I've been tossing around a few ideas for 2017, and nothing really felt right until I found that one of my newer blogging acquaintances, Risa, is planning a very relaxed re-read of The Lord of the Rings. I haven't reread that since I led my very first read-along, which was three years ago. Gack! I need to read it again! So I'm doing that with her. Calling it My Year in Middle Earth, as I hope to read a couple other things set there as well, like those short stories I've never read yet (such as "Farmer Giles of Ham"). Never know, I might even try some of the History of Middle Earth books or reread The Hobbit as well.
And also, my TBR shelves are scary right now. So I'm going to do the Mount TBR Challenge (hosted by My Reader's Block) again in 2017. I did it back in 2014 and really liked how it helped me get through some of the books I already owned, so I'm signing up again! I'm aiming for Pike's Peak, which means reading 12 books already on my TBR shelves before January 1, 2017. Not making a list for this, just reading as the book vibes move me, as usual. Who knows -- I might get ambitious and aim for Mount Blanc and 24 books instead! We shall see.
I think that's enough reading challenges and plans for me for 2017. Besides my Classics Club list, of course. Do you have any goals in mind already? Or are you not a fan of challenges and so on?
This might be my last post before Christmas, so just in case it is... Merry Christmas!
2017 will be my year with The Great Gatsby. I'm planning a rereading of it and reading 2 books ABOUT The Great Gatsby: Careless People & So We Read On. But before that, I must work on 3-4 books for my Classic Club which will due on March.
ReplyDeleteBesides that, I'm also participating in Victorian Reading Challenge by Becky, and Adam's #CBAM2017. Will you join them too, Hamlette?
Merry Christmas to you! ^^
Fanda, completely coincidentally, I am seriously thinking of holding a read-along for The Great Gatsby this summer. Maybe you can chime in with some of the insights you've learned! I have both those other books on my TBR list, but haven't read them yet.
DeleteI tried joining several challenges a couple of years ago, I think it was the year I first did Mount TBR, and I found it too stressful, so I'm making myself stick to just these -- which gives me freedom to join something short like the Literary Christmas challenge.
Merry Christmas to you!
Merry Christmas, and good luck on your challenges! That LOTR one looks really good. And thanks for reminding me about The History of Middle Earth books - I need to add those to my TBR. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll be climbing Pike's Peak with you. (Not sure if I'll make to to 12 books or not, but it's worth a try.)
Merry Christmas, MH! And good luck to you as well -- here's hoping Pike's Peak isn't too steep this year :-)
DeleteI'm hoping this will be my year of nonfiction (serious, scholarly non-fiction, not books by English majors and journalists or far too dumbed down pop histories). We'll see. I need to focus on quality over quantity overall.
ReplyDeleteI love looking at everyone's lists and all the challenges, but I've decided that too restricted lists and too detailed goals don't work well for me. I like your "year of" idea. Simple and general.
Livia, wow! That sounds like a good focus for the year.
DeleteA few years ago, I did several focused challenges at once, Mount TBR and the I Love Library Books Challenge and a history reading challenge, and I discovered that they were simultaneously too restrictive and too unstructured -- I like having a focus/theme for my reading for the year, like Jane Austen or Sherlock Holmes or Anne or Middle Earth, but also have the freedom to range around. I quite often end up reading other books relating to my year's focus that I might not otherwise I have found or felt interested in, which is cool.
I love how you name your reading years. Such a great idea. That's how I am with my homeschool years. But I would name my reading years and have a theme even. : )
ReplyDeleteOh, and Merry Christmas!
DeleteRuth, I kind of started naming my yearly themes by accident, but now I love it! I really didn't used to have a theme for my year's reading, not until I got a box set of Jane Austen's novels and decided I wanted to read them all in one year. I started reading a bunch of other books related to her and realized by the end that I'd spent a whole year with Jane Austen, so I decided to try that again with Sherlock Holmes, and after that year, I was hooked on the idea :-)
DeleteMerry Christmas to you too!
Woohoo, looks like you've got a pretty full year of reading planned! When I visited your blog today and I saw your new header I thought, "Huh, maybe she's reading Tolkien or something?" Sure enough! I look forward to seeing your thoughts on LotR etc.
ReplyDeleteLooloolooweez, yup! Gonna be a good year, reading-wise. I'm hoping to dig into LOTR tonight once I've got the kids in bed -- we'll see if I still have mental energy yet.
DeleteHappy New Year!