Today is Thursday, Aug. 22, which gives us 10 days until Labor Day. You may be asking yourself why I feel this is important, well it’s because I’m behind pace to meet my book goal. Summer is usually the time that I say I will catch up on this goal, and clearly my time is running out. As such, I’m going to challenge myself to close this gap over the next 10 days by reading 5 books.

Here’s the idea: I’ll give myself until the end of Labor Day to complete 5 books. I’m technically behind my pace by 9 books, however, looking at my commitments between now and Labor Day, it doesn’t seem realistic that I will complete all 9 in that time period, so I chose the more realistic, but still reaching goal of 5 books!

Now for the good part: Which books?

Very Nice Marcy Dermansky

This needs to be completed by Wednesday so that I can talk about it at the Girl’s Night In book club meet up in Philadelphia. I started it this week, but am only a dozen pages in, if that. So that’s first on my list.

Scratch edited by Manjula Martin

This is a collection of stories by authors discussing, as the subtitle suggestions “Writers, money, and the art of making a living.” Authors include Cheryl Strayed, Jennifer Weiner and Roxanne Gay. I also started this book earlier this week and have completed two short entries at this point.

You Are a Badass Jen Sincero

Need I say more? My own badass friend purchased this for me for Christmas and it’s been sitting on my bedside table ever since. It’s the perfect time to get it done, specifically because I think I need to absorb its messages around this time of year.

Body Positive Power Megan Jayne Crabbe

It’s not typically my preference to hang on to books for an extensive amount of time, but unfortunately, a friend of mine gave me this book to read MONTHS ago and I still have it. So, I’ll use this time to stop being that bad book borrowing friend and get it back to her.

The Bluest Eye Toni Morrison

This is, sadly, the only Toni Morrison book I currently own. (I’ve read at least one other, but I no longer own it.) I can think of no better way to honor her recent passing than to take in some of her delicious words. I believe this is her first novel and I’m very much looking forward to it. (The collected works of Toni Morrison is also on Barack Obama’s summer reading list, most of which I intend to read.)

OK, that’s it 5 books, 10 days, to get me closer to achieving my final goal of 48 books for the year. Where are you toward your book goal? Are you planning some hard-core reading time between now and the unofficial end of summer?