2011 is shaping up to be the year where I read nothing but tomes, apparently. It means I'll probably read less, as I read bigger books obviously slower, though I'd like to get through at least 2 books a month. However, I won't sacrifice the reading/understanding for time/number of books read. Sometimes, you know, you just get in the zone and your brain craves big ass books. Here's a list of those I'm planning to read in the next couple of months.
1. The Bone People by Keri Hulme (nearly finished with this one)
2. John Adams by David McCullough
3. Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
4. The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington
5. 2666 by Robert Bolano
I hope to supplement the tomes with these somewhat leaner books inbetween:
1. The Bookman by Lavie Tidhar
2. The Dragon Never Sleeps by Glenn Cook
3. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
4. The Fixed Stars by Bill Conn
5. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin (this one looks big, but it's got large print)
I'm also looking forward to reading The Golden Age by Michal Ajvaz, which comes highly recommended from author Jeff Vandermeer, as well as my once-a-decade re-reading of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Stories of Ibis by Hiroshi Yamamoto, the first book in the Dagger & Coin series by Daniel Abraham, Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord, the short story collection by Gene Wolfe, Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy, Love in the Time of Cholera - the one book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez that I haven't read yet for one reason or another, and about forty-odd other books sitting on my shelf vying for attention. I'll get to you all, I promise.
In other totally unimportant and frivolous news, I just smelled Country Apple and Cucumber Melon lotions.
My to-read list is also some yards wide. Currently reading The Temple of my Familiar, Bob Crais' new book The Sentry (which is awesome and highly, highly addictive), and a short story collection by Thomas Disch. Next up, Transition by Iain M. Banks. After that, who knows? There are so many to choose from, and I never know whether I'll be feeling like I need targeted reading or whether I'll just read what I want.
ReplyDeleteBooks I will almost certainly read this year include: Little, Big by John Crowly; The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss; Chronic City, by Jonathan Lethem; Who Fears Death, by Nnedi Okorafor; The Life-cycle of Software Objects, by Ted Chiang; and How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe, by Charles Yu.
Also, by way of commentary: 2666 will blow your mind, and can be read serially, as it is actually five books stuck together; The Dragon Never Sleeps f-cking rocks!; and I tried to read Shantaram, which had the best first page I've ever read and lost me by the end of the first chapter, which is a neat trick if you think about it (fwiw, I think it just wasn't the right time for me to read it; got friends who think it's great). And, if you want to read another sci-fi epic that'll blow your mind that is also called The Golden Age, there is a trilogy of short books by that name by John C. Wright that absolutely blew my sh-t out of the water both times I read it. Seriously awesome post-human sf.
Dallas, I've read the first book, The Golden Age, by John C. Wright, and totally loved it, too. I've been meaning to read the other book(s ?)...I thought it was a duology? But, of course, they're nowhere to be found in stores and I'm impatient to wait for things online. I've taken a lot of ideas from The Golden Age, though, and thought it was just absolutely mesmerizing. Jenn and Greg were supposed to read it, too, but one of them lost the book pre-Clarion!
ReplyDelete