This year, my reading has been a little fragmented. Last January, I embarked on a six-month stay in France (see posts from that time here, here, here, here, here and here) and my reading mainly consisted of reading comprehension exercises. I did take a literature course for my first three months and had the chance to read excerpts of contemporary French and francophone writers. But the only novel that I completed from start to finish this year was a novella by popular French writer Anna Gavalda, L'Echappée belle. I will admit to failures of reading about a quarter of a culture shock comedy, about half of a Christian female travel book called Go Girl: Finding Adventure Wherever Your Travels Lead, and the first two or three chapters of Mansfield Park. Ya win some, ya lose some.
A book that I've stuck with and will continue reading in sips is a creative nonfiction anthology called Contemporary Creative Nonfiction: I & Eye. I've been experimenting a little with the genre in personal writing and am thoroughly enjoying the thematic selections as well as the craft essays which give fresh, valuable insight.
Next year, I'd like to be a little more systematic about my reading. In the past I have followed a suggested reading list instead of wandering around in the wilderness. That wouldn't be a bad system to revisit. I should probably also go back and finish what I started. Leaving things unfinished is not a good habit to start.
Happy New Year!
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