Graduate Evelina, who read 100 books a year: “There were people who said it was impossible” | Culture

– Read 100 books a year – how did you come up with the idea? How did the people around you react?

– I came up with this challenge in the summer, before I was 17 years old. I went out into the street thinking about books and the interesting things I could do with them. I thought about how much fun it would be to read a lot of books in a relatively short time. Thus was born the idea of ​​reading 50 books. For me, that number turned out to be small, unimpressive, so I decided that if I read 100 books, it would definitely look solid. When I decided how many books to read, I started thinking about when to start. The first thought was January 1. Today it is fashionable to set New Year’s goals. But I had to wait a long time until January and I wanted to start my idea earlier. I wondered which holiday was closer and remembered that my birthday was coming soon. That is why September 11 became the beginning of a challenge.

There were people who, when they found out, said that it was really impossible, that I could not do anything in a year, but there were also those who supported, encouraged not to give up, were happy with the idea.

– Among the books read are works by authors such as Graham Swift and Ali Smith. How was the selection of books? How did the books get to you?

– These books fell into my hands by complete accident. I walked through the library of my country, most of the books there. When I saw them, I read a description that interested me, and as a result, I decided to read the entire book.

Some books were recommended for friends, parents, teachers to read, others I chose myself. I often didn’t even read the description because I wanted the book to surprise me. I tried to take books of different genres as different as possible. I wanted to go over as many stories as possible.

– Which of the books read were most memorized and which were disappointing?

– I’ll probably never forget Jay Asher’s book Thirteen Reasons. It is a book that really touched me. I myself go to school and I know, I see how children can sometimes accidentally hurt themselves a lot. It is this book that I think every teenager should read.

I also really liked these books: “Girl” by Torey L. Hayden, “Cut and Never Stumble” by Patricia McComick, “Weather for Breakfast” by Jana Frey, “Wake Me When It’s Over” by Robin Schneider.

Photo from personal archive / Evelina Kazlauskaitė

– What is the secret of your reading, how did you manage to read 100 books a year? What are your reading habits?

– I love books and it is a great pleasure for me to read them. So when you do what you love and the time comes. In fact, it was not very easy to reconcile reading with school because homework was required and the music school had to keep up. As a result, I knew from the start that I would read most of the books in the summer, because then you don’t have to worry about preparing for the next day’s tests. That’s right, I read 39 books in the summer.

For many, it becomes strange when I say that I read books and listen to music at the same time. Then they ask me how I concentrate, how I understand what I read, because after all, music is distracting. But in fact it is much easier for me to read when the music I like is playing in the background, sometimes it becomes difficult to silently understand what I am reading. This is probably because music is my second passion and it almost never shuts up at home.

– 100 books have become the limit or do you feel like you could read more in a year?

– I think I could really read more books. Who knows, maybe one day I will set a goal to read 200 …

Photo from personal archive / Evelina Kazlauskaitė

– It is often said about reading that the number of books read is ambiguous, because what we remember from these works is important. As in your case, do you remember what was said in all the books? Perhaps while reading you marked interesting thoughts, prepared descriptions of the books you read?

– I agree that it is not the number of books read that matters, but what we get from them. I did this challenge because I was curious to see if I could read that many books in one year. There are some books that I did not fully understand myself, it would be more difficult to know what they were. But I think I could really tell almost everything by reminding them of the characters.

Did I tag my favorite thoughts? Yes, I took photos of them over the phone and then transcribed them into a notebook. Since I took the books out of the library, I couldn’t have them for a long time, and there were some that I didn’t even want to return because the whole book, from cover to cover, was infinitely interesting. I have marked those books on the phone and plan to purchase them in the near future.

– What are these books?

– The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Thirteen Reasons for Jay Asher, Wake Me When It’s All Over by Robyn Schneider, Breakfast for Breakfast by Jan Frey and A Dull Look. And at least five more books.

– Do you feel any change after reading 100 books in a year? What has this experience given you?

– I feel strengthened, more sure of myself, of my own strength. After all, I have actually read a lot of instructive stories that have changed the perception of life. I learned not to give up, no matter how hard, scary, no matter how painful, to never give up. During the challenge, I came across people encouraging everyone to quit smoking or cheat. Of course, I didn’t listen to them, because I wouldn’t have fooled anything, just myself.

So I can really say that after reading 100 books, going through 100 stories, you start to value life, friends and yourself differently.

– And what’s next? A new reading challenge?

– I am not currently planning a challenge of this magnitude, as I am already a graduate. I have to prepare for the next exams. But right now I am trying to implement an idea related to books. I still can’t reveal what the idea is and what I’m doing, because I don’t know if I will be able to implement it.

– What would you like and what advice would you give to those readers who are still reluctant to take the book in their hands?

– I’d like to try to open the book. I know it sometimes seems boring to read it, etc. But it depends on the book you are reading and if it interests you. Sometimes I can’t take a book in my hands either. This is the case when you need to read from a list of books that you must read at school, because then I feel compelled to read what I don’t want. But since it is mandatory, you have to read them. So I want to read what you like, discover a book that impresses. And don’t stop reading after the first book you don’t like.

– Thanks for the conversation.