I have quite the ambitious list this year.
I can do this.
I can read these ten books.
I think I can, I think I can....
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
It's on so many must-read lists.
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
This one intimidates me.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Very complex. Hope I'm up for it.
The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux
I've had this on my shelf for years.
And years.
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
I've tried this book three or four times.
This time I will finish it.
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
I'm on page 255 of this book.
I can finish it. Right?
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
A YA classic that has eluded me.
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Didion is always being recommended to me,
a big nonfiction reader.
Home Town by Tracy Kidder
Another nonfiction classic I've had sitting on my shelf
for years.
Must read this and pass it on.
Must read this and pass it on.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
I'm anticipating that this will be my most difficult read.
So, what do you think?
Any words of encouragement?
Caution?
What books do you hope to read in 2011?
what an eclectic list, i love it! ok so i've read most if not all of toni morrison's books. if you like that sort of thing then you'll love her! i, however, could not handle it. i simply read it so i could make statements like "i've read all of toni morrison's books!" (like i said earlier)
ReplyDeleteFranny and Zooey was a re-read for me last year. very disappointing the second time around.
bonne chance!!
Wow! What an impressive list. I am yearning to read beloved, East of Eden. I believe I would this year. I wish you well in this resolution.
ReplyDeleteHome Town by Kidder is a great book. I loved it as it takes place not far from where I grew up. I also hope to read East of Eden this year; good luck meeting your goals.
ReplyDeleteImpressive list Debbie. I've only read one- The Amulet of Samarkand- come on you can do it! I'm sure you'll get all 10 done if you put your mind to it. I meant to do this meme this week, but haven't got around to even thinking about it. I may have to live vicariously yet again.
ReplyDeleteWow! Just a little light reading, eh? I almost put War and Peace on my list, too, but with Moby Dick and the Histories, I figured it should wait until next year.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I loved Devil in the White City, but for me, the serial killer story ran a distant second to the World's Fair story. I loved the local (for me) history aspect of the book, and the large scale impact of the fair.
Dan
Nice list -- I am almost done with War & Peace and though it's huge it is a story that can easily hold your interest.
ReplyDeleteThe other titles look good as well. Good luck with them.
I've been wanting to read War and Peace for a few years now, but I couldn't put it on my list because I know I'll probably never get round to it!
ReplyDeleteI get to read East of Eden for my English class this semester. I'm actually very excited about it. :)
ReplyDeleteThere is a year long readalong for War and Peace, which I've considered joining. Also, Devil in the White City was absolutely wonderful for me!
ReplyDeleteLove this list! I'm giving "The Amulet of Samarkand" a try...hope it's interesting as people say :S
ReplyDeleteSome pretty heavy stuff in there - very admirable. Good luck! I couldn't get through Beloved. Never tried War and Peace, didn't like Catcher in the Rye, so I don't know about Franny & Zooey. I'll be anxious to hear what you think of those.
ReplyDeleteYou have an ambitious list- good stuff! From your list I have read Beloved and I am interested in reading Franny & Zooey. Good luck with your reading goals!
ReplyDeleteHometown -- isn't that about Northampton MA? I remember reading that with pleasure a few years ago.
ReplyDeleteI should probably retry East of Eden -- I read some of it a couple of years ago but lost interest.
Wow that list can be quite intimidating! Best of luck. Can I ask why you haven't finished Devil in the White City after starting it? That one's on my list this year and you're making me nervous :)
ReplyDeleteI read "War and Peace." Good, of course. But the thing with Russian books I have to substitute common American names to the Russian ones otherwise it gets very confusing.
ReplyDeleteEast of Eden. Can get a little burdensome, but worth sticking to it.
You have some books I have not heard about. Not surprising.
I think I may have mentioned it to you before but I loved Devil in the White City. It was surprsingly good and well written and well...just fascinating all around. I agree with the other poster, that the World's Fair part of it was so much more interesting than the serial killings.
ReplyDeleteEast of Eden is one of my favorite books of all time. I hope you love it as much as I do.
ReplyDeleteHappy reading!
Beloved is incredible! The movie is almost silly compared to Toni Morrison's writing...hope you'll enjoy this one.
ReplyDeleteI'm knocking out War and Peace this year as well...with a 365 chapters in 365 days ReadAlong :)
I've had East of Eden on my tbr list for a long time. It's one of my dad's favorite books, so I definitely need to get to it sometime (maybe this year)! I love Steinbeck. He's one of my new favorites.
ReplyDeleteDevil in the White City is an awesome read. Great storytelling.
ReplyDeleteSome very interesting choices! I'd love to read East of Eden and Beloved...and I have to admit I want to be brave enough to tackle War & Peace one day too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck :) You have an ambitious year of reading ahead and I hope you enjoy it
Quite an imprssive list you got for 2011. I've tried War & Peace but I just don't think I'm ever going to finish that one. I read Pale Fire in college...that one's pretty good.
ReplyDeleteHerew's my Book Resolutions for 2011: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/01/top-ten-tuesday-book-resolutions-2011.html
Enjoy The Devil in the White City and East of Eden. On the other hand, I hope you enjoy Franny and Zooey more than I did!
ReplyDeleteYou will love Beloved. It's the book that got me into Toni Morrison.
ReplyDeleteEast of Eden and Beloved are wonderful. Enjoy your list and I can't wait to hear what you think of Pale Fire in particular.
ReplyDeleteWow, you have so many comments. I've decided to add Franny and Zoey to my TBR pile. Love your list.
ReplyDeleteI finished Beloved not too long ago in audio format... what a great book! I hope you enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteSlouching Toward Bethlehem is on my TBR list for this year. I really want to re-read Beloved. It's such a good book. I don't think I can properly review it until I read it a second time. East of Eden is another wonderful read! I can't wait to read your thoughts on all three books! Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteWow that is an impressive list.
ReplyDeleteI've always wondered what War and Peace would be like.
Impressive list! I don't know too many people that finished War and Peace. I'm not one of them. I'm glad to see someone else is trying to get to Devil in the White City.
ReplyDeleteThat's quite a list!
ReplyDeleteEast of Eden has been on my TBR list for ages. Maybe I'll follow your example and finally read it.
The Great Railway Bazaar. Very good travelogue, but be warned that Theroux is very judgemental and often harsh when describing the people he met.
Give me a DEB - give me a NAN - give me a CE! GOOOOO DEB NANCE!!!! :") You'll make it!!! ;")
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll have fun, too!
Bartimaeus is amazing. The series made up some of my favorite reading in the last few months.
ReplyDeleteWar and Peace, though daunting in size, is actually a really nice read. Not the easiest, but not as Hard and Difficult as it's painted as. Same for East of Eden. Long books both, but absolutely wonderful.
A number of these are on my own TBR list! I just started War and Peace a few days ago, and so far, so good. It's not nearly as bad as I'd anticipated!
ReplyDeleteVery impressive list. Ive only read The Devil in the White city!
ReplyDeleteWow -- you have some great books on this list.
ReplyDeleteYou won't be sorry if you read East of Eden. I've read all of Steinbeck and this one is definitely his best (IMHO).
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment to my list. I have read Winn Dixie, but somehow missed Despereaux. I'm looking forward to it!
ReplyDeleteYour list is really awesome. Franny and Zooey is one of my favorites, and I also love Joan Didion. Good luck!
I have always wanted to read East of Eden. You will have to let me know how it is if you finish first!
ReplyDeleteYes it is a very eclectic list, but they all look like they are worth the effort. Don't let the length of War and Peace intimidate you - once you've finished it you'll want to read it again.
ReplyDeleteMy plans for 2011 are not complete yet, but I'd like to read the Transylvanian Trilogy by Miklos Bannfy, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth and Doctor Faustus by Thomas Mann.
War and Peace! Wow. I was looking at books today and came across that one, thinking to myself how cool it would be to read... but I'm not sure I could handle how big it is, at least not at my current pace!
ReplyDeleteI've read Hometown and thought it alright (but how I adore Kidder). Franny & Zooey I read last year! Beloved is on my list this year.
ReplyDeleteGo for it! I have heard of all, but only read two: Salinger and Morrison
ReplyDeleteAfter having it on my bookshelf for over 10 years, I FINALLY read East of Eden last summer. I don't know why I waited so long - it was great. I haven't read War and Peace, yet. I did get through Anna Karenina quite painlessly a few years ago, so I should put War and Peace into my queue.
ReplyDeleteSo how many of these have you read since then? East of Eden gave me honest-to-God nightmares. Cathy Ames was the devil--that's how great the writing is, I had real-world nightmares. I couldn't finish it. Devil in White City is the only Larson I've DNF. I loved The Great Railway Bazaar--travel writing at its very best.
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