Actually, I do not have that many. Plans, that is. I want to keep my reading a little open. And we all know that I find it hard to stick to reading plans anyway. I have some personal projects listed on the blog, which I want to focus on, and apart from that I have three things I want to focus on in 2012.
I do intend to join Amy in her “Roommate Challenge“. When I saw her going through her list of older acquired books, I thought it would be interesting to see which books had been on my shelves longest. It appears I haven’t really updated my LibraryThing for TBR books before 2008, so I decided to focus on anything listed as TBR up to the end of 2008, which are 32 fiction books. There are also 11 non-fiction books listed, but I have decided to focus on the fiction this time. I love how Teresa tries to read books she has acquired a couple of years ago, and I wanted to take the opportunity if joining Amy in her project. Not sure if I will be able to try all 32 books. I just find it interesting to look into my “older” books, since they often lie around forgotten, instead of only turning to the more recently acquired ones. This is the list:
- Cause Celeb – Helen Fielding
- White Teeth – Zadie Smith
- This is My Life – Meg Wolitzer
- Leaves from the Valley – Joanna Trollope
- The Evening Wolves – Joan Chase
- The Education of Little Tree – Forrest Carter
- Madam Mao – Anchee Min
- In the Name of God – Yasmina Khadra
- Zorro – Isabel Allende
- The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
- The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett
- Open House – Elizabeth Berg
- The Other Boleyn Girl – Philippa Gregory
- Palace of Desire – N. Mahfoez
- Paint it Black – Janet Finch
- The Right Attitude to Rain – Alexander McCall Smith
- Darwin, His Daughter & Human Evolution – Randal Keynes
- Sofie – Marianna Frederiksson
- Vanity Fair – William Makepeace Thackeray
- The Canterbury Tales (A Selection) – Geoffrey Chaucer
- The Virgin Blue – Tracy Chevalier
- Wu – John Clements
- The Name of the Rose – Umberto Eco
- The Other Side of the Story – Marian Keyes
- Siegfried – Harry Mulisch
- An Island in Time: The Biography of a Village – Geert Mak
- Sugar Street – Naguib Mahfoez
- To Kill a Mockingbird – Harper Lee
- Tess of the D’Ubervilles – Thomas Hardy
- The Mayor of Casterbridge – Thomas Hardy
- Pooh and the Millenium – John A Williams
- Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell – Susanna Clarke
Pre-2009 Iris has a slightly different taste in books than I do now. Also, there are some books about which I question my sanity in ever buying them. But there are also titles in the list that I cannot wait to get to, so we’ll see how it goes.
I will also organise another Dutch Literature Month in 2012. It may be a whole month, but since I am hosting on my own I may limit it to two weeks of dedicated reading of Dutch literature. I am planning to make more of an effort in contacting publishers about the project (as stolen from the succesful German Literature Month in November). I just need to decide if June is really the best month to organise this. I could plan it a little earlier (the National Book Week is in March in the Netherlands, for example). Do any of you have a preference?
Furthermore, I want to continue reading for the Year of Feminist Classics project, which Amy, Ana and Emily Jane aim to continue in 2012, although we may start a little later due to all sorts of personal issues interfering with planning these past months.
There are some very interesting challenges around, and I do want to sign up, I just haven’t ultimately decided yet.
Also, I will again venture into the land of not buying too many books this year, and reading my own. But let’s keep that quiet for now, seeing as how I always fail anyway.
Vanity Fair! (Love that one, though I still haven’t acually read the second half.
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I loved White Teeth and the Susanna Clarke so much! The project will be worth it if it encourages you to read those
Best of Luck!
I think the older books should definitely be looked at – maybe read 50-75 pages before you decide – so that you either have read them at the end of the year, or discarded them. In either case, you’ll be done with them forever.
I like Dutch Literature month in April actually, the month of the Queen’s birthday. But really, it doesn’t matter. Any month will do. If you can think of a way to combine forces, maybe I could help you out. Unless you prefer to do it alone, which is more work but also easier to organise.
I’m looking forward to another month of Dutch reading. March sounds fine as well.
I’m looking forward to Dutch Lit month again (I don’t have a preference). And yay for more Feminist Classics: I swear I’ll get in gear & take part this year!
I love making plans and talking about them because it is a way to ensure that I stick by them. Hope it works for you.
I always get overexcited about reading plans during this time of year, but eventually, I sort of fall away from my commitments, and end up not doing so well with them. I think that this year, I am just going to try to read more of my own choices, and less of what is expected of me. If not, I might hit a wall that I can’t bounce back from!
Good luck with your goals, Iris!
So looking forward to DLM 2012! Please, though, not March. Any time after would be fine.
Ooh, I LOVE To Kill a Mockingbird. I hope you manage to read that one. Honestly, I think the TBR pile is just fascinating. I never know what makes me pick up one book off the shelf vs. another one, particularly if it’s been sitting there on the shelf for years, just waiting for me to give it a try. I am sure there are some books I have that I don’t really have any interest in reading any more, but I like to give past-Aarti more credit and feel like I should at least try them before trying to cull the shelves.
Definitely a good idea to steal plans from Lizzy and Caroline
And it would probably also be a good idea to run it with a couple of other English-blogging Dutch people (I’d say English-speaking, but that’s pretty much a tautology!). I would actually suggest a separate blog for it, like Belezza’s JLC blog.
So glad you are joining in
I hope it works out well for all of us – I am allowing myself to abandon books I don’t like as, like you, pre-2009 Amy had different reading taste! It is so hard to focus on the old titles though isn’t it??
I am SO not a planner. If I try to plan my reading, I inevitably fail and feel really guilty about it. That’s why I don’t really accept many review copies…too much pressure. I do like doing a few challenges here and there, but the only one I’ve been fairly successful with is Lit Housewife’s James Bond Challenge.
I was going to focus on Dutch children’s literature in the first two weeks of April on my blog and had been meaning to contact you about it to see whether you might be interested.
Loads of great books on your list, but read To Kill a Mockingbird first!
I love the idea of listing my oldest books and trying to read some of those too, I think I’ll join you in that! Good luck with your goals!
great plans Iris I look forward to dutch lit month again ,all the best for you and the coming year stu
Good luck with your goals. There are some great books on your list!
Some really good books on your list. To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorites. Good luck with all of your goals!
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I look forward to following you during dutch literature month in 2012. As far as the timing goes, March is not such a good time for me, since I expect to be very busy co-ordinating a class. However, I should be able to manage one Dutch book that month anyway if you do organize it that month. Anytime after the middle of May is better for. By the way, a few days ago I reacted to your wrap-up of last year’s Dutch literature month with my opinions about Dutch writers. Buying more books than I can read has also been one of my weaknesses. I have about 8 books of Dutch fiction I was able to buy second hand at good prices through Alibris, which I have not had time to read, and then I also have some unread Dutch fiction and essays on my Sony e-reader.(As far as I know this is the only e-reader sold in the U.S. that accepts the e-pub format, which is used in The Netherlands.)
Jan
I find that my reading tastes have changed too since I acquired a lot of books. My personal TBR challenge is to either read or abandon some of those long-ago purchased books. Best of luck to your on your *whisper* not acquiring books goal.