About this time last year I cracked down on my reading piles and finished nearly all my partially read books by the end of the year (the one exception was War and Peace, which I couldn't manage at the time, but I did finish it earlier this year!). I am feeling very much in the mood to do this again. There are too many stragglers on my night stand--I won't even admit to how long ago I started some of these books--but it's time to get things back under control. I have a few reading projects in mind for next year, so it would be nice to have a manageable pile of books once again. I know it won't last (inevitably I will fall again into my bad habits I'm sure), but it's nice to finish the year with a clean slate. This is not to say I won't read other things (or start them at least) before the end of the year, but these are the books I absolutely want to finish before the end of 2007!
Daphne du Maurier, Margaret ForsterJournal, Katherine MansfieldDevices and Desires, P.D. JamesDavid Copperfield, Charles Dickens- Armadale, Wilkie Collins -- I might as well start from the beginning (or at least skim over what little I've read). Out of all these books, I have the most pages to read in this one.
The Necklace and Other Tales, Guy de MaupassantMrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth TaylorNot Yet Drown'd, Peg KingmanFire in the Blood, Irene Nemirovsky-- I have the least number of pages to read in this one--I will finish it tonight. And it's been a very good read!Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe(RIP Challenge)Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset- The Rainbow, D.H. Lawrence (Outmoded Authors Challenge)
Perfume, Patrick Suskind
Thirteen books. Ten weeks. 3,900+ pages to read (fewer than last year). It would be nice to get the stack back down to a nice round number like five or six (I know, I know...but for me, this works...honestly). Now to decide whether to approach each book individually and systematically read through the list, or keep on juggling (my usual m.o.)? I guess I know what I'll be reading for the next couple of months!