Thursday, January 01, 2015

2015: A dare and a new long-term project


I am horrified to look back and discover that last January I didn't even manage to recycle my usual Eschew the New! resolution, that my first post of the year (and sparse they were) didn't come until February 1. I am extremely grateful that Wendy was willing to share her thoughts on books over the course of 2014 and hope she will continue to do so forever and ever. I just need to get my groove back, so prepare for a lot of inane posts while I redevelop the blogging muscle, all right? Mixed metaphors will abound!

I finished the Fill in the Gaps Project very quietly in April. A five-year plan, the objective had been to read 100 books, but we were to count ourselves successful if we read 75. I read 86, then completed another six from the list by the end of 2014. Over the course of the project, I realized I liked long-term projects with large pools of books.

And that brings me to my new project, one I'm calling 60 by 60, although I certainly hope I manage to read more than 60 books on the list. It's heavy on the classics--Gissing, Trollope, Stendhal--and other authors I really ought to have read, or read in more depth, by now.

So that's the five year plan. Perhaps I can get a head start on it, since between today and April 1, I'm participating in James' TBR Double Dog Dare.  (I am so glad James didn't retire the dare!) I have a book on back order and of course I will buy the new Anne Tyler the moment it comes available in February, but other than that, I can think of no books that will break my determination to read from the books I already have stockpiled here and on my desk at the library. Of course, one reason my will seems so strong is that I have ten books from the Tournament of Books long list either on hand or on hold!

Happy 2015, everyone. Happy reading.

6 comments:

  1. A very good project! I'm sure you will meet the challenge with flying colors!

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  2. I'm also trying to get my blogging mojo back! Good luck with your project and here's to a wonderful 2015!

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  3. Happy New Year Susan! (psst--our dean is retiring...). Sorry to hear about Claudius, but hopefully he is on the mend--he's such a cutie-I bet he hated being shaved, poor thing! I am all for reading from my own shelves this year, but that's about all I can manage plan-wise! I hope you have a great year filled with lots of good books!

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  4. I want the new Anne Tyler as well!

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  5. Lucky you for having TOB books stockpiled. I made sure to read the two that I had out from the library in December, so I've read four on the longlist. I'm crossing my fingers that at least two of those will make it because it's so much more fun following along if I've read something on the list.

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  6. Anonymous7:34 PM

    Long live The Dare!!! I'm impressed with your reading totals. I have not been reading nearly as much as I once did.

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