What is it about a new year that fills us with excitement and fresh resolve and the idea that anything is possible? I couldn't tell ya, but this is what I know: I love making a new book list. It's like when I pull those books off the shelves and write them down in my journal, I'm giving myself permission to fully enjoy them without any guilt about the 600 other unread books sitting on my shelf. And this year, we are back to basics. No challenges, no bingo cards, just a straightforward list of books from my personal library that I want to get through. This is the longest list I've made since that very first year in 2015 when I started this whole thing (and subsequently failed to read even a third of the books on that list). My goal is to read 36 books so I wanted to keep my list to under 24 books to give myself plenty of freedom to choose re-reads when I need them or dive right into that new book I will inevitably bring home. With the help of my best-friend-turned-sister-in-law and nieces, I culled it down to 28, but that's the best I could do. Without further ado, here's what I plan to read in 2022.
President Without a Party: The Life of John Tyler : Christopher J. Leahy
Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency : Walter R. Borneman
Zachary Taylor : John S.D. Eisenhower
I Am a Church Member : Thom S. Rainer
Church Membership : Jonathan Leeman
What Is a Healthy Church Member? : Thabiti M. Anyabwile
Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions and Advice to Young Converts
The Knowledge of the Holy : A.W. Tozer
Present Concerns : C.S. Lewis
In His Image : Jen Wilkin
Measure for Measure : William Shakespeare
Antony and Cleopatra : William Shakespeare
The Hobbit : J.R.R. Tolkien
The Fellowship of the Ring : J.R.R. Tolkien
The Two Towers : J.R.R. Tolkien
The Return of the King : J.R.R. Tolkien
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes : Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes : Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
David Copperfield : Charles Dickens
The Optimist's Daughter : Eudora Welty
The Inimitable Jeeves : P.G. Wodehouse
Housekeeping : Marilynne Robinson
Skating Shoes : Noel Streatfeild
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory : Roald Dahl
Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator : Roald Dahl
Pardonable Lies : Jacqueline Winspear
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag : Alan Bradley
Hum If You Don't Know the Words : Bianca Marais
I'm finally pulling the trigger on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. I don't actually anticipate these being that difficult to get into, but for some reason they've always intimidated me. The Hobbit is one of my all-time favorite books, but I've never made it very far into the Lord of the Rings. A couple of these have been on past book lists, but I didn't get to them. (Looking at you, David Copperfield.) And as you can see, I added three books on church membership as Cody and I are right in the middle of joining a new church and now seems like the best time to read them. I'm excited to break into some authors I've been collecting (Welty, Wodehouse, Robinson), and I'm continuing two series that I've already started and really love (Maisie Dobbs and Flavia de Luce). All in all, it's shaping up to be a great reading year. I'm looking forward to settling into a routine after The Year of Chaos and getting the blog caught up.
I'd love to hear about books you want to read in 2022 or New Years' resolutions you've made for yourself. Don't be shy about posting those lists, short or long, in the comments, and if any of the books on my list grabbed your attention, let me know. I'm not the greatest buddy reader in the world, but I'll let you know when I start the book and I'm always ready for a good bookish discussion once I finish it.
From me and mine, the happiest of New Years to you and yours.
Man, you are right?! Something about turning the calendar over just does something to my feeble psychology π I just BELIEVE it’s all fresh & exciting again. In fact, I got a planner with the phrase “His mercies are new every morning” specifically to combat the defeat of the flipside of that linear logic.
ReplyDeleteANYWAY, I’m planning to visit Anne at Ingleside this year as well as explore some older quaint ‘50s fiction to offset my deeper reading previously posted. I heard straight jeans & loafers are in so all my Trixie Belden dreams are coming true. Might as well read some of her adventures along the way! π
Mmm, always love a visit with the Anne-girl. And confession: I've never read a Trixie Belden book. π
DeleteI'm expecting updates on the LOTR trilogy as you move through them, especially as they compare to the film adaptations.
ReplyDeletemy book list:
Something Wicked... by Bradbury
Rewrites by Simon
Final Girl Support Group by Hendrix
Dune (second half) by Herbert
Battle Royale by Takami
Will do. Planning to re-watch the films once I've finished all the books. Not The Hobbit movies...we don't talk about those.
DeleteSo where are you with Something Wicked? I almost want you to save it till October, but I also want it back so....π
What a great list! I love The Hobbit too, and quite enjoyed The Fellowship... but I quickly gave up on the Two Towers, and I can honestly say I'm not particularly interested in going back to it. I feel like I've gotten what I can from Tolkien. Looking forward to hearing all about your reading adventures in 2022!
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, that doesn't bode well! π Were/Are you a fan of the films?
DeleteAhahaha funnily enough, my interest in the films follows much the same pattern: I loved The Fellowship Of The Ring, and will happily sit down for a re-watch, but Two Towers and Return Of The King were total snooze-fests for me. Perhaps it's something to do with the focus, the first book/film are much more about the relationships between characters and fleshing out the world... then the next two get very militarised and two dudes just keep walking with this evil ring blah blah blah.
DeleteHa! That tracks very closely with my enjoyment of the films as well. I much prefer the character and relationship building of Fellowship over all the doom and gloom of the other two. I may be in for some tough sledding after all. π¬π
DeleteI've just printed off my 'owned' list. I am not sure what I'm going to do with it, but you've given me some inspiration. I work in a library and tend to have a bit of OCD going on ;) I don't categorise in alphabetical order, but do clump authors together. The other problem I have is that I use the IKEA cube system and most 'squares' are double packed. Arrghh!
ReplyDeleteUgh! I feel your pain on the double packed books! I just keep buying more shelves. Haha!
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