Existential crisis aside, I have big plans for this fake year of 2017. Big, fat, reading plans.
It is difficult for me to imagine what my reading life will be like next year since I'll be in Scotland for five months and then various countries in eastern Europe for 2-ish months after that. I imagine I will have time to read on buses and trains and planes, but I will be on those more in eastern Europe than I will be in Scotland. While in Glasgow, I definitely don't want to have my nose stuck in a book when I can be out in the city making memories and gaining experiences. The book will always be there when I get back, but I will not always be in Glasgow.
It's going to be interesting how I manage my time as a student, blogger, and a reader.
I'm going to read 50 books this year.
Whoa! Starting this post off with high expectations! Go hard or go home, man.I managed to read 38 books in 2016. I read 37 of those books after May, which means I only read one book during my spring semester from January to May. If I could read 37 books from June to December, a span of only seven months, imagine how much more I could've read if I fully utilized the preceding five months. If I don't hit this goal, I won't beat myself up too bad over it. As I said above, I have no idea what life will be like in Glasgow, so that might affect the time I dedicate to reading
Read more diverse books and authors.
I made this a goal last year by reading books with LGBT characters/themes and books by black authors.It hit me in the summer of last year that I have never really read books from either of those demographics. I tried to think of a book I read with a prominent LGBT character and came up blank.
(No, Dumbledore does not count.) I tried to think of books I've read by black authors. I searched my Goodreads list, and in the recent years I have not read one book by a black author.
Of course, in the grand scheme of life I am fairly young and have read what is given to me by teachers, friends, and social media. White is still the default in America, so I read white. But, since I do pride myself on being a reader and want to be as well-read as possible, I realize how that is such a passive way of reading. If diverse books are not being presented to me in the mainstream media, I need to actively seek out diverse books.
So I read The Color Purple and The Rubyfruit Jungle and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and I am better for it. But of course, I can't stop there.
I found a site called The Literary Cannon that focuses on racial diversity.
I haven't found a site like that for LGBT books, but there are a lot of youtube videos with suggestions.
Other goals that don't require introspection:
- 1 graphic novel
- 2 books of poetry
- Wild - Cheryl Strayed
- Where Am I Now - Mara Wilson
- 1 audiobook (I usually have a problem connecting with the narrator, but I'm sure there's some audiobook out there that I'll like)
- all of Carrie Fisher's books. because I love her.