How it all started

Anyone reading this probably thinks my sister Rachel is nuts. Who would even attempt to read 365 books in one calendar year? Why would you even try it? Are there even 365 books worth reading? Lots of questions, and we've got the answers.

You have to understand something about my sister: she does nothing half way. She's all in, or she's out. She's like Tiger Woods, minus the infidelities, or Michael Jordan minus the gambling problems: driven to succeed at anything she does.

When we younger, she was determined to by Air Jordans as her shoes for the freshman basketball team, but there was no way my parents could afford them. So she saved every penny, had several of my brothers pay her to do their chores, and did anything my parents asked her to do to get a little cash. Not only did she get the Air Jordans, she had money left over. I think that was the same year I bought $25 Patrick Ewing shoes during my tour of the JV team because I had wasted all my money on comic books. It was like playing baskeball on roller skates.

So when a friend told Rachel that she had read 52 books in 2009, Rachel was impressed. She had wanted to read more, but 52 seemed too few. She needed to take it up a notch. But not just a couple notches, she decided to take it to 365. It's like hearing someone ran a 5K and then deciding the next day to sign up for the Iron Man.

At first, she was reluctant to publicize her goal. What if after 30 days she had read 10 books and abandoned her ambition? Well, that hasn't happened. As of day 68, she had read 67 books. So her ambition has not cooled, and her goal is still in sight. Because she's spending her free time reading, I (her brother Adam) have taken the mission of chronicling her adventures in reading. So at least once a week between now and Dec. 31, 2010, I will be providing updates on what she's reading, lessons she's learning, books she's loving, and other she's hating.

For more frequent updates, you can follow her adventures at Twitter: @365books365days.

Let the reading begin.