Lots of people love making new year’s resolutions. I have mixed feelings about them, but I do believe that Maggie Stiefvater’s advice, if you’re inclined to make resolutions, is very sound.
This year, I’ve decided to make some sorta loose resolutions in my head about boring things like getting new light fixtures in the kitchen. But you don’t want to hear about those. Instead, I will share with you my 2010 Reading Resolutions. I figure these are slightly more interesting, and I can ask you to share yours, as well. Because even though my to-be-read pile is teetering so high it’s about to brain me, I still want to add to it. Because I live dangerously that way. So, here goes:
Malinda’s 2010 Reading Resolutions
1. I will read the following four novels. Why four? Because it splits up to one per quarter, and on top of all the other reading I plan to do, I think it’s doable.
2. When I read these books, I will blog about them as proof.
3. The books are:
- Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel — This is the big fat historical novel about Thomas Cromwell that won the 2009 Man Booker Prize. It defeated Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger, which I thought was absolutely brilliant. I want to read the book that is supposedly more brilliant. Amy bought it over the holidays, so I have no excuses.
- Persuasion by Jane Austen — It is one of the greatest shames of my life as a writer that I have only read two Jane Austen novels (Pride and Prejudice and Northanger Abbey). This year, I will read a third. After I saw this post at Justine Larbalestier’s, I decided that Persuasion shall be this third novel. I already own it (because I own the complete works of Jane Austen, even if I’ve only read two of them so far), so I have no excuses with this one, either!
- Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh — This is one children’s book I have never read, but have always heard about. And then I read Kathleen T. Horning’s essay about it in the Horn Book, and I realized I really needed to read it. So I will. I bought it the other day.
- Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler — I believe that anyone who’s interested in feminist science fiction and the way that race can be explored in this genre (that would be me) should read Butler. And I haven’t. Not yet. So this year I will. I’ve chosen Parable of the Sower because it incorporates a ton of my favorite storytelling elements: dystopia, religion, starting a new community/civilization. I haven’t bought this book yet, but that’s because I have to special order it from my local bookstore. I will.
So, those are my 2010 Reading Resolutions. What are you planning to read this year?
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You will love PERSUASION. I promise.
Guaranteed? Cool.
Funny you posted this Malinda…my overall resoluations are:
a) To read more and watch less TV. I’ve set a goal of 25 books for the year (which for me is a lot). So far I’ve already finished “The Little Stranger” which was fantastic!
b) Work out at least three times a week. I think this is reasonable.
c) Go to bed and wake up at the same time everyday. So far this one is proving impossible.
Happy New Year!
I never read as a child or teenager. I hate to say it but I actually hated reading! So it was strange when my husband had picked up an Octavia Butler book and I started reading over his shoulder. After we finished that book, I picked up all the Octavia Butler books my library had and after that I just kept reading anything and everything I could. I really enjoyed Parable of the Sower and I hope you do also
Hurrah for reading PERSUASION — and I’d love to hear what you think about WOLF HALL (haven’t had a chance to read it yet, either).
I love the idea of having reading resolutions, too.
A couple of books I’d like to read this year are:
1.) “Heat Wave” by Richard Castle
I became a fan of the TV series “Castle” recently. I have never read crime novels, so perhaps this would be a good start.
2.) “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” by Jared Diamond
I read his earlier book, “Guns, Germs, and Steel”, which was a very interesting read. This book seems like it will be interesting also.
Love&Peace
I love crime fiction. I used to read masses of it, but lately I’ve been mostly reading YA.
These are all superb books. I envy you reading them for the first time. Mantel’s POV choices were pretty interesting; maybe I’ll blog about the book, too. Anyway, looking forward to hearing your take on them.
I’ve heard the POV can sometimes be confusing. I’m looking forward to seeing if it works for me.
This sounds like a great reading list! By which I mean it contains two of my favorites (Persuasion and Harriet–and since my reading goal is not to re-read, you will have to enjoy them for me) and two books I would very much like to read. If only I could pare my reading goals down to something so precise, diverse, and (hopefully!) attainable.
I need to read Persuasuion and Northanger Abbey. I loved Pride & Prejudice. Emma was ok and I liked Mansfield Park.
My reading resolutions are to read/review more. Especially more books about guys and GLBT teens. And I want to start reading more of the classics, although school will probably take care of that!
Parable of the Sower is one of my favorites…Sadly we lost Octavia Butler way too soon. Her last book, Fledgling, is another excellent read and provides an entirely new spin on vampire lore. Trust me, it’s no Twilight.
I really enjoy Ash, by the way. I came to it through your write up in John Scalzi’s Big Idea feature.
Thanks so much! It’s so great that Scalzi’s Big Idea feature continues to help authors spread the word. I have gotten so much feedback from that one post.
Oh “Harriet the Spy” – I do adore “Harriet”! I wish you had read it when you were younger though – it’s the sort of book that is fine for adults but truly fabulous for the 11 year old crowd.
My big reading resolution is no dead dog books. I am truly burned out on the death of man’s best friend and think a break is certainly in order.
Hear, hear, no more books when dogs die. I’ve sworn off all movies in which dogs die, too. Ugh.
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