Seriously. This year. Seriously seriously seriously seriously, I am going to... START books. Then READ them straight through (STRAIGHT THROUGH!). And then I am going to FINISH THEM.
I am NOT going to keep a stack of 3 or 5 or 12 (it's happened) books on my nightstand, all of which I will pick up, peruse, get really excited about for a week and then never finish... thus losssinnggg any ability to really GLEAN whatever the book has to offer. No no no no no. Finishing finishing finishing finishing finishing.
And I am actually going to READ some of the books I have been MEANING TO READ for like... the last hundred years.
K? Great.
So my plan for 2011 was... all of that... and I was going to be all super-intentional and Read And Finish One Good Book A Month ('good' meaning, preferably not a Shopaholic novel. Although I do love them). And I was not allowed to start another one until I finished that one.
Well so it's March and I've read about half of the book I started in January. (I really like it. But non-Shopaholic books don't go as fast...). And... I cheated and started a second one anyway... but it's because Mayr sent it to me and it's on Ephesians and I'm STUDYING Ephesians right now. So... it's not REALLY cheating. (Oh yeah, and I read The Help. But I did finish that one!!!).
But I am recommitting! I am going to finish the first one! And I am going to keep reading good books! And finishing them! And learning things! And being well-read!
OK, so here's some on my list for this year.
Gilead
Til We Have Faces
One Thousand Gifts
Revelations of Divine Love
Julian of Norwich: A Contemplative Biography
Cloister Walk
Wounded Prophet: A Portrait of Henri J. M. Nouwen
Anyone have suggestions? I'd especially like fiction which still count as something I could feel impressive putting on my bookshelf I MEAN which are good literature.
I am long on staying, I am slow to leave/ especially when it comes to you, my friend.
2 comments:
I have a few suggestions. They're actually all up on my blog. The most important are A Visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan, and Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Both are remarkable, life-giving novels of the very highest quality, custom-designed for maximal emotional response and a surfeit of thought-provocation. Happy reading! (And finishing!)
Two of my favorite novels are Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner and This House of Sky by Ivan Doig. Stegner won the Pulitzer for Angle of Repose another great book, but not my favorite. Both are amazing American authors. It took me awhile to get into Sky, but I loved it. As for classics, if you've never read The Count of Monte Cristo, it's a great read! I'm working my way through Anatomy of the Soul - not as fun, but necessary for my life.
Lisa
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