2018 Reading : Looking Ahead

Another year, another stack of books. Another Goodreads challenge. I'm setting it at fewer books than last year. I did overreach my goal of 215 (I read 222) for 2017. But this year I'm aiming for slower reads. Setting it at an ambitious 200.

I don't know how much of this will actually happen but here is what I want to do:

Work on my "owned-but-unread" shelf: I did pretty well with this in 2017. I had 410 on it last New Year's Day. It now has 331. Considering acquisitions of approximately 80 books, I did OK. Some was weeding out books I knew I would never read, but still I'm happy with these numbers.

The Christmas gifts: I'll be reading these five during 2018. I've already started the first two and I'm taking them slowly. Interesting that the three by Vila-Matas all have different translators...

Literary Translation and the Making of Originals by Karen Emmerich, Brian James Baer (Editor)     Phantoms on the Bookshelves by Jacques Bonnet; translated from the French by Siân Reynolds
Because She Never Asked by Enrique Vila-Matas; translated from the Spanish by Valerie Miles
Bartleby & Co. by Enrique Vila-Matas; translated from the Spanish by Jonathan Dunne
Never Any End to Paris by Enrique Vila-Matas; translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean

Two Month Review: I really enjoyed this project last year and look forward to continuing. Here are the first 4:
   First:  Georgi Gospodinov’s The Physics of Sorrow
   Next: Mikhail Shiskin’s Maidenhair
   Then: Dubravka Ugresic’s Fox
   And:  Rodrigo Fresán’s The Bottom of the Sky.

Other slow reads...
The new translation of Homer's Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson
A rereading of Tristam Shandy. I wrote a truly horrible undergraduate paper on this--and got the truly horrible grade I deserved--I really loved the book and it's time to re-reread without the pressure.
At Swim Two Birds--I have no idea if this is a fast or slow read, but I expect it will be slow. 

As always...short stories...
Deal Me In Short Story challenge: Another project I enjoyed in 2017 so will do again in 2018. Here's my Roster
Plus I will work my way through other collections and anthologies not mentioned on the roster.

Enough...for now