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So, what are you most looking forward to in your reading? Your response can be about this month, year, or just a general response.

I am looking forward to reading more long books. I focused on short stories for the last three years or so. I love them, but there are certain longer classics I really want to get to. That means reducing other types of reading. It is so easy to just pick up a short story collection and say "someday I will start that other book".

Happy New Year, Lynn. In 2024, am looking forward to reading the books on my shelf that I already own. I am starting with a clean slate having today finished the two books that I wanted to finish in 2023. I read about 60 books a year, and I hope that 2/3 of those will be taken off my shelf. This is my primary challenge.

Happy New Year Everyone!

This year I am beginning my reread of Shakespeare's works in chronological order. Last year I couldn't read dramas, so this year I will catch up with that.

I intend to become efficient in choosing my books. Getting a book that you know will almost certainly be a thrilling read is a strong feeling that I want to experience many times this year.

I have a mind to take part in the Les Miserables year long read. Apart from it, my reading time will be divided between Fantasy and nonfiction.

I have a biography of Napoleon on my reading device. It will help me deal with the Napoleonic chapters in Les Miserables. I mention this because when I came across this section in the classic, I snapped, and dnfed the latter. I hope to read the entire thing this year.

I look forward to reading whatever catches my fancy rather than following a strict plan. I'm really excited about the plays I have marked for this year. Also, I'm going to read some contemporary fiction and nonfiction, and I'm really looking forward to this change in my reading pattern.

I'm looking forward to starting the new year with some short stories! I created an exclusive shelf just for short stories, shorter novellas, and anthologies and now I'm in a great mood for exploring the shelf.

Happy New Year!

I have a short list of mega-classics that I "must" read. It looks like 2024 will be a year of long mega-classics: Proust and Don Quixote as group reads here and Les Misérables as buddy read after that. I am looking forward to reading them, but all three in one year, wow....

A heavy load there, J_BlueFlower, but I bet you'll do it AND enjoy them.

Lots I'm looking forward to: diving into Swann's Way, reading and savoring, and making it to the end this time; the stack of writing books I plan to read this year; The Mirror & the Light--reading the last book and watching the last part of the series out later this year; some of my challenge books, like Mrs. Bridge and Go Tell It on the Mountain and The Waves; The Rumer Godden buddy reads; all the short stories we'll discover ... gonna be a great reading year!

J_BlueFlower wrote: "I have a short list of mega-classics that I "must" read. It looks like 2024 will be a year of long mega-classics: Proust and Don Quixote as group reads here and Les Misérables as buddy read after t..."

I hope to read Les Miserables and Don Quixote. The rest of my reading should be moderate lengths novels, short stories, or children's books.

I am looking forward to reading more of the books I own, and also more books that I “want�� to read; less of the “must�� read! I just want to "enjoy" reading :)

Nidhi wrote: "Happy New Year Everyone!

This year I am beginning my reread of Shakespeare's works in chronological order. Last year I couldn't read dramas, so this year I will catch up with that."

Happy New Year to you too , Nidhi , and to all our moderators and members ! 🎉🕯

Happy New Year Everyone!

Like others, I think I will be looking forward to getting to some of those books I've owned for years and wanted to read, but never had a chance to read.

Happy New Year everyone ~~ I hope I can read all of the books that I own physically. In 2023 I wasn't able to read as much as I'd like to I hope I get to read the books I've been wanting to read for years now.

Good luck , Franky and Kesa , with your 2024 reading plans !

Like some others, I also want to read some of the longer books I've been meaning to read, starting with Don Quixote and Montaigne's The Complete Essays. I hope to finish DQ in February and the Essays in March.

Has anyone here listened to the Hardcore Literature podcast by Benjamin McEvoy? I've enjoyed the podcasts but the free episodes are few and far between. I decided as a present to myself this year to subscribe to his Patreon page/book club. It's more of a series of lectures than an interactive club, I think, but I'm excited to have access to all his previous lectures from the past few years.
I'm hoping to finish Paradise Lost soon and then read 4 (or if I'm lucky 5) out of the 11/12 books on his schedule for this year:
1. East of Eden
2. Leaves of Grass: The First (1855) Edition
3. The Master and Margarita
4. The Divine Comedy: The Inferno, the Purgatorio and the Paradiso (maybe)
5. Far From the Madding Crowd

I would also love to do a deeper dive into the relationship between British Romanticism, American Transcendentalists, and writers with more contemporary perspectives on nature.

Looking forward to a more relaxed time of reading and maybe finding a couple of those books that you don't want to end.

Amyjzed wrote: "Has anyone here listened to the Hardcore Literature podcast by Benjamin McEvoy?"

I was looking into this yesterday as I would find it helpful to hear some of the lectures for books I'm planning to read this year, and to engage with a few of the "live" reads for 2024. It's a bit beyond my $$$ at the moment, so I'm hoping to join after I've reviewed the budget. Please let me know how you get on with it!

Kathryn wrote: "Amyjzed wrote: "Has anyone here listened to the Hardcore Literature podcast by Benjamin McEvoy?"

I was looking into this yesterday as I would find it helpful to hear some of the lectures for books..."

It is expensive! I'm a high school English teacher and I got a small award to use towards professional development this year, so that was part of my reasoning! I was telling my friends that it might be something you could subscribe to for a month or so to listen to the lectures you are most interested in, though, without paying for a whole year. I am new so I don't know how easy it is to subscribe or unsubscribe.
He has quite a few lectures in the archives, but I am happy to let you know if he has lectures for any specific books if you are curious, as well as what the other books on his list for this year's schedule are.

Kathryn wrote: "Amyjzed wrote: "Has anyone here listened to the Hardcore Literature podcast by Benjamin McEvoy?"

I was looking into this yesterday as I would find it helpful to hear some of the lectures for books..."

I also wanted to mention that I really like a lot of the episodes of Jacke Wilson's The History of Literature podcast, if you haven't heard of it.

Amyjzed wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Amyjzed wrote: "Has anyone here listened to the Hardcore Literature podcast by Benjamin McEvoy?"

I was looking into this yesterday as I would find it helpful to hear some of the le..."

Hi Amyjzed. I recently discovered this podcast and love it. I haven't considered joining because of the $, but I thought if you joined it was more like a full-on book club with conversations and interaction about the books scheduled for the year. I'm happy with the free podcasts available, and there are videos on YouTube too, if you're interested. If you do join, keep us posted on what it's like!

My goals for the year include reading some of the books that I’ve had on my shelves for years, exploring genres that I almost never read, like SFF, and pursuing my probably too numerous interests.

One of my primary interests is the so-called women “middlebrow�� writers of the 20’s to about the 50’s. I am drawn to the interwar years, domestic life on the home front, and the ways in which the Blitz affected English women and families. Those women writers will show up quite a bit in my challenges.

The other major interest is the Raj in India, along with Indian culture in general. I’ll be continuing my reading of The Raj Quartet and supplemnting that with other novels set during that time, along with some nonfiction. As an offshoot, I tend to read a fair bit about the Empire and British Colonialism in general.

Finally, I’d like to read The Longest Journey this year. It’s the last of Forster’s novels for me and despite starting it numerous times, I can never seem to connect with it.

That was a lot! Thanks if you read all of that. Please feel free to send along a friend request if you’d like to connect.

I am looking forward to reading books on my shelves this year along with several others here. I want to read in a more leisurely way and try enjoying the book I'm reading without always looking ahead to the next one.

I am doing a yearlong slow read of the Wolf Hall Trilogy with a group. I've read the first two books but it has been a few years, so I'm looking forward to those books. I am also reading Our Mutual Friend in my quest to read all of Dickens and I am so ready for it. I have several books I'm looking forward to, but I too want to read what sounds good instead of what I "should".

I am looking forward to reading books I haven't been looking forward to(!)

which is to say, the main change to my projected reading for 2024 is to force myself to include more titles that I have tagged as "putting off", "dubious" and "really don't fancy"
I suspect this might result in a spike in DNF's(!), but hopefully there'll be a few pleasant surprises in there as well...

Darren wrote: "I am looking forward to reading books I haven't been looking forward to(!)

which is to say, the main change to my projected reading for 2024 is to force myself to include more titles that I have t..."

Hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised by some of those.

I'm looking forward to reading more books from my own shelf (2023 saw me buying increasingly from flea markets etc., I just forgot to read those books, so my bookshelves are overflowing...)

I see a theme above of wanting to read more of our own physical books - maybe we could use this thread as a motivation and record our progress esp at end of year...?

my personal TBR stands at 120, and I hereby declare that I would like to decrease it to 80
(there, I've said it!)

edit: make that 121 - I just bought another book (smacks own forehead with palm!)

I think most of us probably buy more books in January than in any other month due to the anticipation and excitement of a new year of reading. I don't care to admit to how many books I've purchased in the last few days!

Darren wrote: "I see a theme above of wanting to read more of our own physical books - maybe we could use this thread as a motivation and record our progress esp at end of year...?

my personal TBR stands at 120,..."

Darren wrote: "edit: make that 121 - I just bought another book (smacks own forehead with palm!)"

That gave me my morning belly laugh. Thanks for that!

enlightenment

RJ (LOL) your expectations may be a bit high!

Terry wrote: "RJ (LOL) your expectations may be a bit high!"

Well, shoot for the moon and if you miss maybe you'll hit the stars, I always say... ;-)

RJ - Slayer of Trolls wrote: "Terry wrote: "RJ (LOL) your expectations may be a bit high!"

Well, shoot for the moon and if you miss maybe you'll hit the stars, I always say... ;-)"

Nice one !

Like many others, I am trying to read books off my shelves. I'm also going to try to not buy as many books this year.

I'm most looking forward to Chenneville because Paulette Jiles is one of my favorite contemporary authors.

I'm doing the opposite of you Lynn. I'm reading two short story collections simultaneously now and I may even try to do a couple more this year because I'm always putting them off and it helps that I'm liking the two I'm reading now.

I’m looking forward to a slower pace of reading. I remember I read 16 books last January however, that just sounds crazy to me! How did I do that? And do I recollect much? I’m also trying to read from my shelves but I’ve already bought too many in this first 10 days of the year! It’s just so hard to refrain!

I will still do some buddy reads this year as I look forward to them greatly. I will be choosy about them though because a big part of this year I’m trying to make unplanned to see how the mood strikes!

Sue, I’m also looking forward to Chenneville!

Happy New Year everyone!

Like many others, I'm looking forward to reading more of what's already on my shelf.

I've also been enjoying annotating some of my reads lately and plan to do more of that this year. It's been helping me slow down and really engage rather than rushing onto the next book.

It'd also be great to discover some new favorites!

I'm thinking about finally getting around to Don Quixote and Swann's Way, thanks to the group monthly picks. I have a few more long novels I've been putting off, so I think this year I'll try to pair long novels with short story collections. And knock off some of my to-read list.

I just realized I'm reading more Asian-themed books this year than I've ever read before. Thanks to the challenges, I'm reading at least some books from my everyone-has-read-this-except-me pile. Pachinko for instance, utterly delighted me. I'm excited about Death and the Dervish, Homegoing, Fifth Business, The Secret History, and Memed, My Hawk

I recently read an article about how as people get older, they tend to read fewer novels. This is due to memory challenges. I.e. you have to remember what happened in the beginning of the book to make sense of the middle and the end. I’m 76 years old, and realized that it was happening to me. all my life. I was an avid reader of novels, but in the past few years have gotten out of the habit. So I made a commitment to reading novels for the pure joy of it. I know sitting a chair under a lamp with a book in my hand, and I feel like I’m home again it’s wonderful.. II am a relatively slow reader, so I only have 25 books on my challenge for this year, I’m currently reading Cannery Row by John Steinbach for a ŷ������ reading group. I am finishing up Norwegian, Wood, by Haruki Murakami. I am also in the middle of Walter Isaacson‘s biography of Albert Einstein, not a novel, but fascinating. I do have two Kindle books that I haven’t finished and plan on doing that as well Gilead, by Marilyn Robinson, and. The City We. became by NK Jemisin. I’m also looking forward to some Terry Pratchett and some Dennis Lehane. Next up Deacon King Kong, by James McBride. finally, I am taking a course on the Tibetan book of the dead and enjoying the translation by Robert Thurman. I have reactivated my ŷ������ account and enjoy participating What a joy all this is.

P.S. I’m looking for reading fellow Travelers, so friend me if you’d like.

Ed wrote: "I recently read an article about how as people get older, they tend to read fewer novels. This is due to memory challenges. I.e. you have to remember what happened in the beginning of the book to m..."

You have some years on me, but I was suffering from early memory deterioration. and really amped my reading to try and compensate. It seems to have helped. I have about 12 books going and can now read, interrupt for a different book and come back to the one I left without losing what I absorbed. In fact, I am now practicing reading more longer books using a paced method of a certain number of pages every day or so. Plus like you, I am enjoying the experience.

Thank you for your comments, Ed and Sam. I am also looking at aging and changes in my body and my thinking as I turn 66 this year! I can still read several books at a time and still remember what's going on, but what I'm noticing right now is some changes in my eyesight -- and I don't like it! It helps to read on my iPad with a black background and white font. It seems to cut down on noticing floaters and is more relaxing to my eyes. I can make the font larger, too, if needed. I also listen to audio books, which gives my eyes a rest. However, I still like to read "real" books, so I try not to stress my eyes too long and use brighter light. It seems to help.

The aging process is not great fun, but I appreciate any tips for things that are coming up and what has helped others.
Aging may not be the most fun, but think of the experiences we had, and all the books we've read! I love it! And I also love that I'm still excited to get to the next book. I hope that never goes away :)

Reading helps me to remember who I am, to develop who I am after a grave illness in 2012. . . . Now I am 60 with vestibular issues, very probably as a result of that illness. I have eye exercises I use when things get bad--like very recently. I can already see improvement in about a week of exercising about 5 minutes a day. There are plenty of eye exercises at YouTube or at physical therapist office. I kept some of the directions from physical therapy. They continue to help.

ok so in 2024 I am looking forward to reducing my TBR pile from 120 to 80
so far I have read 5...
and bought 6 [doh!]
so TBR=121...

I am looking forward to reading down my bucket list that both I listed on my Personal Challenge section and that I have listed in my head. Already it begins with reads of Don Quixote and Les Miserables 🌞

Darren wrote: "ok so in 2024 I am looking forward to reducing my TBR pile from 120 to 80
so far I have read 5...
and bought 6 [doh!]
so TBR=121..."

This made me laugh, Darren. It's so true!

Cynda is on the return 2024 wrote: "Reading helps me to remember who I am, to develop who I am after a grave illness in 2012. . . . Now I am 60 with vestibular issues, very probably as a result of that illness. I have eye exercises I..."

I'm glad that you found some helpful exercises and that you are recovering, but that's a lot to go through at a fairly young age. I hope things continue to improve for you Cynda!

Thanks Greg. I am abundantly blessed ☀

Darren wrote: "ok so in 2024 I am looking forward to reducing my TBR pile from 120 to 80
so far I have read 5...
and bought 6 [doh!]
so TBR=121..."

LOL Darren.

Terris wrote: "Thank you for your comments, Ed and Sam. I am also looking at aging and changes in my body and my thinking as I turn 66 this year! I can still read several books at a time and still remember what's..."

My age-related issues are arthritis related. I have found using a laptop or a book holder - the type that cooks use for cookbooks - has been great.