Tuesday, January 01, 2008

2008: A Look Ahead

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland


And yet, I still set goals that begin on New Year's Day. Or, rather I set reading goals. January 1st is a natural starting place for these sorts of things. If the calendar began on another day and ended somewhere else, I imagine many of us would shift in that direction. I considered last night creating my own year. Maybe January 21st to December 21st, just to be different. I would leave a few free days in between just for the heck of it. I am too much of a traditionalist for that, I suppose, and so onward I march.

First to the good stuff! Thank you to all who participated in my little Guess My Favorite 2007 Book Contest. I wish I could offer all of you who played along a prize, but unfortunately I think the plumber might expect to be paid. The lucky winner gets her choice of one of my top 10 books that I read for 2007.

And the winner is . . .

Jaimie from Bell Literary Reflections

Congratulations, Jaimie!

My reading was overtaken by reading challenges last year and will be influenced by them again this year. While I am tackling less challenges this year, I am taking on more long-term challenges, ones that extend over the course of the entire year. I wonder if this will make any difference. I think what made last year's challenges so easy to work my way through was the variety and the short deadlines, which leads to a quick turnover rate. I was only involved in three year long challenges, and two of those were very flexible.

I like a certain amount of routine, I admit, but I also like change. I get bored quickly if things remain too constant. While the basic outline of routine can remain the same for comfort's sake, what fills the routine needs to fluctuate. Otherwise I lose interest, grow weary and get restless. Fortunately, the books themselves will be the change agent, each one taking me to new destinations and surrounding me by new literary friends. I am confident this will be enough to carry me through the next year. It will be a challenge all its own just the same.

Along with the the reading challenges, I am taking on another project the beginning of this year. No, that is completely the wrong attitude to have. It is not so much a project but a journey I have been wanting to take for quite some time. I began last year by reading Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina, and this year, I will be reading War and Peace. I am not alone in my endeavor and am quite grateful for the opportunity to share this experience with others with a similar goal.

I am looking forward to seeing what magic and adventure this new year of reading will hold for me as well as for all of you. I hope to see you along the reading trail!

18 comments:

  1. Good luck with the long-term challenges. I know that I suck at them! I am good with about a six month time frame, but then after that I get bored and want the challenges to be over already!

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  2. Happy New Year. I can't wait to see what books we all read in the coming year.

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  3. Good Luck with War and Peace. I'll be interested to read your posts about it. I've always thought that one is probably not for me as the historical time-period does not appeal to me. Anna Karenina, on the other hand, does appeal to me very much. I'm going to go back and read your review of that as I don't belive I've read it yet.

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  4. Congratulaltions to Jaimie.

    I look forward to your reviews and progress with your goals for the new year, Lit.

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  5. Thanks Wendy! I'm so excited that I won! Of course I want Broken For You, your fav. I'll send you my info. Thanks again!

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  6. Congrats, Jaimie!
    Happy New Year to all! ;)

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  7. Kailana - Thank you. I am hopeful I'll do well, but we'll see. :-)

    Kookie - Happy New Year to you as well! I'm looking forward to another year of reading and blogging.

    Nicola - Thanks so much. I'll need it!

    Booklogged - Thank you. I have really come to enjoy the blogging community. You all have been such a big support and encouragement. Not to mention a great resource for new book ideas. :-)

    Jen - Happy New Year to you too!

    Jaimie - You are so welcome. My husband was actually the one who drew your name (or number in this case). I don't think he had any idea what he was drawing for, but I appreciated his help nonetheless! Haha

    Broken For You it is. I hope you will enjoy it!

    Melody - Happy New Year to you too!

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  8. Congratulations to Jaimie!

    All the best in your reading challenges, Wendy!

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  9. I met my goal of 52 books this year but don't think I will be trying that again for this year, seeing as how I will have a new born to attend to. I am planning however, to read some big heavy classics before he is born

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  10. Congratulations, Jaimie!

    Happy New Year, Wendy. I hope 2008 brings everything you wish for. I look forward to one more year of your eloquent and beautifully written posts!

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  11. I'm that way with challenges, too, so just the one long-term challenge is *it* for me. Where do you get all those great kitty pics for your headers?

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  12. Alice - Thank you. I will need all the best wishes I can get, I think! ;)

    Kelly - A newborn can crimp the reading style. You'll be spending your time doing something more important though. :-)

    BookGal - Thank you so much for the blessing! That's so sweet that you would think of me!

    Nymeth - Happy New Year back at you! And thank you for the kind words. I'll try not to let them go to my head. ;-)

    Nancy - It will be a true test for me, I can tell you.

    The photos are ones I've found here and there. Some have been in a file on my computer so long I don't quite remember where they came from originally.

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  13. I'm going to create my own challenge I think. I'm going to call it "Read a book a month" because I got next to NO reading done last year and that's just not right!

    Good luck with this "chunkster" challenge, if anyone can do it, you certainly can!

    Happy New Year! :D

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  14. Haha I bet you'd have lots of people signing up too. :-) I hope you can fit a few more books in this year than last year.

    And thank you for the good luck wishes--I'll need every drop!

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  15. Good luck with reading War and Peace. That's a project I'd like to do someday too but not this year. I did really enjoy Anna Karenina when I read it a few years ago.

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  16. Thank you, Tanabata! Right now I'm feeling like I need all the luck I can get. :-)

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