I've been asked a few times this week whether I know all of the 52 books I will devour in 2011. The short answer is no... but that's not the complete answer. When I sat down to think about it I realised I had a lot more titles than I'd realised. The piles by my bedside are looking precariously tall (especially as they are directly in the line of fire for the laundry basket). As I walked through our modest library* pulling out books to add to the topple-waiting-to-happen I realised that I did have criteria... even if until now it wasn't full considered. In 2010 I tried to read books that would expand my horizons, that would require perseverance, or a foray into a genre I'd previously avoided. It made for slow, but interesting reading. 2011 however will need to be different. Four things will shape my book list this year: size, subject, ownership and the BBC.
They can't be too big; well unless I create a book buffer getting ahead like now before tacking a beast. I need to choose books I can realistically get through in the time I have to read weekly. (That has meant my re-read of The Lord of the Rings will need to be post-poned!)
I want to enjoy them. Though my book list is varied I really want to enjoy what I read this year. As I glance through the titles I want a sense of anticipation about the stories and ideas they hold.
I'll start with what I own. I am ashamed to realise how much of our book collection I haven't read! So, I have decided I cannot mooch or buy any more books until I go through a good portion of the ones already taking up residence in our home.
I'll take the BBC's advice. Years ago I blogged about how many books I'd read on the BCC top 100 books list. Bizarrely that post still attracts daily visitors to my cyber home and I enjoy watching the comments grow as people chime in. There are some cracking titles on that list so I've been accumulating a few to tackle this year.
Other than the above I will re-read a few things I haven't read in a while, I will take recommendations from friends and strangers alike and I am going to try and blog about each one I complete.
So, in no particular order my 52 books to read in 2011 include:
Already read:
1. The Towers of Midnight by Robert Jordan & Brandon Sanderson
2. Acts for Everyone Part 2 by NT Wright
3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
4. Looking for Alaska by John Green
Currently reading:
5. Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster
6. District & Circle by Seamus Heaney
To read:
7. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
8. Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home by Richard Foster
9. Surface Detail by Iain M Banks
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
11. Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell
12. Catch 22 by Joseph Heller
13. A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
14. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
15. Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks
16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
17. God Stories by Andrew Wilson
18. Life After God by Douglass Coupland
19. Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
20. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
21. Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis
22. The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning
23. The Role and Ministry of Women by Martin Scott
24. The Long Walk by Richard Bachman/Stephen King
25. Roadwork by Richard Bachman/Stephen King
26. The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella
27. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
28. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle
29. Matilda by Roald Dahl
30. Bell Canto by Ann Pratchett
31. Tales from the Perilous Realm by JRR Tolkien
32. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
33. Jesus Wants to Save Christians by Rob Bell
34. With Christ in the School of Prayer by Andrew Murray
35. Heroes of Olympus by Rick Riordan
36. The Bible
(Books in italics are re-reads, books in bold are from the BBC top 100 books list)
I reserve the right to edit this list at any time. Anyone care to fill in the blanks? What should I read for number 37 to number 52? Suggestions in the comments please.
*Can I call one heaving set of bookshelves and four buldging homemade shelves a library? How many books does it take to be a legitimate home library?