Kevin's Watch

So, because I liked the previous 50 books in 50 weeks thread, I decided to revive it, brand new, for 2013! Of course, there is one key difference: You decide on your goal. It could be a specific list, or a specific amount, in either case post your book goal(s) for this year in this thread!

My goal(s) this year: Read 60 books. This would include my grand re-read of Thomas Covenant before the release of the final Thomas Covenant book and my Spanish language books.

60 Books Goal:
1)The Storyteller- Mario Vargas Llosa
2) A Storm of Swords- George R. R. Martin
3) The Hero of Ages- Brandon Sanderson
4) Elantris- Brandon Sanderson
5) The Left Hand of Darkness- Author unknown.
6) A Farewell to Arms- Ernest Hemingway
7) The Neverending Story- Michael Ende
A Short History of England- Simon Jenkins
9) For Whom the Bell Tolls- Ernest Hemingway
10) The Old Man and the Sea- Ernest Hemingway
11) Death of a Revolutionary: Che Guevara's Last Mission- Richard L. Harris
12) The Sound and the Fury- William Faulkner
13) Consider Phlebas- Iain M. Banks
14) Life of Pi- Yann Martel
15) The Eye in the Pyramid- Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson.
16) The Deep- John Crowley
17) Time's Arrow- Martin Amis
18) Beasts- John Crowley
19) The Golden Apple- Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
20) Engine Summer- John Crowley
21) The Solitudes- John Crowley
22) Love & Sleep- John Crowley
23) Daemonomania- John Crowley
24) Endless Things- John Crowley
25) Killing Floor- Lee Child
26) The Alloy of Law- Brandon Sanderson
27) The Emperor's Soul- Brandon Sanderson
28) Blood and Bone- Ian C Esslemont
29) The Illustrated Man- Ray Bradbury
30) Song of the Beast- Carol Berg
31) Tuf Voyaging- George RR Martin
32) Dubliners- James Joyce
33) A Question of Upbringing- Anthony Powell
34) The Player of Games- Iain M. Banks
35) A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies- Bartolome de las Casas
36) The Last Dark- Stephen R Donaldson
37) The Devil's Dictionary- Ambrose Bierce
38) The Stranger- Albert Camus

Shakespeare Goal:
1) King Henry the Sixth Part 1
2) King Henry the Sixth Part 2
3) King Henry the Sixth Part 3

to read more often period. finish the Dome and start on Gravity's Rainbow...

I will read every book I lay my hands on over the course of the year.

--A

Better be careful not to run your hand over the spines while looking for things in the bookshop, then.

Continue the Grand Re-Read with 2nd Chronicles and Last.

Read more nonfiction. Starting with Over the Edge of The World, about Magellan's voyage.

Read more big, thick sci-fi/fantasy books, especially Stephen King's Dark Tower, and the Stand; the Song of Fire and Ice, stuff like that.

#BookAWeek. That's my goal. Keep it going all year.

I'm Murrin wrote:Better be careful not to run your hand over the spines while looking for things in the bookshop, then.

Arg! Hahaha, funnily enough, that's exactly how I looks at books if they're shelved spine out. Damn it.

--A

Finish the Last Chronicles... I'm still enjoying hammering away on Runes.

For me, get back into reading Christian non-fiction.
First one on that list is reading through a sorta ecclesiology book:
"Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change" by the end of April.
It's very readable and, from what I've seen, has inspiring stories & well-done metaphors, which I love.
The only problem is I'm not picking it up... perhaps I fear change.

And just so things are not too simple, I'm going to attempt to read all of Shakespeare's plays this year as well... in addition to the 60 books.

Semper Fi!

Have fun.

--A

Linna Heartlistener wrote:Finish the Last Chronicles... I'm still enjoying hammering away on Runes.

For me, get back into reading Christian non-fiction.
First one on that list is reading through a sorta ecclesiology book:
"Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change" by the end of April.
It's very readable and, from what I've seen, has inspiring stories & well-done metaphors, which I love.
The only problem is I'm not picking it up... perhaps I fear change.

I remember thumbing through The Imitation of Christ i(which was written in the 1500s) a few years ago in a bookstore and thinking, "I'm not really sure I want to be this spiritual." I ended up buying it and using it as a devotional (a chapter a day, the chapters are very short and pithy) and it was great.

deer of the dawn wrote: I remember thumbing through The Imitation of Christ i(which was written in the 1500s) a few years ago in a bookstore and thinking, "I'm not really sure I want to be this spiritual." I ended up buying it and using it as a devotional (a chapter a day, the chapters are very short and pithy) and it was great.

Neat!
I tried reading "Life Together" about a decade ago.
I was thinking, "wow, this sounds like he's saying we what's most important is following a long list of stringent-sounding rules..."
But this is Bonhoffer, who became a martyr, and who all these wise people who I respect praise him greatly...

...so it must be that I'm "not ready for him yet," and so I fail to understand what he really means.
(but... I like your example with a Kempis... maybe the fact that I wasn't yet ready for him wasn't reason to put it down.)

Guess what? Started reading "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands," and it is INCREDIBLE... just the thing to drag my craven little soul out of the dark little corner I've been cowering in.
Just the thing to place my little form into the context of a glorious story much, MUCH bigger than me.

But oh, did I have much to fear. This is quite the idol-exposing trip.

I'm going for 50 books. I've never kept track of how many books I read in a year so this'll be interesting. 50 sounds like an attainable goal and the ever-helpful goodreads tells me I'm roughly on pace.

My full list for the year so far, including comics, has 25 things on it. Some of those comics are very short (one is 46 pages), some are much longer (Bone is over 1300 pages). If I only count prose books, I'm at 13. But I actually consider myself 1 book behind schedule because I didn't count the book of essays I read as one of my books-a-week.

Shaun das Schaf wrote:I've never kept track of how many books I read in a year so this'll be interesting.

Me neither, yet it's something people are always asking me for some reason. So I also think it will be interesting.

--A

The year is halfway gone! How is everyone getting on with their reading goals?

I think I'm still one or two books behind on my book-a-week; I've entirely given up on the weekly reviews.

The John Crowley phase has set me back by about five books, but I should recover that just fine.

The Shakespeare goal is probably in an indefinite comatose right now.

Need to get started on my TC re-read and reading my Spanish language books as well.

*sigh* A reader's work is never done.

26 weeks, 87 books. 3.34 per week.

--A

Looked at the actual numbers last night. In 26 weeks I've read 25 books, and 30 comic volumes or graphic novels.