I'm thirty-six, going on thirty-seven. My youth is now fading; I want to finish certain things lest I die prematurely. This is not a "bucket list", however; I fully expect to add to this as I continue to mature and discover new literary troves in a variety of languages. But here below are some prominent works that I have not ever completed:
1. The King James version of the Bible - I have read most of Bible, in Catholic and Protestant editions, in various languages, over the years. Yet I have never sat down and read from cover to cover the 17th century English translation which has had such an important influence on literature as well as on religious thought. Only have about 1600 more pages to go; at this current rate, maybe in a few months I will have finished it all.
2. All of Shakespeare's plays - I have read the majority of his tragedies and a few of his comedies and histories. Yet I have not read them all. I am going to rectify that this spring.
3. Les Miserables in French. I think my French, although still shaky, might be enough (although with a parallel reading of a translation) for me to attempt it this year. Sometime in the next few months.
4. Read all of Vladimir Nabokov's works, in English or in translation. I've read most of his major works, but there's still more to be read. Later this year.
5. Finish reading all of Mark Twain's works. Was going to do that this month, but I got sidetracked, so I'll just spread it out over the year and get as many of them read as possible.
6. Read more, if not all, of Kafka's works, in either German or English translation. I did find a used set of his works in German recently and I want to refresh my abilities in that language back to the intermediate-level I had 15 years ago.
7. Read Goethe's Faust in both German and English. I've read both parts in English before, but I want to read the German in a parallel-text type situation. Should finish this in the next 1-2 weeks.
8. Read all of William Faulkner's works. I have several of his novels, but I want to do a systematic reading at some point. Maybe this summer; Faulkner, for some reason, I associate with the summertime.
9. Read all the published parts of Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality. I've read Parts I and II, but not all of III. Sometime before autumn.
10. Read more Decadent writers, in English and in translation. I've been haphazard in my reading, but I'll try to organize things a bit more. Probably attempt this by the autumn, a season which I associate with Decadence.
11. Read more, if not all, of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series books I have bought. I own nearly 1/2 of those now, but I still need to get around to purchasing the rest. Only read about 1/3 of them to date. This might be an occasional project throughout the year.
Any particular long-postponed reading goals you wish to share, in hopes of inspiring myself or others to attempt it with you?
1. The King James version of the Bible - I have read most of Bible, in Catholic and Protestant editions, in various languages, over the years. Yet I have never sat down and read from cover to cover the 17th century English translation which has had such an important influence on literature as well as on religious thought. Only have about 1600 more pages to go; at this current rate, maybe in a few months I will have finished it all.
2. All of Shakespeare's plays - I have read the majority of his tragedies and a few of his comedies and histories. Yet I have not read them all. I am going to rectify that this spring.
3. Les Miserables in French. I think my French, although still shaky, might be enough (although with a parallel reading of a translation) for me to attempt it this year. Sometime in the next few months.
4. Read all of Vladimir Nabokov's works, in English or in translation. I've read most of his major works, but there's still more to be read. Later this year.
5. Finish reading all of Mark Twain's works. Was going to do that this month, but I got sidetracked, so I'll just spread it out over the year and get as many of them read as possible.
6. Read more, if not all, of Kafka's works, in either German or English translation. I did find a used set of his works in German recently and I want to refresh my abilities in that language back to the intermediate-level I had 15 years ago.
7. Read Goethe's Faust in both German and English. I've read both parts in English before, but I want to read the German in a parallel-text type situation. Should finish this in the next 1-2 weeks.
8. Read all of William Faulkner's works. I have several of his novels, but I want to do a systematic reading at some point. Maybe this summer; Faulkner, for some reason, I associate with the summertime.
9. Read all the published parts of Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality. I've read Parts I and II, but not all of III. Sometime before autumn.
10. Read more Decadent writers, in English and in translation. I've been haphazard in my reading, but I'll try to organize things a bit more. Probably attempt this by the autumn, a season which I associate with Decadence.
11. Read more, if not all, of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series books I have bought. I own nearly 1/2 of those now, but I still need to get around to purchasing the rest. Only read about 1/3 of them to date. This might be an occasional project throughout the year.
Any particular long-postponed reading goals you wish to share, in hopes of inspiring myself or others to attempt it with you?
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3 comments:
Bleak House, which I'm planning to do in bits over the year.
And I was also thinking of reading some Faulkner over this summer.
This is an ambitious list for a year!
I too am in the process of reading through all of Shakespeare's plays. I am going through them chronologically and am only on Richard III... I have a long way to go.
- Sean
Nice list Larry. :)
Wish I could read something in a second language though. Really missing out on some good stuff. :S
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