Sunday, December 31, 2006

The Year in Review

I started this blog with the sole purpose of keeping track of my reading activities; the books I wanted to read, the books I was reading, and my thoughts about all of it. Looking back at my posts, I don't think that I did too badly. Granted, I've had several lapses here due to a variety of reasons (and yes, some of them could have been avoided), but I never stopped reading, so I'm going to say that overall, it's a win.

Now, last December, my first post, I posted several things that I was going to try and do this year, reading-wise. Out of the four of them, I have to say that only one of them was a success. I've posted 67 books in the sidebar, which means that I read 17 more than I "had" to. I only managed to read 5 classical books (I'd hoped for 21) and 5 to be read books (I'd hoped for 12)...hmm, I was almost halfway to meeting that second goal there, wasn't I? In any case, I'm still seeing them as wins, despite the fact that I didn't met my goals, because hey, in each case, I read 5 more in 2006 than I had in 2005. I also managed to read a few books that weren't fiction, although not as many as I would have liked; but a win is a win, yes?

So this year, I'm going to do the same things again: post reading resolutions.
I just have to come up with some first.

Resolution 1: Read more non-fiction.
I know, I always say this, and I always mean it...yet it never seems to happen. I've got dozens of books I want to read, on a variety of topics, but I never seem to even start them. In an effort to do so, I've put 6 of them on hold/reserve/what have you at the library; one for every other month.

1. Great Fueds in Mathematics: Ten of the Liveliest Disputes Ever by Hal Hellman
2. Altered States by Catherine Fisher
3. Catching a Wave: Reclaiming Feminism for the 21st Century edited by Rory Dicker and Alison Piepmeier
4. Literature and the gods by Roberto Calasso
5. Before the Fallout: from Marie Curie to Hiroshima by Diana Preston.
(Okay, this one is kind of cheating, since I'd read almost 2/3rds of this work before I had to give it back. Still, I didn't get the chance to finish it, so it's going back on the list.)
6. A Midwife's Tale by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich

Resolution 2: Read more classical novels
Well, seeing as how I managed to read 5 of these starting in the later half of the year, I think that making a goal of reading 6 should be no problem; yes, one for every other month.

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
2. Bleak House by Charles Dickens
3. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
4. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
5. The Vampyre by John Polidori
6. The Inferno by Dante
(7. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky)

Resolution 3: Post weekly, and with content.
Honestly, I think this one is going to be the hardest out of all of them, unsurprising, I'm sure.

And that's it, three goals. I'm not going to bother with the 50 books goal, or trying to read in an alphabetical list (although I might post one if I seem to be reading in that direction). No, instead I'm just going to concentrate on reading these 12 books this year (1 a month, could I have set myself easier goals?) and posting my thoughts.

Happy New Year!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good luck with the goals. If I accomplish even part of mine I am usually happy. I would like to read A Midwife's Tale eventually, too! Glad to see you back!

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year, too! :)

Booklogged said...

Happy New Year and best of luck with your reading goals.

Heather said...

Thanks Danielle. I haven't had a chance to comment over at your site yet, but you look to have some ambitious goals yourself.

Happy New Year to you too Booklogged; I'll have to swing by your sight to see what your aiming for this year.

Carl V. Anderson said...

LOL! I'm glad you said it because my first thought was that #3 would be the hardest. Happy New Year!

Heather said...

Happy New Year to you too Carl! Yup, it's the posting that's going to get me, I already know it.

Anonymous said...

I've got the Calasso book too. It looks very interesting, doesn't it? I hope to get to it this year, but my list is already very long.

Heather said...

Really Stefanie...hmm, maybe it was on your site that I saw it? It's been so long that I can't remember who recc'd it or where I first saw it. Yes, I thought it would a really interesting read last year, but never found the time for it.

I'll let you know how it goes, once (Oh, please let it be once, not if) I start it.