This is such an excellent list! I have been meaning to read My Antonia for a while (its on my shelf). I also love the addition of memoir. I may join you for a few others. I am currently working on my reading plan/goals for 2024. As always, your newsletter entertains and makes me think!
I used to be a chronic reader - and then I got to high school and literature became a tedious subject instead of an enjoyable pastime. Now in my third year of college, I still haven't regained my reading habit but perhaps 2024 will be the year.
Some of those titles were assigned reading in high school. I hope to revisit them without a teacher checking over my shoulder to see if I've made enough annotations.
I’m looking forward to following along this year. I definitely agree with My Antonia over O Pioneers. Both are good books, but My Antonia covers a broader time in a deeper way. It definitely hits the mark of drawing the reader into another one’s world in a way that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. It is always almost miraculous to see these other worlds but also to see how much we have in common with those in this other time and place.
I’m hoping to read along some of the books. The reviews are always great. The review here on Kristen Lavandsdattar persuaded me to read these books one after the other. I kept hearing about these books but could not imagine being getting through these books. Joel’s review both encouraged and persuaded me. I never looked back. I may even finally finish Middlemarch!
Good luck! I remain totally random in my reading - far too influenced by a cover - but one of these days I shall get organised and read all that stuff I've missed.
Your enthusiasm for exploration and the depth of understanding through literature is infectious! How you articulate the profound impact of fiction on broadening my own experiences is compelling. Your commitment to delving into classic novels and memoirs to understand diverse perspectives and different times is inspiring. Your choices reflect a rich tapestry of narratives, inviting me to connect with varied lives beyond my reading boundaries. I am looking forward to reading more; thank you.
Good list. I enjoyed All the Kings Men and Travels with Charley. I hope to finish The Brothers Karamazov in the coming year. Also, I recently ordered Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In by George Simenon.
"We demand windows." - love that quote! Wonderful intro and great selections for the new year. I will aim to join in on the Great Gatsby, Slaughterhouse Five, and Middlemarch (still finishing a Canticle for Leibowitz just now). Also happy to see you picked up on the Steinbeck suggestion.
Now I'll just need to move my get up time back to 5 am and start reading....
Joel - great list and I think you have a fantastic year of reading ahead. I am looking forward to your reviews. I am about halfway through My Antonia right now and really enjoying it. I read O Pioneers awhile back and loved it so figured this would be as good and it is. I think you can't go wrong with either choice.
Fantastic post! I appreciate you sharing the list because maybe I can work some of them in at the same time. And I'm so with you on all the reasons for why we need to read or create for that matter. Our internal lives require so much more than the external time-bound, place-bound world can offer.
I love your lists for fiction & memoir/autobiography. I’ve read many on both lists. I’m planning to revisit some novels I read in childhood & teen years: Jane Eyre, Lady Chatterly’s Lover ( yes I read this in HS!), Manchild in the Promised Land, and The Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man. I’m writing a one person autobiographical show. Obviously, I still remember these books 50 years later! My AP HS English teacher, Mr. Telescky was amazing!
This is such an excellent list! I have been meaning to read My Antonia for a while (its on my shelf). I also love the addition of memoir. I may join you for a few others. I am currently working on my reading plan/goals for 2024. As always, your newsletter entertains and makes me think!
Could you share how you manage your days and weeks, family demands, writing, and carve out dedicated time for reading? How does this look for you?
Wilder's Bridge is wonderful and I think underrated. He does such a great job of creating a world.
Thanks for the list, which sparked some ideas for me. I've tried Middlemarch a few times. Maybe this will be its year for me, too!
I used to be a chronic reader - and then I got to high school and literature became a tedious subject instead of an enjoyable pastime. Now in my third year of college, I still haven't regained my reading habit but perhaps 2024 will be the year.
Some of those titles were assigned reading in high school. I hope to revisit them without a teacher checking over my shoulder to see if I've made enough annotations.
I’m looking forward to following along this year. I definitely agree with My Antonia over O Pioneers. Both are good books, but My Antonia covers a broader time in a deeper way. It definitely hits the mark of drawing the reader into another one’s world in a way that they wouldn’t be able to otherwise. It is always almost miraculous to see these other worlds but also to see how much we have in common with those in this other time and place.
I’m hoping to read along some of the books. The reviews are always great. The review here on Kristen Lavandsdattar persuaded me to read these books one after the other. I kept hearing about these books but could not imagine being getting through these books. Joel’s review both encouraged and persuaded me. I never looked back. I may even finally finish Middlemarch!
Good luck! I remain totally random in my reading - far too influenced by a cover - but one of these days I shall get organised and read all that stuff I've missed.
Your enthusiasm for exploration and the depth of understanding through literature is infectious! How you articulate the profound impact of fiction on broadening my own experiences is compelling. Your commitment to delving into classic novels and memoirs to understand diverse perspectives and different times is inspiring. Your choices reflect a rich tapestry of narratives, inviting me to connect with varied lives beyond my reading boundaries. I am looking forward to reading more; thank you.
Good list. I enjoyed All the Kings Men and Travels with Charley. I hope to finish The Brothers Karamazov in the coming year. Also, I recently ordered Uncle Charles Has Locked Himself In by George Simenon.
What a list! This is very inspiring. I'm curious: what tipped the scale against Wodehouse?
"We demand windows." - love that quote! Wonderful intro and great selections for the new year. I will aim to join in on the Great Gatsby, Slaughterhouse Five, and Middlemarch (still finishing a Canticle for Leibowitz just now). Also happy to see you picked up on the Steinbeck suggestion.
Now I'll just need to move my get up time back to 5 am and start reading....
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
I love me a list and you’ve made two good ones! Bring on ‘24!
Joel - great list and I think you have a fantastic year of reading ahead. I am looking forward to your reviews. I am about halfway through My Antonia right now and really enjoying it. I read O Pioneers awhile back and loved it so figured this would be as good and it is. I think you can't go wrong with either choice.
Fantastic post! I appreciate you sharing the list because maybe I can work some of them in at the same time. And I'm so with you on all the reasons for why we need to read or create for that matter. Our internal lives require so much more than the external time-bound, place-bound world can offer.
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o - yes! Such a good choice. (And good old Penguin Classics).
I love your lists for fiction & memoir/autobiography. I’ve read many on both lists. I’m planning to revisit some novels I read in childhood & teen years: Jane Eyre, Lady Chatterly’s Lover ( yes I read this in HS!), Manchild in the Promised Land, and The Portrait of the Artist As A Young Man. I’m writing a one person autobiographical show. Obviously, I still remember these books 50 years later! My AP HS English teacher, Mr. Telescky was amazing!
The comment I wrote you about A LESSON BEFORE DYING was adapted from an essay I wrote on local fictions posted at Mere Orthodoxy.