Here we are officially past the midyear mark. I don't know about you but I sort of enjoy looking back over my reading year, or even more so my previous reading year and see where I started and where I have ended up. Last January I shared a photo of my 'current reading pile' and I am happy to say that of the eleven books I had to begin the year with, I finished reading six of them. Three were either set aside or I decided it was the wrong book at the wrong moment and so went back to the shelves (only the poor Deakin was started and then, nonfiction being a challenge for me this year for some reason, put on hold after a promising start). I jettisoned two (one went back to the library and one went into the 'give this one away' bin). Other than the Deakin, I am not carrying the others over (I have a little 'languising, but I'm not entirely finished with you yet pile--which I should have shared here, too, but maybe another day). All in all not so terrible really.
Here is my current reading pile. Ah, yes, it has grown by four. Being at that mid-point maybe I need to think about whittling down soon (something I tend to do a bit later in the year). Technically I am only rotating between about four at the moment (with the idea of finishing one and then picking up another from the pile . . . or as seems to be the case of late . . . starting yet another new book). The top two books in that front pile I am thinking (optimistically) that I will finish in the next few days to go in with the July list of books read. And I am missing a library book (I think I have finally made a choice as a matter of fact).
So, this brings me to where I am going the rest of the year with my reading. Here are some of the books I am very keen on reading still this year. I am already underway in three of them (the Hollinghurst, Cleave and Simonson). A few were on my original wishlist of reads from January, and I am happy to say that of the baker's dozen that I came up with, I have made some sort of progress (even if I haven't quite managed to line it off the list quite yet) of seven books/themes. I am not doing well with classics this year (or nonfiction), but there is still time. I have not yet picked a book to reread but I am still leaning towards Rosamund Pilcher's Coming Home) and I am not sure Chekhov will get the attention he deserves or that I intended). I have no problem with veering off on other reading paths, as a matter of fact I welcome it as plans are only reading prompts to get started. I do, however, still have high hopes of getting back to my poor NYRBs (see those three in my current reading pile . . .).
And I have my upcoming vacation (which will include long car rides back and forth across Nebraska and into Colorado), which is a good eight hours or so of enforced sitting (which I hate, but I can fill lots of those hours with reading, I hope).
So, here we are with half a year to look forward to. Where will your reading take you?