Happy New Year, my friends. Now that the holiday season is behind us, it’s time to look ahead. Even though the political landscape will not be a great one, I’m still hoping to have a good reading year in 2017. It’s always good to have goals. I refuse to call them resolutions because I never kept any of my resolutions I made in my lifetime.
First off, I set my Goodreads goal of reading 23 books this year. I’m not a fast reader and usually only read a book at a time. In 2015, I had a goal of 15 and I exceeded that by 2 books. Last year, I upped it to 20 books and if I hadn’t taken 2 months to read Underworld, I would have read much more. I think 23 is a doable number. I already finished one book, Binge by Tyler Oakley.
Secondly, I’d like to tackle authors I had a hard time reading in my youth like William Faulkner and Henry James. There is a Book Tuber named Mementomori who is reading all 19 books by Faulkner in chronological order. I have no interest in doing that, but I do own a copy of The Hamlet, so I might read that. As for Henry James, I might read A Portrait of a Lady.
Another goal is to read more African American authors. I have Sula and Beloved by Toni Morrison and A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines. Two years ago I read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston and loved it.
I also want to read plays again. In high school, my drama teacher turned me on to absurdist playwrights like Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco. I read some plays by Tennessee Williams and Oscar Wilde. I have a small collection of Ibsen plays I’d like to dive into.
Last year I didn’t reread any books. I have been trying to reread one book a year. Sometimes I don’t remember books I read when I was younger as well as I’d like to. Some books I want to reread include Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte and My Antonia by Willa Cather.
Lastly, I am proud that I read eight woman authors last year. It wasn’t a goal of mine for 2016 but I was drawn to books by female authors. Some female writers I want to read more of include Joyce Carol Oates, Barbara Klingslover and Zadie Smith.
What do you think of my goals? Do you have reading goals too? Let me know below and I hope everyone has a great reading year in 2017.
