I have been racing through the Booker International longlist this year. I think the fact I like most of the books on the list is that they are ones I would read at some point. I think we all, as readers, have this list of books. If I see if I find, if I have time, the last being the main problem, too many books, too little time. I think of the years I have never quite got what motivates my reading, but this year it has changed, and the change is coming because I have decided that one of the things I need to do this year is fill the gaps. I always read a number of Japanese books in January as there are events then. We go to March, and it’s the Booker International longlist. Then we have the bi-annual Year clubs Simon and Karen run, which are maybe my favourite online blog event all year. Then there are things I have dived in an out of in recent year the EBRD prize which i think has a great selection of literature every year but it is so near the booker I end up burnt out on the prize list and then I have like the Wainwright prize for nature writing but maybe need to just focus on either the shortlist or the books that jump out on me. So the idea this year is to have more of these little projects, read a new book from a new country every month, is one such idea, and I have gone and brought a lot of books for that project for this year. Then I had looked at Mookse doing the NYRB books and Muriel Spark, but I am not a joiner in person; I like to either have an idea for myself or a couple of people on board. So what other project has he up his sleeve? Well, I had thought of Spark and liked Beryl Bainbridge to read their books in order. But then I remember Kim doing a number of Iris Murdoch last year, and I had read The Sea, The Sea a long time ago, and her back catalogue is huge; she had multiple Booker nominations over the years. include a win for The Sea, The Sea. So, as I always say, I fell under read. I know in a lot of ways I am not, but I feel I need to read a few more English writers, and this is the start. I will be reading all her novels in publication order, hopefully. This is the first of two writers I am thinking of; I’m thinking of flipping between them, but at the moment, I’m not quite decided who. I think C P Snow, maybe, or Anthony Powell; I have circled both their multiple-novel collections and have nearly all of them on TBR. But I haven’t yet decicded as I may pick an older writer say Dicken or Trollope or maybe some one else the idea is ovber time to cross of names so I read the complete ouvre of a female and male writer and this to be a constantly rolling idea with Murdoch having twenty plus novel that is a few years reading so the Male may have less books. I will let you know who I pick in a few weeks. Then in the summer, I will do my book-a-day idea with Novellas. I can’t do a month, but I will try for one month to read as many as I can, with my shifts being 12-hour days. I lose a few days each week to this, so I struggle to blog on those days. But I like the idea of summer days and short books outside in coffee shops, etc. I will be doing Hungarian lit month, and at some point Spanish and Portuguese lit month and of course some reading on the run up to the Nobel, with a lot of recent deaths of people that have been near the top of thebetting lists in recent years, there is maybe a name or two out there to come to the surface. I am trying to be a lot more proactive in my reading, so those periods of not having a little or large project are less, and thus, meaning I always have rabbit holes to find books, learn about the writers and countries, and what books are available and waiting to be read. I love my sail boat idea of reading but now I am mor eof a cruise and trying to have a little newsletter of upcoming event like you do on a cruise ship (not that I have ever been on a cruise ) I love watch you tube videos of cruises and love the idea of a daily news letter I am so 20th century with my list of books piles of books and just liking the printed word. How do you plan your reading? Are you ad hoc, like plans, like ideas, book clubs, etc., or a solo traveller in the world of books?
I’m a completely chaotic reader. I love the idea of themed reads but I seem incapable of actually following through. But yes, there are more great books than there is time to read them.
Very much and always adding to
List of great read especially now as we having so many great older books translated
I must admit I’m mostly disorganised, Stu, unless I’m hosting something! There are so many events out there that it’s difficult to keep up. I try to join in with the ones which inspire me, and if I can read something off the TBR that’s even better. But it does need to be a book which I *want* read at the time. I admire you if you can take on e.g. a whole Booker list or the like, because I doubt I could stick to that. There are just so many books I want to read!
Yes to many event a I do love the club years so much it make me find so many great books
It’s difficult not to feel under-read as there is simply so much to read! I’m lucky in that I have very little interested in most English fiction, so much is written by people whose lives are very different to mine. On the other hand, when I like a writer, I do have a habit of wanting to read everything they’ve written!
Yes I have that with writer bolano was one such writer I devoured him years ago
I was laughing as I read this. It is exactly as I feel. I have an urgency these days as I have realised somehow or other not only am I older but have become a very slow reader. What happened? So yes, I remain chaotic with many plans and piles of books and all I can do is just keep at it every day. You sent me down another rabbit hole (see? Can’t help myself) by mentioning Hungarian Month. Was not aware of that one so off to look it up. Thanks as always for a delightful start to my Monday reading.
This post encapsulates exactly how my reading is impacted by all those events. Whether awards or country-based hosting, they are all worthy, and they all (usually) mean that I am reading terrific books. But there isn’t time left to read the books recently acquired for the TBR or the older ones which represent an author’s oeuvre. So I have abandoned the impulse I used to feel about reading the long- and short-lists for Australian and NZ lit, especially since so many of them now are agenda-driven rather than based on literary quality. I don’t even try to read the long- and short-lists for the Booker or anything else. Instead I cherry pick what looks interesting, and what’s more, when it comes to international titles rather than Australian or NZ ones, I don’t buy them, I reserve them at the library so that they are not taking up space in the TBR where too often I forget about them.