Now that I'm back and refreshed (more on my vacation later this week, I promise! I actually need time to absorb all of the experience before I can write about it.), I've been chomping at the bit to get to a scholarship year -- that is, a year of writing and reading at a top level. Now that I work at a top University, I will access reading lists of the master's and PhD candidates. (Who knows? Maybe I can become a PhD candidate myself.)
Two ideas I like: Estella and Heather's "Year of Reading Dangerously." Okay, while I may pick and choose which novels in my 12 months, I admire their choices and will try to read along at least some of the time.
I also like this from Deweymonster: Reading from the New York Times Most Notable 100 Books of 2007.
I will probably combine the two.
In addition to continuing Proust, finishing Don Quixote and dipping into the NYT Most Notables, I want to tackle authors I've feared, classical literature, medieval literature, literary criticism, contemporary authors who are considered great, and some new names. Some of these authors include:
James Joyce
Homer
Virgil
Rabelais
Milton
Chaucer
Don DeLillo
Toni Morrison
Virginia Woolf
Philip Roth
Salman Rushdie
Stewart O Nan
Ismail Kadare
Orman Pahmuk
Gary Shteyngart
Voltaire
Goethe
Gogol
Willa Cather
Margaret Atwood
I wanted to write them down for posterity, so I have a list to work with for the upcoming year.
Plus, I've started Hunchback of Notre Dame, which so far, I love.
10 comments:
An inspiring list, LK! I'm so glad you're doing this and want to hear a lot more...
You have some serious book-joy ahead of you with some of those writers!
I can't take credit for the notable books idea. There's a whole blog for people who are going to read books from various notable books.
http://notablebooks.blogspot.com/
Welcome home! Can't wait to hear about your trip!
SO glad to have you for the Year of Reading Dangerously. From the looks of that list you have a wonderful year ahead of you!
Oh this is just wonderful! I can't wait to hear more as you start working through these books. As Dewey said, serious joy.
That's a very impressive list! I love Margaret Atwood and Philip Roth, and Virginia Woolf (although I've never read her primarily for pleasure - mostly there's been work involved). Looking forward very much to what you have to say about them!
Bloglily, thank you. Glad to hear from you!
Dewey, thank you for the link. I'll take a peek.
Courtney, hey there, how are you? Trip stuff coming soon. (I'm still overcoming my travel bug, believe it or not. I am defying the laws of physics by not losing weight even after three weeks' of dysentery.)
Andi, you guys were the inspiration. I am looking forward to following your progress as well.
Verbi, thanks! I am eager to rip into some challenging reading.
Litlove, thank you! I quail a bit with Virginia. When I read her lush prose, I get so overwrought I have to stop. It's almost like a stimulant to me! I only have read Atwood's Cat's Eye and have not touch Philip Roth since Ghost Writer. I have Atwood's Blind Assasin and some short stories, so I'm all primed and ready to go.
Impressive list-- I learn from your lists. I have only read 9 of these, and some more than others. I love Willa Cather!
I really love the idea of tackling authors you've feared in the past -- I'm sure you'll get over your fear in each and every one of those cases! I think it'll be interesting to see how your perception of these authors changes once you've read them.
Yay, you are going to be a dangerous reader :)
I'm STILL trying to finish Don Quixote. Sigh.
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