Each year, I set a goal for the number of books I’d like to read. This year I’m targeting 40 books, which – at a little less than 1 per week – is enough to keep me on my toes, but allow for the inevitable distractions of work and life to creep in.
The secret to success with this for me is having a go-to reading list so that as soon as I drop one book, I know which one I’m picking up next. I’ve also started reading two books at a time. One novel (usually compliments of the Brooklyn Public Library) for when I’m home and have time to sit down with a book for an hour or so and one nonfiction or short story book on Kindle app on my iPhone for when I’m dangling from a handle bar on the crowded F train and only have ten free minutes and one free hand. I thought it’d be tough bouncing from story to story, but I’ve actually found that it engages me more in each book since I never get that “I’m just trying to get through this book to get to the next” feeling. It also limits the time I spend mindlessly scrolling through social media apps or re-reading emails to kill time on my commute.
So, here we go. I sat down today and started my list. It’s a combination of a wishlist that has accumulated over the course of 2015, a few recommendations from friends over the holidays, and from a quick scan of the Man Booker Prize lists frm the past few years.
I’m starting with 20, knowing that Prose and Hos(e) (our fabulous book society) and new releasese and recommendations will fill this out along the way.
- Me Before You by JoJo Moyes
- The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
- The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
- The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
- Empire Falls by Richard Russo
- This is Where I Leave You by Jonathan Tropper
- Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett
- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
- All the Light we Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- On the Road by Jack Kerouac
- The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
- The Power Broker by Robert Caro
- On Looking: 11 Walks with Expert Eyes by Alexandra Horowitz
- Unfinished Business by Anne-Marie Slaughter
- Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg
- The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
- The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat by Oliver Sacks
- The Power of Unreasonable People by John Elkington, Pamela Hartigan
- Susan Sontag The Complete Rolling Stone Interview by Jonathan Cot
What’s on your reading list this year? Any recommendations for me?
&d
You will love Me Before You:) I want to read The Goldfinch as well!
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I’m excited about that one — just started it! Keep me posted on any other good reads you come across. 🙂
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This is a great list. I have read some of these; my favorites would be The Goldfinch and the Master and Margarita. Was delighted by Kavalier and Clay. I had mixed feelings about Freedom (won’t say more until after you’ve read it). Curious to hear what you think of these. Enjoy!
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I’m glad to hear you liked the Goldfinch, Sandra! It’s a commitment so was on the fence on whether to put this on my list. 😉
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Love The Goldfinch & All the Light.. Empire Falls remains one of my favorites that I’ve read in the last 10 years. As for me, I started “My Brilliant Friend” the other day and plan the read the rest of Ferrante’s Neopolitan Novels during 2016!
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