Sunday Salon: drifting toward the end of my reading year

-
The Sunday Salon.comHappy Sunday (on Saturday!) It's been far too long since I've written a Salon post. Yesterday it was 65 degrees, which came after we had our first half-inch of snow on Monday. It's hard to believe it's mid-November, even though I put up two of our three Christmas trees weeks ago. To some, it's obscenely early, and part of me agrees, but it's also my favorite time of year, and I find I enjoy Thanksgiving so much more when it's part of one big holiday season rather than a beginning. I'm enjoying giving thanks and sharing holiday joy for all of November and December. Plus, it's our first holiday season in our new house, and it feels a little homier with my tree decorated with nostalgic ornaments.

This year has been a very strange reading (and blogging) year. To date, I've read only 75 books. While part of me knows 75 books is an accomplishment in some circles, I'm coming to realize I will most likely fall short of my goal of 100 books. Last year I read 118 books. After two years in a row reading more than 100 books a year, I hoped I'd turned a corner in reading. As I think about my reading life, I know I prefer quality over quantity, but I fear I'm falling behind in both categories. I'm not reading fewer books because I'm reading longer or more challenging books. The only solution, I know, is to spend more time reading and less time doing other things.

For the rest of 2013, I'm planning to alternate reading 2013 releases I can't believe I haven't read yet (that list is looooong) and reading 2014 releases (I've already read two!) There's never enough time to read all the new releases I'd like to, nor is there enough time to catch up on all the backlist titles I've been meaning to read for far too long. What I have been enjoying immensely lately, however, is cutting way back on accepting review copies for specific dates. I've always been a moody reader, but lately I find myself thoroughly enjoying indulging whatever strikes my fancy at the moment.

Now tell me: what's on your "must read before the end of the year list?" 

As an affiliate, I receive a 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!

Comments

  1. (Diane) Bibliophile By the SeaNovember 16, 2013 at 9:33 PM

    I'm over my goal for 2013, but still feel like I need to read several more 2013 releases by year-end. On my list are: Enon; Paul Harding - Survival Lessons; Alice Hoffman - Claire and the Sea Light; Edwidge Danticat, The Perservationist; Kramon - Sea Creatures; Daniel - Lowland; Lahiri and Valley of Light; Amy Tan

    ReplyDelete
  2. nomadreaderNovember 17, 2013 at 11:27 AM

    Good for you, Diane! Sea Creatures is one of my favorite reads of the year, so definitely make time for that. I hope to get to Lowland and Enon before the end of 2013 too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. UnknownNovember 17, 2013 at 12:25 PM

    My 2013 list keeps growing as people keep discovering great books I haven't tried yet! I'm not even going to think about 2014 until after Christmas, but until then I'm going to try to squeeze in The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert and The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. 75 books is a great number. Try to think of it as quality rather than quantity. Have a great Thanksgiving!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderNovember 17, 2013 at 1:26 PM

      Thanks, Jackie! Both the Gilbert and the Wolitzer are high on my list to read. Happy reading!

      Delete
  4. Laurie CNovember 17, 2013 at 12:51 PM

    I don't keep track of numbers and my TBR list is very freeform on LibraryThing, but there are so many books I wanted to read this year that I haven't gotten to! I thought this might be my year to read a Barbara Kingsolver, but I guess not. I still have NW by Zadie Smith that I was really looking forward to. Loved The Interestings (read that one right away) and just finished The Goldfinch, another long one, which I also loved.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderNovember 17, 2013 at 1:27 PM

      Laurie, I can't believe I haven't made time for The Interestings yet. I adore Wolitzer. I'm glad to hear you loved Goldfinch. I've been waiting on reviews because it's so long. Kingsolver has been hit or miss for me, but I also keep meaning to read The Poisonwood Bible.

      Delete
  5. TiNovember 17, 2013 at 12:54 PM

    I just wrote a post on how people need to celebrate Thanksgiving first, but I have no problem with people putting their stuff up early, in order to enjoy the holiday longer. I just have a problem with the commercial aspect of it. The STORES putting their stuff up before October killed me.

    My reading has taken a backseat to everything. I think I have 45 books read right now. The lowest total EVER! I am not sweating it though. I promised myself last year I would read Pride and Prejudice before the year ends but so far, I am not reaching for it. I'd rather read Murakami.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. nomadreaderNovember 17, 2013 at 1:30 PM

      Ti, I'm about to pop over and read your post:-) I find I'm actually more excited about Thanksgiving this year because I'm not only using it as my official start to Christmas. I stumbled onto something here. I haven't read Pride and Prejudice either. I think 2011 was supposed to be the year I promised I would. One day...

      Delete
  6. JessicaNovember 18, 2013 at 1:19 PM

    I'm usually anti Christmas decorating and music until after Thanksgiving but this year I gave in. Music playing and decorations going up little by little each day. No tree yet but Evan has a little tree he can decorate so that counts:-) I agree, it's much more fun to celebrate one big season of holiday. Love you!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to comment. Happy reading!

Popular posts from this blog

book review: A Dangerous Place by Jacqueline Winspear

-
Image
The backstory: A Dangerous Place  is the eleventh historical mystery featuring Maisie Dobbs. My reviews of the other eleven (plus Winspear's stand alone historical novel) are in my Book Review Database . The basics: Set four years after the last Maisie Dobbs novel, Leaving Everything Most Loved , in A Dangerous Place , we meet up with Maisie in Gibraltar in 1927 during the Spanish Civil War. She gets off her England-bound ship in Gibraltar because she's not quite ready to return. Note: this review contains spoilers about what happened in those four years of Maisie's life between books, all of which are revealed in this novel's first thirty pages.  My thoughts: Sunday I wrote about the Maisie Mail I received. These postcards appear in the book itself, along with many others. After setting the stage in Gibraltar in the opening pages (Maisie stumbles upon a dead body), Winspear recounts the last four years of Maisie's life in the form of postcards, letters, an
Read more

book review: Run by Ann Patchett

-
Image
The backstory: After loving State of Wonder  ( my review ), I set out to read all of Ann Patchett's books. The basics: Run  is the story of the Doyle family: Bernard, an Irish Catholic ex-mayor of Boston, his deceased wife Bernadette, their adult son Sullivan, and their two adopted college ages sons, Tip and Teddy, who are biological brothers. My thoughts: I'm beginning to think Ann Patchett is my soul sister. Her writing reaches me deeply, and I've adored everything she's written. It was a special treat to read Run , the novel of hers I knew the least about going in. Although I had the framework of two of her novels and one memoir, I didn't know what to expect. Run  isn't as universally loved as some of her other works, so I was particularly curious to see how it measured up. Admittedly, Run  started off slowly for me. It took two chapters to really get into the heart of the story, but once it happened, I was hooked. One of the things I love most about
Read more

book review: Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

-
Image
The backstory: Gilead  won the Pulitzer Prize in 2005, the National Book Critics Circle Award in 2004, and was longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2006. The basics: As Rev. Ames nears the end of his life in the 1950's, he begins a letter to his young son because Ames realizes his son is too young to really know him. Gilead  is that letter. My thoughts: Gilead  is a novel I'm been meaning to read for years. It's a character-driven, Midwestern narrative by one of our best contemporary writers. It should be a novel I love, yet I struggled to finish it and admit I was wowed by neither the story nor the writing. Gilead  seemed almost stream-of-consciousness at first. I appreciated that Robinson jumped right in: this novel is a letter from father to son; the reader's ignorance of these two characters is not the focus. As the novel progressed, more details began to be filled in, and the reader begins to understand the characters, setting and purpose. I enjoyed the fir
Read more