One of my resolutions for 2013 was to read more (and better) books.
Not that there is something inherently wrong with the literature I've been reading lately. It's just that pirate stories like "Bloody Jack" and apocalyptic trilogies like "The Hunger Games" are not time-tested masterpieces; they're great, but not classics yet. Maybe someday we can call them masterpieces if the current trend in trash continues (I'm looking right at you, "Mortal Instruments"...right.at.you).
*Side note: I've never been classified as a "hater." Actually, my family says I'm often too nice. However, when it comes to books, I have a tendency to be very critical and mean. It's ok though, I'm critical and mean about my own work too...such a bully.
ANYWAY! The goal for this year was to read fifteen books of quality. However, if I'm to reach my goal of fifty classics by the time I'm twenty-five, we need to up the ante. It's time for a game plan. So, 2013, here's what you have coming.
Twenty-Five Classics in 2013
[] The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien---halfway through it for the second time. LOVE it.
[] The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
[] The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien
[] The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien
[] Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
[] Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
[] Heard of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
[] A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
[] As You Like It by William Shakespeare
[] Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe
[] Vanity Fair by William Thackeray
[] The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas
[] To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
[] Middlemarch by George Eliot
[] Emma by Jane Austen
[] Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
[] Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
[] Dr. Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
[] The Odyssey by Homer
[] Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
[] Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
[] Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
[] Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis
[] Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
[] A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
I am going to need so much tea. Wish me luck!
LOVE
I've read 9 of those! But I totally feel you! I'm not so much aiming to specifically read more classics per se (because I actually have read a fair number), but I've noticed that I tend to read either only classics or Christian fiction, so one of my goals this year is to read some more of the (good) mainstream fiction that's come out in recent years. The first two up to bat are "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and "Water for Elephants." But I did just finish "Persuasion." :)
ReplyDeleteI've been reading some Dan Brown and a great memoir called "Girl Meets God." You'll have to let me know how you like "Water for Elephants." I saw the movie, but have never read the book. What else are you reading?
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