02 January 2008

The Year Ahead in Reading

Much like Jessamyn, 2007 was not a great reading year for the Sheck. While I did get a few truly great books in, as a voracious reader, I felt like I as in the doldrums. Some books did grab me: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (as if that needed to be said), What is the What by Dave Eggers, Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, A Gift from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh. But mostly, I spent time reading for others: the Community Book Program, my course on Society and Technology, book clubs.

I am hoping that I will get to a few of the books on my wishlist sooner rather than later. Here are some of the titles that are not related to work that I am itching to get to:
-When Elephants Weep: the Emotional Lives of Animals by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson
-Musicophilia : tales of music and the brain by Oliver Saks
-Giving : how each of us can change the world by Bill Clinton
-Woman : an intimate geography by Natalie Angier
-Travels with Herodotus
-How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard
-The Memory Keeper's Daugther by Kim Edwards
-The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst

As I write these down, I am proud of myself for how much nonfiction is on the list. Three New Year's Resolutions ago, I promised that for every piece of fiction I read, I would read a piece of non-fiction. I have always been a voracious reader, particularly of fiction so moving into non-fiction was challenging. Perhaps no longer though, as my list attests.

Best of luck to all of you in finding books in 2008 that take your fancy.

2 comments:

david silver said...

i've seen a few nature documentary about elephants that made *me* weep - i'll be eager to hear your thoughts about When Elephants Weep.

happy new year sheck!

Anonymous said...

I haven't actually read a book for years.

I read bits of them and my library seems to be full of those.

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