2009 Reading Goals
I've been pondering my reading goals for 2009 for a few weeks, and have settled on a list that I think will be challenging yet attainable.
-Read 52 Short Stories
-Specific books to read:
-The Scarlett Letter
-The Awakening
-Lolita
-Great Expectations
-Attend 15 book events
When setting the number of total books to aim for, I almost went with 80, a much safer number since I read 87 this year. But I figured that I'm so close to 100 that I might as well shoot for it. I'd like to read more graphic novels and kid's lit books anyway this year, so doing that will help me reach my goal.
100 books in a year comes out to 8.3333 books per month, so I'm going to aim for 9 books per month. In the past few years I've always had a few "dud" months where I barely read anything. (Like June of 2008). If I'm going to hit 100 books I'll definitely need to avoid dud months. I don't want to avoid longer books either, so I'll definitely need some kid's lit and other fast reads to help balance out the longer books.
For my short story goal - my goal is to read a variety of stories from: The New Yorker, McSweeney's, The Paris Review, and many various anthologies I own. I won't count individual stories in a short story collection by a single author if I read them all consecutively and finish the book.
As for the specific books to read, there was no rhyme or reason to their selection, they are just classics that I've owned and been meaning to read for a while.
And one last goal that I didn't include in the list (because it's hard to quantify) - I'd like to buy more of my books at independent bookstores. I already buy quite a bit at Indie stores, especially Strand, but I could definitely improve. Particularly when it comes to brand new books, Amazon's40% off has been too affordable to resist. I'd even like to shop more at the Hoboken Barnes and Noble (over Amazon) - I love having a place to buy new books right in Hoboken, especially on the weekends. The only other bookstore in Hoboken is great, but only sells used books and has a limited selection. I'm not Anti-Amazon, but in this economy it's much healthier to support local stores and workers.
One last, important thing: I need to buy way fewer than 191 books this year! My wallet and apartment bookshelves demand it!
So - we'll see how I do! I have a lot of other personal goals this year that will consume time, so if I come up shy of 100 books read I won't be too surprised. But I figure it's best to aim high, and it'd be wonderful to have a 100 book year in 2009.
Comments
I want to read The Awakening and Lolita, too. I own both of them but haven't read them yet. I read The Scarlett Letter in 11th grade and wasn't a huge fan. But maybe your patience and wisdom at 20-something will make it better.
I also would like to shop at more indie book stores. Unfortunately there are none here. Like zero. I was spoiled in Ann Arbor and San Francisco. Apparently Floridians like them their big box bookstores.
PS - I feel like a stalker today because I keep commenting on your comments/posts very quickly. I promise it's just a coincidence. ;)
Good luck with your goals! I can't even imagine reading 100 books a year :oO But I'm reading some children's books and stuff so far this year, so I can (hopefully) read more than the 30-some I read in 2008.
I really wish that I had a local bookstore :o( I wouldn't mind supporting it over Amazon, especially because of the additional shipping prices Amazon has. But the closest bookstore is a Books-A-Million (big chain, I guess) and it's about 20 miles away. This helps me not buy books so I can save my money though, so there's a silver lining I suppose.
Wow 100 books! Good luck! :)
Of the classics you've mentioned I've only read Lolita. I think I might have been a bit too young for it at the time though because I didn't really liked it while reading it, but appreciated it much later when I read an in depth analysis of it. I'd like to give it another go now that I'm a bit older.
Last year I spent a lot of time learning about the Hawthornes while I was in the Concord area, and have been reading about the entire literary circle there. I'm hoping the knowledge and affection I've gained for the whole crew of Concord authors helps me appreciate The Scarlet Letter more than I would have otherwise. I'll definitely post my thoughts on it when I'm done.
Maybe you could try shopping at Indie Bookstores online. The Strand has very reasonable shipping prices (especially when you buy more than one book) and they have book deals that are so cheap they are often cheaper than Amazon even with shipping. http://www.strandbooks.com/
Another indie store with a huge online selection is Powell's - http://powells.com/ - I haven't bought anything from there yet, but I'm going to keep it in mind for future purchases. :)
A few comments up I suggested a few online independent stores to Michelle. Would not help your goal to buy less books this year, but might be worth searching if there's anything in particular you're looking for. Strand especially might have some cheap copies of the older classics you'll need for your book from every year challenge. :)
Also, one of my favorite things to do when I travel is to check out the independent bookstores in the city/town I'm in. I always have to make sure to save room in my suitcase. :)
Wow! 100 books for this year is amazing! I see that you have already completed 9 in Jan! Amazing! All the best! Hope you reach 100 by the end of the year! I have read 'Great Expectations' when I was in school, but haven't read any of the others. One of my friends tells me that Nabokov's prose in 'Lolitha' is very beautiful. Have to give it a try sometime. I did 50 books last year. This year I was in a quandry on whether to aim high or low. I thought I will aim low (24 books) and try to read bigger books. Have decided not to count graphic novels in this. Some of the big ones that I am planning to read are 'War and Peace', 'The Pickwick Papers' and 'In Search of Lost Time' (by Marcel Proust). If I finish just 'In Search of Lost Time' out of these three, I will be happy :-) I also liked the fact that you bought 191 books last year. I was feeling quite guilty about the purchases I did last year and had resolved not to buy many this year, but it doesn't seem to work - everytime I go to the bookshop, I end up buying a bagful of books :-) Nice to find a similar thinking soul here :-)
I started In Search of Lost Time last year, and absolutely loved what I read. I had the wrong approach to it though, I tried to read a little at a time while I read other things. Next time I will keep my focus only on Proust, and hopefully that will help! :)
I'm doing ok with not buying quite so many books this year. I've purchased 7 books (that I'm counting) this month, much less than most of the months last year! However, I cheat in my totals. :) I don't count books that I buy at my library's book sale (because they are 10 cents, and I usually end up giving them away anyway). I also don't count it if I buy a copy of a book I already own (such as the copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray I just purchased and posted about) - since those don't actually add another title to my unread books.
Wonderful to know that you tried 'In Search of Lost Time' last year! You are only the second person I know who has tried reading the book :-)
I found your idea of keeping track of books purchased quite interesting. I got inspired by it and am thinking of doing it myself :-)
Your blog is wonderful :-) Looking forward to reading your postings and essays.