This year I made a goal on Goodreads to read 45 books. I easily finish 12 a year as I have been practicing goal-making for years, and know what I am able to accomplish with reading in 365 days. This year instead of 40, which is often a goal now, I added another 5 to my list as a means of challenging myself and pushing just a wee,-tiny-almost unnoticeable-but definitely beneficial, extra few books. I keep my options open as the year unfolds because I stumble across new ones, receive recommendations, and there are always books being newly published. But, I like to pick 12 that I could focus on reading, for sure, within the year.
These are my 12 -for sure- choices:
12. Reading Like a Writer - Francine ProseI love that USA Today's quote about the book is, "A love letter to the pleasures of reading." How delightful is that? I have a feeling this could be, potentially, one I read again and again. But we'll see, I'll read it first and then decide. I wonder if I should start with this and get my pleasure-of-reading machine warmed up?
11. Novel Destinations; Literary Landmarks from Jane Austens Bath to Ernest Hemingway's Key West - Shannon McKenna Schmidt & Joni Rendon
My husband and I recently visited Hemingway's home recently (with his 50 polydactyl cats!). I was in love with that entire experience, and am so excited to learn of other literary landmarks I can learn of and seek to experience. Wouldn't it just be exhilarating to plan a holiday around visiting these landmarks? A type of literary bingo, or scavenger hunt. I wonder if my husband would go for that?
10. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
I am wholly embarrassed to have to admit that I have never picked up, or read, Pride and Prejudice. Am I the only one on earth who hasn't? I feel as though I just exposed myself in holed underwear. How humiliating to NOT have read this classic yet. I must rectify this soon!
9. The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern
I picked this up in 2012, with all, and good, intentions to read it, but with book club reading requirements and other reads stacked up on my bookcase, this one never found it's way into my hands with a purpose to start and finish it. The premise seems interesting to me. I am hopeful that it lives up to the hype. I often stay very clear of best sellers until they have lost their attention in media and bookstores. I like to read what others don't often come across when first entering a bookstore's front door. If it's brand new, I probably won't read it for years. Probably. Sometimes I make an exception, such as with the Night Circus.
8. Our Glad - Joyce Warren
This old book (1957) has been on my bookcase awhile. I found this treasure at a second hand book sale and it caught my attention simply because of the word, 'glad'. I surmised that it must be a happy book to read. I read a note about it on Goodreads and the end of the summary says, "most of all it will leave readers feeling happy." Mmm, that confirms it; a happy, glad-full read!!
7. Against the Tide - Elizabeth Camden
Sometimes all that satisfies me is falling into a historical mystery. Reviews by readers are all quite excellent; four or five stars from what I could see. I decided that it may be a nice escape read! Nothing too challenging, and probably great for a snowy, winter weekend when all I want to do is drink hot chocolate and stay in my pj's all day. Maybe I'll invite my little cat to snuggle onto my lap.
6. Postcards from Cedar Key - Terri Dulong
Since my husband and I travelled to Florida recently and fell in love with all things Key West and Florida Keys on the whole, this is a read that I am hoping will transport my imagination there, back to where we had a glorious week of R&R. There is chocolate and knitting as part of this fictional tale, so it promises to be up my alley!
5. Party of the Century: The Fabulous Story of Truman Capote and His Black-and-White Ball - Deborah Davis
A few years ago I read the Truman Capote biography by Gerald Clarke. I could not put it down. In fact, once my library book was returned, I promptly went out and bought the bio for my library. Capote captivates me. I love glamour and any thing "fabulous". The book promises to talk of guests and party details that I am quite sure will have me begging for time travel so I could don my best black dress, sparkliest bling, and clutch my black velvet evening bag within it, secreted a bright red lipstick. In fact, I may dress like that, just to read it. I'll drink a flute of Champagne of course. Why not?
4. The Waldorf-Astoria; America's Gilded Dream - Ward Morehouse III
My mother gave me this book awhile ago. She found it on a shelf of free books. She read it and told me it was a must-read; that it would satisfy my inner voyeurism for the glamorous lives of the moneyed and mighty. I haven't had the opportunity to read it just yet. Maybe I should correct that... I haven't been in the mood to read this one. The way she explained it, this book has some delicious stories about the New York hotel. To be in the mood for this, I need to have a whole day (without a single responsibility) to snuggle into my reading nest with something decadent and sinful to snack upon. I want to get my mouth all covered in melted chocolate and my eyes a mess with all the salacious details of the pleasures and scandals it has to share. It's a biography of the hotel. Which, interests me a great deal. A biography of a building. Interesting.
3. A Tramp Abroad - Mark Twain
I like reading travelogues and from what I can understand from this book, it's a series of anecdotal sketches of his travels in Europe. Originally published in 1880, it is more than one hundred years old. I am not sure what this book will truly offer yet, but I expect it will make me yearn for a vacation.
2. Judge Crater, the Missingest Person; How He Disappeared and Why They Couldn't Find Him - John Winslow Gibson
Recently my husband got me started on the Sci-Fi show, 'Enterprise'. I had never seen it, not being a huge fan of science fiction for the most part (except original Star Trek; Captain Kirk was *hot*). On one episode in season one of 'Enterprise', one of the characters mentions this Judge Crater and how he went missing. I needed to know if that was really true. It was. How had I never heard of this man? The story seems extremely interesting to me. I also have ordered another book about this, and plan to read it this year, Vanishing Point; The Disappearance of Judge Crater and the New York He Left Behind, by Richard J. Tofel.
1. 52 Loaves; A Half Baked Adventure - William Alexander
I happened across this one day when seeking out a new memoir. Memoirs about obscure experiences seem to be on the top of my happy-to-read list the last few years. The premise of this book sounds interesting enough; Mr. Alexander seeks to perfect a type of bread he ate at a restaurant. I may choose to stop at my favorite bakery for a loaf (or two... ya know, just in case I don't like the first loaf... *chuckle) to enjoy with a bottle of wine and some chili chocolate for dessert, in order to experience this book, entirely. f I like this book and Mr. Alexander's writing style, I may also venture into his other book, The $64 Tomato; How One Man Nearly Lost His Sanity, Spent a Fortune, and Endured an Existential Crisis in the Quest for the Perfect Garden. If for no other reason that this is probably the longest title of a book I've ever picked up!
I hope you have selected some excellent books to read this year! I'd love to know what you are planning to read. It's nice to learn of something from others, that perhaps I had never heard of, or happened upon on my own. Happy reading, and good luck with your goals for this coming year!!
