Kathy Hamilton Recently I’ve realised that sometimes you have to actively make a space in your life for the things you enjoy. Even if that means setting time aside every day on your to-do list it’s worth it. Last year was strange for me. I felt like I lost sight of some of my interests for while, especially reading!
But, in the dying embers of 2015, I found myself wanting to read again. It was like meeting up with an old friend. Things may have changed in the interim but when you get back together it’s great. I felt a renewed interest in reading to expand my horizons that was missing before. And, as one of my goals for 2016 is to try and push myself into unchartered territories I was ready for challenge.So, this year I’m made ‘The 2016 Book Challenge’. And I thought the blog would be a perfect place to chart this journey.
So what does the great 2016 book challenge look like?
It’s simple really. I’m going to take the opportunity to work my way through 10 ‘Great’ books I’ve been meaning to read, and then read them!
My main aim with this list is to explore the world of literature a bit more. It’s so easy to fall into familiar reading patterns and this seems like a great excuse to shake my reading habits up a bit!
1. Middlemarch
Author: George Eliot
This book has been on my mental to be read pile for years. George Eliot has always been one of those authors I intend to read but have never got around to. But when I was reading a rundown of books of the year by Modern Mrs Darcy, this book featured and inspired me to create my own list.
I don’t know what to expect from Middlemarch, the description says it’s a depiction of the life and loves of a handful of characters in a small society but that it’s powerful and masterfully written. I’m a little nervous, but I’ve skirted around it long enough and I think I’m ready to tackle all 905 pages of it.
2. Esther Waters
Author: George Moore
This book was a gift a couple of Christmases ago and I’ve been meaning to read it ever since, so when I was compiling a list of books to feature in the 2016 Book Challenge it seemed like a perfect opportunity! George Moore is one of those authors who was hugely successful during his own lifetime and has faded from view since.
George Moore was a contemporary of Virginia Woolf (she rated him pretty highly) I’m intrigued to read this book as I don’t know much about it and it doesn’t have the daunting ‘reputation’ that some of the other books on this list have. I always enjoy going into a book with no preconceived expectations because I feel that it’s easier to form my own opinion when I start page one with a totally clean slate. Esther Waters is like that for me.
3. All The Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
I feel like this book is begging me to read it. It might sound weird, but I feel like it keeps popping up. Case in point: I went to for a spur of the moment weekend away with my mam and sister the other weekend. This book was sat on the shelf in the lounge. I wouldn’t have thought anything about it, but the first book I saw when I walked into an amazing second hand bookshop was, you guessed it, this book. I opened a newspaper doing a run-down of books, this was on it.
So eventually I had to throw my hands up and say ‘Okay Universe, I get it, you want me to read this book’. The only other option is that it’s rubbish and people are happy to leave it in places like a hotel lounges…but we’ll soon see!
4. Half of a Yellow Sun
Author: Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
Chimamanda Ngozia Adiche is another novelist I’ve been intending to read for years. Are you sensing a theme to this list yet?! I feel like everyone I know read Americanah and recommended it to me. So, why isn’t that one on the list? Mainly because I liked the description of this one better and Goodreads rated it higher. Why not start at the top?
I am intrigued to learn more about a part of history that I’m not familiar with in ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’. One of the best things about books is their capacity to teach us about lives, cultures and events that different to our own and I’m hoping I’ll learn a lot from this book!
5. Anna Karenina
Author: Leo Tolstoy
This book has languished on my shelf for months. I bought it on a whim, when I visited a friend who lives in Oxford, because it’s a brand new translation. I’ve had virtually no experience with Russian Literature though so I was a little daunted by the prospect of actually reading it. I think that’s because it’s another one of those books that has a big reputation.
Nevertheless, here it is on my list. A perfect excuse to stop using it to decorate my room and actually get stuck into its contents! As with ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’, I have a feeling that this book will teach me a lot about a culture that’s different from my own. Actually that’s one of the things I’m most excited about with the 2016 Book Challenge, the opportunity to step outside of my reading comfort zone!
6. Animal Farm
Author: George Orwell
I read 1984 when I was a teenager and honestly, I didn’t get it. I just remember thinking it was dismal and if you asked me now I’d be hard pressed to recall much of the actual plot. So I’ve added Animal Farm to my list as part of my effort to explore different genres and writing styles. Plus it celebrated its 70th birthday this year (2015), so the timing seemed right.
I know enough about the book to go in with an open mind. So, I’m hoping this will help me! I can admit now that I’ve mainly put this book on the list because it’s one of those books I feel like I should read rather than I will enjoy reading. Although my sister loved it, so who knows?
7. Someone at a Distance
Author: Dorothy Whipple
I had never heard of Dorothy Whipple until I stumbled across this book in Waterstones. She’s published by an independent publisher called Persephone Books and the author description called her the jewel in their crown. So, since 1) I have a bit of a thing for reading ‘unknown’ female authors and 2) Persephone’s main goal is to bring these authors into the spotlight, it seemed like a perfect fit.
Someone at a Distance is a close look at marriage and how small things can change the balance irrevocably. I love books which dive right into the heart of a small event or relationship but use that microcosm to explore a much large theme. That’s what I’m hoping ‘Someone at a Distance’ will be like.
8. Pamela
Author: Samuel Richardson
Known as the first novel in English, Pamela is one of those books I feel is important to read. It’s pretty amazing to think this book potentially changed the face of fiction writing forever. So I’m intrigued to see if it still reads like a novel today. Although I’m always sceptical of those ‘first to do this’ epithet.
I’m sure it was partially luck of the draw that this book ended up being defined as the first novel, it’s undeniably a book that contributed big things to literature.
9. Wolf Hall
Author: Hilary Mantel
I guiltily watched, and enjoyed, Wolf Hall on TV this year despite not reading the book. I don’t know about you, but as a self-confessed book-worm, this annoyed me! Whenever a new costume drama comes on TV, I always have a quick scramble to read the book first, so that I can judge it. Sometimes I prefer the TV version more, but most often I like the book best.
So I’m determined to read Wolf Hall now even though I have lost count of the number of times my mam recommended it to me. Something about its size has always put me off. No more though. I’m excited to get stuck into it and find out if the book is better than the TV series! Fingers crossed.
10. The Booker Prize Winner
Author: As Yet Unknown
The final book in the challenge is kind of a wild card on the list. This is actually the book I’m most excited to read, because I don’t know what it is yet! Every year I make it a goal to read the booker prize winning novel. But every year I find myself looking down the list and never actually getting round to reading the book!
Not this year! I loved the idea of including an unknown here as I feel like it really will encourage me to expand my reading habits. Why the Booker Prize? I feel like it’s an unpredictable award, as in the books that win are varied and wide reaching (Wolf Hall is a booker prize winner for example). So it’s easy to assume that 2016’s winner will be an interesting choice I probably wouldn’t have read otherwise.
So there it is, The 2016 Book Challenge!
I’m excited to get started so watch for a brand new review coming your way soon! What are the books you’d like to read this year? Are any of them on the list?
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