting through a book every week, on average, a fewI'm  months into 2016 and decided that should be my target pace for the rest of the year. So here I sit with 19 days left in the year needing to finish 5 books by the end of the year to realize that goal. It's a largely arbitrary and meaningless goal. I won't win anything if I make it or get punished if I fall short. But I committed to the goal and I want to make. 

I'm nearly finished with Swann's Way. Sticking with my 10-15 page a day quota should get me through this long standing reading goal (first attempted in 1998) by Christmas. That's leaves 4. I'm almost half way through The Caine Mutiny. Good book. Thick book. I'm not sure if I'm better off leaving this one behind for a bit while I race through some shorter stuff or keep plugging away at this one with a goal of getting it wrapped up by next week. Let's just say I finish it. That leaves 3.

Nineteen days to read 3 books in their entirety while still chipping away at Swann's Way and The Caine Mutiny. I need more books like The Stranger. That was a one day read. I bought it just for that reason. It's still echoing in my brain. It makes me want to read more Camus. That desire will have to wait while I read Lowboy or The Reef of some other 200-250 page book sitting on my shelf. The books are there. I just have to find them. And find the time to read them. I have lots of days off coming. 

Finishing 5 books would lower my pending pile to 172. I want to start 2017 with no more than 175 books to read so that would give me room to pick up 3 more before the ball drops on December 31. That's the real motivation. The more books I manage to finish this year, the more I can buy before I cut myself off in 19 days.