July 2011 Goals
After (almost) a month in Des Moines, I feel like I've really settled into a routine for reading. I read at the bus stop and on the bus, and I take my lunch hour to read most days. Mr. Nomadreader has been mostly working nights, so I've been doing a fair amount of reading nights and weekends too. That rooftop patio sure is nice:-)
I have a pretty ambitious reading plan for July, but it's one I'm excited about. My best reading month this year was January, and it was a month I scheduled my reading day-by-day. After a few months of slow reading, June picked up when I once again began scheduling to catch up on review commitments and personal reading goals. I hope to do the same each month (as long as it's working!) Regardless, here's what I hope to spend my July reading:
Now tell me: what are you most looking forward to reading this month?
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I have a pretty ambitious reading plan for July, but it's one I'm excited about. My best reading month this year was January, and it was a month I scheduled my reading day-by-day. After a few months of slow reading, June picked up when I once again began scheduling to catch up on review commitments and personal reading goals. I hope to do the same each month (as long as it's working!) Regardless, here's what I hope to spend my July reading:
- A Good Hard Look
by Ann Napolitano
- Grace Williams Says It Loud
by Emma Henderson (I am woefully behind on my Orange Prize reading, and Jackie even sent me a copy of this one all the way from England. It's first on my list!)
- The Privileges
by Jonathan Dee (a 2011 Pulitzer Prize finalist)
- Comedy in a Minor Key
by Hans Keilson (2011 finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction)
- Memory of Love
by Aminatta Forna (also from the Orange Prize shortlist)
- French Lessons
by Ellen Sussman (for Paris in July)
- The Tiger's Wife
by Tea Obreht (it won the Orange Prize after all)
- Next to Love
and have been waiting on this one!)
- When I Lived in Modern Times
by Linda Grant (2000 Orange Prize winner)
- I Curse the River of Time
by Per Petterson (shortlisted for the 2011 Independent Foreign Fiction Award)
- Close Your Eyes
by Amanda Eyre Ward
- The Lantern
by Deborah Lawrenson
Now tell me: what are you most looking forward to reading this month?
As an affiliate, I receive a very, very small commission when you make a purchase through any of the above links. Thank you for helping to support my book habits that bring more content to this blog!
Wow, that's an ambitious reading list! You have some great books lined up though and I'll be reading some of those "oranges" along with you. I'm also looking forward to the Booker longlist announcement; I have no plans to read them all immediately but I enjoy following the process and eventually reading the winner and some nominees.
ReplyDeleteI'm really pleased to hear that you are settling in nicely. I hope that you manage to catch up on your Orange reading and that there are lots of good books on the Booker list to tempt us with. Enjoy :-)
ReplyDeleteYou are doing so well with your reading, and also with adjusting to your new home! I am looking forward to reading Before I Fall, and The Peach Keeper this long weekend, but have to finish The Storm at the Door first. It's a very sobering and serious read, and I am looking forward to finishing it and taking a break with something lighter.
ReplyDeleteThese all look awesome! This month, I'm finishing up Stefan Merrill Block's "Storm at the Door," and then I'll start "Next to Love" - I'm glad to hear that you're excited about it too!
ReplyDeleteI'm also planning on reading Sapphire's "Push" and "The Kid"... hopefully it won't be too depressing to do both in one month.
And then I have John Burnham Schwartz's "Reservation Road" and "Northwest Corner"... whew!
Oooh, some really fabu books in the queue. I just finished French Lessons and enjoyed it -- very breezy, beach-read-ish (for me) -- and I too am going to read The Lantern. Can't wait to see what you think of Next to Love -- I so, so enjoyed that one -- it sucked me in on a Sun morning and didn't let go!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your plan! I'm going to read To the Lighthouse...and who knows what else.
ReplyDeleteI am seeing that a few people are reading French Lessons for Paris in July and it sounds interesting so I am definitely looking forward to hearing what you think about it. Welcome to Paris in July!
ReplyDeleteLove the bunch of Orange books on your list! I really want to read the Grace Williams' book, but it's not available here yet. And the Forne book is on my wishlist!
ReplyDeleteI'm diving into Orange Prize books for the Orange July event. I've started with Ali Smith's The Accidental and hope to read lots of other books including The Tiger's Wife.
ReplyDeleteI love love your list! I can't wait to go on your July journey with you :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great stack of books. I hope you're able to meet your goal by the 26th. There are so many books that i want to read this month but I'm looking forward to reading A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThat is an impressive pile of books! Next to Love is on my list too and I have wanted to read Privileges since I came out - I will look out for your review!
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