I have read (or listened to) only 4 out of the 30 books I planned to read for 2018. I have a really hard time believing that to be true, but I know I have been consumed with house projects more so than I ever have… since I now own a home. I have also been attached to my phone more than I should be. Of course, I just started A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix, and it is so good that I can’t stop watching. Also, I signed up for two craft shows so I need to make time to paint more as well. Plus, I’m still looking for a job.
Priorities.
I would still like to make my challenge, but I am going to list six here to start. This list would get me to 10 for the year.
1. First Fiction: An Anthology of the First Published Stories by Famous Writers by Kathy Kiernan — I am more than 50% through this. I think it’s doable to finish by the end of the year. I love most of the stories, but it’s not hard to put the book down after just reading one or two – unlike a novel that keeps me turning the pages late into the night.
2. Saint Francis of Assisi by G.K. Chesterton — I suddenly had the urge to read more about St. Francis of Assisi a few weeks ago – since, ya know, I chose Francis as my confirmation name – so I ordered a few titles from Amazon. I started this even though I was in the midst of three other books, but I would like to get back into it since it is a short one.
3. All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr — I have been seeing this book online everywhere. My grandma has a copy to share with me. I hope to start this once I finish the two I already opened.
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer — This has been sitting on my bookshelf for awhile. I have been avoiding it because I think I am going to cry like baby. Because that is just what I do.
5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman — Neil Gaiman wrote Coraline and Stardust, two of my favorite stories. Coraline was a favorite when I was younger. I think I bought it from a Scholastic Book flyer. I have read it multiple times. My family watched the movie adaptation of Stardust when I was at college, and Dad was the one to tell me I had to watch it. It was that good. So I saw the movie before I read the book. Obviously, they were a little different, but Gaiman writes great stories. American Gods is another that has been highly recommended.
6. Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee — Did you notice my affinity for blue books? I don’t know why, but almost every book I have bought lately has had a blue or blue-ish cover. Go Set a Watchman is the – sort of – controversial sequel to To Kill a Mockingbird. This version of Lee’s story was rejected by publishers but then accepted by them posthumously. To many, this novel seems like a money-grab. I’m not sure if I should read To Kill a Mockingbird again before reading Go Set. I read the former in… 10th grade ? It has been awhile.
Any thoughts on my To Read shelf? Have you read any of these ?