
Setting goals for reading a particular number of books in a year can be a good motivator, but there are trade-offs. Relentlessly chasing book count can alter reading choices (eschewing longer works, novellas get over-represented). What do you think: Are quantity-based goals useful or just a petty distraction?
My favorite books in new literature, old literature, non-fiction, and “something else.” Also, I can’t escape mentioning the stinkers of the year. Here are my top (and not top) books of 2009.
Out of nowhere in the early 1200s, Genghis Khan and his Mongol “Horde” swept out of central Asia and in a sort of proto-blitzkrieg overwhelmed cultures from Korea to the Ukraine, acting as a catalyst in the development of cultural elements that we take for granted. Genghis’ horseback steppe nomads didn’t excel at traditional (infantry-focused) warfare, nor did they possess skilled artisans or tradesmen. They had neither prestige nor mercantile supremacy. What they had was the ability to start afresh, without being constrained by convention, and by thinking up new things were able to change the course of world history.
Can't think of what to read next? Consider one of these picks: I liked them!
In 2009, I made a goal to get through Herodotus’ Histories, several Shakespeare works, and some French literature. Not to mention a focus on reading more non-fiction, especially science. See how successful I was, see my plans for 2010, and share your own reading projects and plans for the new year.
The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
Reviewed Aug 11, 2008
Both quiet and compelling, Groff’s imperfect but lulling multi-generational tale of a neurotic family in small-town upstate New York is charming if not a masterpiece. And the sea monster is sweet, if not profound (expect some bang-you-over-the-head symbolism).
Despite frequently-updated family tree diagrams throughout the book, keeping the generations of the Temple and Averell and Upton [...]