My, a year is a long time. As with every year, I praise the existence of Goodreads, because otherwise I'd have to do something barbarian like write down the books I read on a piece of paper I've shoved into a book (i.e. what I used to do). Can you believe the Bleak House readalong was this year? Damn. I also read the first four Game of Thrones books this year, World War Z, Ella Enchanted, etc etc.
TOP FIVE BOOKS THIS YEAR
World War Z
Storm of Swords
Old Mr. Flood
How to Build a Girl
I read 66 books this year, which edges out previous years by a few. I usually end up somewhere in the 60s.
21 of the 66 were by men, so about 1/3. Technically I want to read more diverse authors, but in reality I am uncomfortable reading about experiences outside of my language/any-country-that-is-outside-Western-Europe, so we'll see how that goes (it probably won't).
I went to BEA this year, which was boss. I had lunch with Amanda, formerly from Dead White Guys and now Book Riot; I had dinner with Emily from As the Crowe Flies (and Reads); I had drinks with Meghan from Little, Brown who is my musical theatre SOULMATE; and Alley and her now-husband and I got burgers at Island Burgers and then ran into and away from a Puerto Rican parade (if you went closer, the Starbucks were so crowded! so many people! so many!). I've been to NYC the most of any place because my oldest brother lives there, so at this point I go to meet up with people rather than toddle around to peer at things (although there is still some of that).
 |
| mainly like this |
SHALL BEA HAPPEN THIS YEAR I do not know yet. It's right around when I turn 30, and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing something differenty then. But seeing people is the best, so. I do not know. Right now I am in fact torn between California and England. I very much want to go to England, but it is also The Expensivest, but also All the Authors lived there, so hm. Shall work this out later.
Now. THE FUTURE. I have strayed. I have strayed from the path of Victorian lit, and I feel SORROW over this. It's most of what I used to read, and then I got this blog and people were all "look at these MODERN books" and I read them. I read them. I did have a moment a number of years ago where I said "If books are supposed to reflect humanity, then I am learning a whole lot about 19th c. humanity, but basically nothing about the society in which I'm living. Hmmmmmmm." And I decided to read more contemporary things. But now I MISS Victorian lit, so I have taken the plunge and started the very last George Eliot book, Daniel Deronda.
I became a George Eliot fan in 2004 while living up in Chicago for an internship. I had nothing to do outside the internship/babysitting, so I'd watch hundreds of hours of Futurama, and email the professors whose acquaintance I made freshman year of college. They told me to read Middlemarch, so I did, and was immediately all about George Eliot.
I decided to read her books in chronological order, so I grabbed Scenes of Clerical Life, loved it, but then stopped because...she only wrote eight novels. Eight. Dickens basically wrote 15, Trollope a million, but Eliot only EIGHT and once you've read them, you're done with new Eliot. No more is being produced ever! So I decided on one a year. Until I got to Daniel Deronda because...it's the last one. But I started it last night, and I have Thoughts about Gwendolen (mainly that Natalie Dormer should play her and I will not rest until this is accomplished), and it's SO EXCITING because once you've read a bunch of Eliot, you notice certain hallmarks, like talking about a childhood love of nature and your birthplace, or how hot dudes are who work with their hands.
 |
| I honestly do not know if she would like Gaston or not, but I feel like...maybe. |
So. 2015. More Victorian lit. Much excitement.
Comments
Post a Comment