Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Reading Goals for 2011

I love making lists, but I am terrible at following them. I was thinking this morning about what I want to accomplish in 2011 and rattling it off to the cc, but then I got thinking maybe I should write it all down in a post. It's not really New Years Resolutions. It is just some ideas.

For example, I have been contemplating if maybe this year isn't the year for me to finally read War & Peace. It's all ready on my eReader and I keep looking at it in anticipation, but also fear. It is just so LONG! I would love to read it, though, because I think it is my type of book. If I do plan for it, though, I would read it slowly. I should start soon...

I really want to finish some series that I have on the go. Instead, it is the fourth day of the year and I have all ready started ANOTHER series... I need to finish some. The books are oftentimes all ready on my TBR pile. It is just a matter of tackling them!

Read more classics... I think that this has unofficially became 'The Year of the Classic'. If I continue to be obsessed with my eReader, that is the cheapest reading method. My eReader came with 100 loaded on it all ready. I deleted a few that didn't interest me in the slightest. There are a few others I have never even heard of before, but that doesn't mean they are bad... Then, I have been on Project Gutenberg downloading more. I also plan to keep an eye on what Amanda reads in case we can read something together. Some of the ones I would love to read this year are as follows:

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (reread)
Anthem by Ayn Rand
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories by Kate Chopin (Amanda recommended)
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (reread)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Middlemarch by George Eliot
The Monk by M.G. Lewis
No Name by Wilkie Collins
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

And a few others that are rereads... Well, and the other books on there, but I can't read everything. I want to read from closer to this century, too!

Lastly, I want to read my own books more and use the library less...

What are your plans for 2011?

16 comments:

  1. Hi Kailana,

    I love that your goal involves reading classics. I love most of the books on your list, some I've passed over.

    Anyway, you've got a good goal and a great list, and I hope you enjoy the reading.

    My plans for 2011? Get the backlog of reviews up first, then follow through with finishing Lord of the Ring.

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  2. A Year of Classics sounds like a great plan. My goal is always to read more classics but sadly I only get to one or two a year. Ugh. I need to make more of an effort with that.

    My reading plans this year? Just reading for pleasure. No challenges, no goals, I want to just enjoy my reading and not feel like I have deadlines looming over me.

    Good luck with your goal!

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  3. Wow, I think I could just copy and paste your whole post and it would be perfect for my goals! Except War and Peace... mine would be to FINISH it... I stopped half way though. What was I thinking????

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  4. I just want to read MORE this year!!! And I was actually thinking of tackling War and Peace too :p I have this GORGEOUS edition that I bought awhile back...and I have a feeling I would love it. I read The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Tolstoy awhile back and fell in love with it!

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  5. I have similar plans... I start series all the time and then never finish!

    Several of the classics on your list or on mine too, I'll be watching out for your reviews!

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  6. I am pretty terrible about reading classics, so I was sort of surprised that I'd actually read some of the ones on your list there. Like Chris said, I just want to read MORE period this year. Last year, especially the last few months, were awful...I got so little read, and I missed it so much! But as to what I read--I hope to read all my swap books, lots of graphic novels, lots of totally spontaneous grabs off my own shelves, and hopefully finally try Wilkie Collins! And yes--do at least one buddy read with you!!! :D

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  7. You know, War & Peace has exactly 365 chapters so there are people doing a daily-chapter readalong in 2011... :D

    I admit, I personally have no interest whatsoever in W&P but I figure I already read Anna K by him and that was enough for me! I do hope you like it, though.

    I'm so glad to see you get excited for the classics!

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  8. Jane Eyre! You have to read it! (And there's a new film adaptation coming out in March apparently)

    My reading resolution is similar to your last plan - read more from my own shelves vs. borrowing from the library. And keep book buying to a minimum.

    Good luck with your reading plans!

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  9. I actually read more classics in 2010 than normal, and it's entirely down to my ereader (well, my e-reader and my cheapskate ways). It's definitely something I'd like to continue, though!

    Off your list, the only ones I've read are the Dumas books, the Brontes, and Dracula, and would recommend them in about that order. Oh, and the Awakening, which I read in high school and is thoroughly brilliant and should definitely go at the top of your list. :)

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  10. I got my Nook just to read classics, so I'm sure I'll be reading more than ever! :D Your list looks great.

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  11. I'm trying to tackle War & Peace right now. It's massive. I love so many of the books you listed. I've read 14 of them and have the rest on my TBR. Good luck!

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  12. Anonymous12:43 PM

    My aims this year are to read more non-fiction and more poetry. Since leaving education I seem to neglect both even though I enjoy them. It's almost like now I have the freedom to read more fiction for pleasure I have gotten a bit obsessed with it lol.

    Reading more classics is a very worthy aim one I hope I also continue this year. From your list I highly recommend: Dracula, Frankenstein, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Wuthering Heights. All of them have that beautiful chilling air about them.

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  13. Thanks for all the comments! I will take the recommendations into account and good luck on all your reading goals for 2011!!!

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  14. I love that everyone is going back to the classics. I think this is going to be a great year!

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  15. I am about a quarter of the way through War and Peace so if you do decide to read it let me know.

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