Resolutions: Books

Posted on by Librin Latone

So for 2018 I did the “Goodreads Challenge” – and if you aren’t on Goodreads, I recommend it – I love being able to add stuff in the library or bookstore or wherever to my “to read” list and go back later to re-find the things I couldn’t pick up at the time but want to read. Sorry, that’s my plug for the week.

I set the challenge of reading 60 books in 2018. I ended up reading 62. Now, I counted anything that was on Goodreads. All my re-reads, all my new books, audiobooks – everything. I read a lot. I never felt like I had to go find a short book to fit in the challenge. There were 2 books I started and gave up halfway through (rare, but it does happen!)

In 2019 I set the goal of 12.

This year I am going to work on reading some of the classics I’ve always missed for one reason or another. So here is my list to pull from, I will plan to read at least 12 of these books; several of which I am ashamed to say I’ve never actually read.

  1. Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)
  2. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
  3. A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess)
  4. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
  5. Silence (Shusaku Endo)
  6. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
  7. My Sister’s Keeper (Jodi Picoult)
  8. The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath)
  9. The God of Small Thing (Arundhati Roy)
  10. The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. LeGuin)
  11. The Phantom Tollbooth (Norton Juster)
  12. The Great Gatsby (F. Scott Fitzgerald)
  13. Their Eyes were watching God (Zora Neale Hurston)
  14. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
  15. Kidnapped (Robert Louis Stevenson)

I swear I’ve read a LOT of books! I’ve read other Dickens works but never Two Cities. I’ve read awful classics like Madame Bovary (I understand how it was influential in it’s time, but now….). I’ve already read a LOT on peoples’ “Must Read” lists like To Kill a Mockingbird, 1984, and Pride & Prejudice. BUT, I know I have some gaps. I’m embarrassed by some of these gaps.

So in 2019, I am going to fix this! I am going to go back and try to fill those gaps. One a month should be doable. A good number of these I know I can get for free from Librivox/Gutenberg. Most of the rest I bet my library carries…. so I don’t have the excuse of “shouldn’t spend money when renovating house and having baby.” (I know me, I know my excuses!)

Is there anything you think I’m missing? Feel free to suggest anything/everything – I’ll admit if I have NOT read it (hell, I admitted to Great Gatsby – how much more embarrassed could I get???) 

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Published by Librin Latone

Writer, nerd, and perpetual student. I am obsessed with books - both the reading and the making of them. If I won the lottery I would try to have the best private(ish) library in the world. It wouldn't be totally private because the whole purpose of having books is helping other people find a book they will love. I have 2 cats, Genkii (energy) and Kawaii (cutie). I will mention them regularly because they are a daily delight in my life. Granted, sometimes when I'm playing video games they are not so much "delight" as they are "distraction"... but I love them regardless.

2 thoughts on “Resolutions: Books”

  1. You should announce which book you are shooting for each month so those of us who want to read along can do so. This website is part of your brand and I can hardly think anything more on brand for you than “book club” 🙂 Plus over half of those books I have not read and would like motivation to do so.

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    1. I totally plan to – specifically, I was going to try Twitter. I’ve never been good with Tweets, so this was going to be my test. – I will make a post too for sure. I would love company on some of these (and accountability!!)

      I’ll also state where/how I put my hands on the book (Librivox or library or buying)

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