December Reading goals

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With the end of my graduate school career a mere nine days away, I am setting some lofty reading goals for the month. I hope publicly setting goals will help give me the confidence to actually read these lovely books. (Yes, this list bears a striking resemblance to the mid-November rest of 2010 goals, but I'm starting a monthly list of goals as well as yearly.)

 Here's what I hope to read this month:
The Award Winners
The SentimentalistsLord of MisruleThe Finkler Question: A NovelA Spell of Winter: A NovelFugitive Pieces: A Novel
  • The Sentimenalists by Joanna Skibsruf (winner of the 2010 Giller Prize - the lovely folks at interlibrary loan just put this one in my hands, and I can't wait to read it!)
  • Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon (winner of the 2010 National Book Award for Fiction)
  • The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson (winner of the 2010 Booker Prize)
  • A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore (winner of the 1996 Orange Prize)
  • Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels (1997 Orange Prize winner - I'm reading all the winners)
The Award Finalists
In Other Rooms, Other WondersWolf Hall: A NovelParrot and Olivier in AmericaI Hotel
The Classics
The WardenA Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings (Penguin Classics)
  • The Warden by Anthony Trollope (for the Classics Circuit)
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (yes, I know the story, but I've never actually read it!)

Eleven books? I sure hope so, but three of them are chunksters, and I am a fickle reader. I'm sure a few books will find a way to sneak ahead of these. First up: A Spell of Winter (so seasonally appropriate!


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Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 1, 2010 at 8:00 PM

    I've read Fugitive Pieces...that was good. And I have In Other Rooms on the shelf...thios is the first time I've ever seen anyone else mention it!

    And 9 days?? Woo-hoo!!!

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  2. Natalie~Coffee and a Book ChickDecember 1, 2010 at 8:24 PM

    You have some absolutely WONDERFUL selections to choose! Don't you love this problem? :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. AmusedDecember 1, 2010 at 11:39 PM

    Good luck - these are lofty goals but I bet you can do it! Cold weather usually breeds lots of reading time :)

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  4. AmyDecember 2, 2010 at 7:18 AM

    What a great list of books - good luck and I hope you make your goals!

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  5. UnknownDecember 2, 2010 at 8:42 AM

    Congratulations on getting hold of a copy of The Sentimentalists - I look forward to seeing what you make of it. It is quite weird to have seen so few reviews for an award winning book. The rest are an interesting mix of books I loved and books I hated. I look forward to finding out if we are on the same side of the fence for each :-)

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  6. ZibileeDecember 2, 2010 at 10:28 AM

    So glad to heat that grad school is almost over for you! I bet you are just dancing with joy! It sounds like you've got a lot of great books lined up for yourself, and I will be interested in hearing your opinions on them. I am also hoping to read Wolf Hall sometime soon, and it will be neat to compare our reactions!

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  7. ErinDecember 2, 2010 at 3:27 PM

    Ooh, congratulations on almost getting to the end of grad school! That's exciting!! Good luck with your last few days, and with your reading goals for the rest of 2010!

    ReplyDelete

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