Time Again to Reassess and Whittle Down

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!

1. Daphne du Maurier, Margaret Forster
2. Journal, Katherine Mansfield
3. Devices and Desires, P.D. James
4. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
5. 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.
6. The Necklace and Other Tales, Guy de Maupassant
7. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont, Elizabeth Taylor
8. Not Yet Drown'd, Peg Kingman
9. Fire 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!
10. Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe (RIP Challenge)
11. Kristin Lavransdatter, Sigrid Undset
12. The Rainbow, D.H. Lawrence (Outmoded Authors Challenge)
13. 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!

Comments

[Matt]

Fire in the Blood is flagged for Asia trip. I also ordered Journal of Dora Damage for the trip.

Not Yet Drown'd needs to be picked up at the library. I'm almost through with The Woman Who waited....and Go-Between is going to be my new favorite! :)

Busy weekend reading...but I'm not sure if I'll take the 24-hour read-a-thon....

[Sam Houston]

Good luck to you in your year-end push.

I've cut down on the number of books that I have going at any one time, but now I'm starting to miss having books of several types available for me to dip in and out of depending on my reading mood of the moment. I'll figure it out someday, I hope.

[Melanie]

Finishing some of the half-read books beside the bed is a great idea. I also have to finish Kristin and Perfume. You'll likely beat me to it! Perhaps I should finish all the overdue library books first, then get to my own double-digit stack of personal copies.

[Lulu]

I have just made a similar pile myself...books I want to finish before the end of the year so that I can clear out some of my bookshelves (Live in a very small apartment so unfortunately I can not keep most of the books I have read already)

I have about 25 on the list though...not sure how many pages but I think perhaps it is a bit of a lost cause in my case!

Best of luck with your pile!

[Eva]

Good luck!

[BooksPlease]

My problem is that I keep finding more and more books to read and I'm not getting on with the ones I have started. It's so long ago that I started some of them I might as well start them again!

Good luck!

[cipriano]

You guys are some kind of ANIMALS!
MACHINES!
I could never ever read this much.
However, I am totally impressed with [and envious of] those that can!

[Dark Orpheus]

This is great - I should follow your example and try to finish up the books, keep the stacks in check. I've lost count of how many books I have in progress.

[Dorothy W.]

Best of luck with your reading plan! It is satisfying to clear out the piles now and then, isn't it? It's a good way to lead up to the end of the year. And it looks like you have some good variety in that list, so it should be fun.

[iliana]

Ooh what a good pile of books! I think it's neat that you have a reading plan - even if you change it up a bit. I probably need to go back to my goals that I originally set for this year before I can start a reading plan. Good luck with it!

[Ann Darnton]

Have you reached the point in Katherine Mansfield's journals where she says that she has discovered that she can't 'burn a candle at one end and write a book at the other'? I sometimes (always?) feel that my reading life is like that. There is never enough energy around to do all the reading I want and everything else as well

[Danielle]

Matt--You make me want to pick up the Go Between now, without even reading a review! Fire in the Blood was great--it is a quick read. And I really am enjoying Not Yet Drown'd--I pick it up here and there, but I'd like to spend more time with it.
Sam--I go back and forth, too. I like reading more than one book, but I'd feel better having fewer started. I always start out good, but then I seem to keep adding as I go.
Melanie--It's those library books that tend to mess me up with my other books--those due dates! :) I think I may try and concentrate on KL and finish it up in the next week or so. I take it with me on the bus and it is getting heavy to lug around!
Lulu--If I let myself I could have that many started, too! :) I guess living in a small space must help in choosing what you really want to read and not buy a bunch of superfluous books.
Eva--Thanks. I think I might manage it...
Booksplease--I do the exact same thing. You'd think I could concentrate on what I'm reading, but one eye always seems directed to the next book in line.
Cipriano--I sometimes feel a little possessed! :) I think it is blogging that has done this to me. I used to content myself with one book a week (at the very most). Blogs have ruined me--now I see how much there is to read and I will never finish, will I?
Dark Orpheus--It's nice starting the new year with the stacks under control. It may not last long,though.
Dorothy--I seem to be halfway through a lot of them. I just don't want them to end up abandoned. I wish I could learn just a little more self control.
Iliana--Oh yeah. Those goals. I may not be meeting all of them at this point in the year. And I am sure I'll still manage a new book or two before the end of this year.
Ann--I know that feeling well. My husband gets mad at me for doing so many things (reading, needlework, working on the computer). It is nearly impossible to manage it all, but I keep trying. I haven't gotten to that section in KM's journal yet, I'll be interested to read it.

[Matt]

I'm including Not Yet Drown'd in my list for Asia, if I can get my hands off it!

Also On Chesil Beach maybe?

[tara]

Very impressive stacks, I'm enjoying seeing them and all the bookmarks tucked into place.

[Joanna]

I only just stumbled upon your blog and already I am smitten. What has compelled me to make a comment only about 5 minutes into reading is the picture above, where included in the piles of books to be read is a copy of Ann Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho. Only true Jane Austen and/or gothic literature enthusiasts know of this book! I, too, have this book waiting patiently for me on my nightstand. It's so exquisitely written that I sometimes just get lost in the language and find myself not progressing as far into it as I like. It's my goal to finish it before the end of 2008!

I have a feeling we have very similar taste in books--I'm just getting into PD James and I've been told Wilkie Collins and Elizabeth George are amazing. I can't wait to discover more of your blog!

[Danielle]

Joanna--I really liked The Mysteries of Udolpho (though there is a fair amount of fainting going on in the story!). I've been meaning to read more by her, but I've yet to pick up another book. I love Gothic lit, and this was great to read before Northanger Abbey. PD James is really good (I've only read one of her Dalgliesh's msyteries--need to read more), and I love Wilkie Collins. He is one of my favorite authors!! I also am a fan of Margaret George's work. I've read all her Lynley mysteries and I have the newest one in my TBR pile. Thanks for the kind words and do stop back!