Friday, January 01, 2010

Hello, 2010


January 1! Don't you look special! And you are-- S. turns 21 later today. He had to work yesterday so the party is tonight instead of last night, as is tradition.

So. Here are my plans for the year:

I'm going to start keeping track of the reading done by the characters in the fiction I read. I'm going to call it The Reading Habits of Fictional Characters and I'll keep track here on the blog as I encounter it. I have no idea if anyone else takes an interest in the books the people in novels and short stories happen to read, but if anyone else out there enjoys these encounters as much as I do, I'll be happy to provide a Mr. Linky or set up a wiki so that we can find one another and share our discoveries.

And in the same old same old department: I'm going to do my level best to read more books that I already own (or already have checked out from the library: 40 plus, or have already preordered: five) than acquire more. Truly, I have reached the point where I maketh myself sick and I must get it through my head that any new books I hear about in the coming months will still be available in 2011, so why not wait until then to purchase them or get them from the library? I am going to grant myself permission to buy a few books for the Kindle simply because they won't take up any more space in the house and more importantly because my mother-in-law got a Kindle for Christmas (we went in on it with L.'s older brother and almost-wife) and it's linked to my Kindle and I wouldn't feel right if she paid for everything that we have the ability to share. She doesn't particularly like the classics, even the ones that can be downloaded for free, unfortunately.

And maybe I'll read Ulysses finally, who knows.

Best wishes, everyone. I'm happy you're out there.

17 comments:

  1. Anonymous5:02 AM

    I like your idea of keeping track of the fictional character reads. It hadn't occurred to me to do that!

    And lucky you about the Kindle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed about getting a Nook for my birthday. If I keep them crossed for five months, someone is sure to notice...

    ReplyDelete
  2. I totally geek out over what literary characters are reading! As an adolescent, I picked up Wuthering Heights because it was Nancy Drew's favourite book. The habit is a guilty pleasure that I've been enjoying for years. Would love to link discoveries this year to you.

    Happy new year!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous11:01 AM

    I like your idea of keeping track of what your literary characters are reading. Sometimes I write down book titles if they are ones I have not heard of before. I went crazy reading Moo Pak, it is full of books and authors.

    My sister got a Kindle as a present for herself. She was going to get a Nook but the reviews made her change her mind. She loves her Kindle because she has a small apartment and now she can get books without worrying about where to put them.

    Happy New Year! I'm glad you are here :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love that idea! My kids and I were just having a like conversation, talking about all of the books Matilda reads in the Roald Dahl book of the same name. And we found all of them in our house! I would love to share in a project like this!

    Also plan on reading from my own house as much as possible. Discipline will be required.

    Happy new year to you and yours!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cool idea, best of luck with it!
    Happy reading, and happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I too love your idea. Can't wait to read about it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You might enjoy this post about recent, most children's, books inspired by other fiction.

    http://www.semicolonblog.com/?p=8458

    I like your idea, too. It's fin to see what fictional characters are reading. I'm also interested in the biographies that I read to see what the subjects were reading.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I've been using the local library a lot this past year. But this year, in an effort to unclutter the shelves, I am resolved to be like eldest daughter with no more than one book checked out of the library at a time. We'll see how it goes, but I have too many unread books sitting around, awaiting their turn, growing old and saggy in their bindings. I need to read and release.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love the Alice pictures...v nice :)

    Like the list of what fictional characters are reading. I know one reason I never read Little Women is that I character I liked hated it, so I decided to hate it to, not having read it, this was easy. Now, I can't remember which character from my sordid youth hated Little Women...but you will have a list.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great Idea-In July 2009 I started a blog whose focus is, in theory, on the literary treatment of those involved in the reading life-

    my 16 posts on this very topic

    great idea

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11:18 PM

    I love the idea of keeping track of what your characters are reading...I hadn't ever thought of that. Now I'm racking my brain trying to remember what my characters have read this year...I'm not sure very many of them were readers, though. Bummer.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's a damn cool idea, keeping track of your characters' reading. I'll be tuning in eagerly, and probably dropping little presents at your feet as I encounter readers! Yay, happy new year!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Happy new year! And good luck with Ulysses. Maybe this will be my year for a re-read -- although I've been telling myself that ever since the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday.

    I love the idea of a fictional characters' Must Read list. I may even create one on Rose City Reader, since I am compulsive about book lists.

    ReplyDelete
  14. I've often added titles to my TBR list just because a character in a book (or someone in their memoir) was reading it. I never kept an exact list of which titles those were, though. It would be interesting!

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love this idea! Count me in!

    ReplyDelete
  16. This is a fabulous idea! I am going to draw the line at characters reading books by their author, but other than that, I am in!

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a great idea! I just finished up the Moonstone and one if the characters is practically obsessed with Robinson Crusoe. And because of that, I picked up RC at the library. :)

    ReplyDelete

A bang, not a whimper

  Two months into L.'s retirement, and I'm finished with the stockpiling of books. No more book purchases! Or at least, no purcha...