Y'all. I failed at my 2017 reading goal. I literally had only one book on my reading list for the year and I didn't finish it.
<insert, audible dramatic sigh>
Team of Rivals is my nemesis. It's been haunting me for going on 8 years now.
Let's review:
Adam gave me his copy of Team of Rivals, perhaps as far back as when we were dating but not engaged? (That's in the range 2009-2010)
I tried to read it, but let's be honest, I had other, more pressing matters to attend to. (Read: we were having too much fun being bright young things in the DC area. It was a 'wild' time.) In my defense, I did start it.
So, then we're married (2010 if you're keeping track) and I definitely have more down time. However, Team of Rivals is (literally) not a light read. You can't read that in bed. Because the 900 something pages make it impossible to hold for any length of time. I don't have a kindle at this juncture in my life.
2011 rolls around and I get Team of Rivals on CD from the library (this was pre-Overdrive for me) and it turns out deep dive history doesn't make for stellar audiobook content for me. I want to take notes, and be able to go back and check out "now who was Kate Chase again?"
Between 2011 and last year, I made several attempts to start and finish the book again. It's sort of become a standard piece I decorate living rooms with by this point.
In 2016 I decided that this was it. I was getting Team of Rivals on my kindle and I was going to read it all! That did not work out. Turns out Team of Rivals isn't that easy to get from your library. Probably because there are scores of fools like me trying to make their way through it and they keep having to check it out. Again. And again. And again.However, 2016 was also the year I figured out the trick that will save us all. Did you know that your kindle can be switched to offline mode? And when your kindle is offline, your 21 day library loan doesn't automatically expire? Well paint me pink and call me Danny, y'all! It's true.
So, in 2017, with my goal to finish just this one book in mind, when I finally was first in line for the long awaited kindle version of Team of Rivals from one of the 5 libraries I borrow from? (Keep those library cards kids) I kept that sucker. And it's still there. For anyone still counting - it's now 2018.
How come I didn't finish it in 2017? I got nothing.
All I know is that I still have it on my kindle. I finished multiple books in 2017 but Team of Rivals remains. As of last night, I have 300 pages left. However, I've also already read 4 other books this year. (My Lady Jane, How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids, A Wrinkle in Time and Small Great Things) A house divided cannot stand, Ladies and Gents.
