What counts, in the long run, is not what you read; it is what you sift through your own mind; it is the ideas and impressions that are aroused in you by your reading.
~Eleanor Roosevelt
First, a resolutionI want to track my reading habits in the 2011 Reading Woman engagement calendar my sister gave me for my birthday. Each week features a different painting of a woman reading and an accompanying quote about books, reading, or libraries. I kept such a journal two years ago, and it is fascinating to look back and see what I was was reading (and thinking) on a particular day, and as Kent suggests, to look for developing themes in my own life.
Top reads in 2010
I've read a lot of poetry this year, in the fifteen minutes before bedtime each night. A poem is so manageable. You read a poem and it doesn't have to make sense on a rational level, which is a good thing, since your mind is heading toward the horizon of the dreamscape. But a poem does mean, and you can come back to the same poem on any number of occasions, and the imagery (if it is good) will strike the senses fresh. Some poets I like to read are Christina Rossetti, G.M. Hopkins, Wendell Berry, Mary Oliver, and Billy Collins. A poet I would like to know better is Christian Wiman.
Most memorable fiction award is a tie between Bradbury's Farenheit 451 and Wroblewski's The Story of Edgar Sawtelle for narratives that keeps you right between the pages!
To read in 2011
Like Lee Ann, I'm drawn to the lit classics, but I also want to read more contemporary fiction, more history and biography, more theology. I want to read the Bible in English and French.
How does one develop a well-balanced book diet? If it can be rich and balanced, that's even better. I want to know if you have any tips.
First up in the new year, besides the assigned texts for Prof. Littles' Mission of the Church at UGST, is Colum McCann's Zoli, a novel about the Roma people of Eastern Europe.
And because I like to keep my hands occupied with a knitting project, I'll probably be tuning in to LibriVox frequently for unlimited listening to free audio books that are in the public domain. It's a great way to get through the books you know you ought to read but haven't mustered the strength of will to lift them off the shelf! Because LibriVox is operated by volunteers, the recordings vary in quality. However, it seems that because people are reading because they want to and because they value the works being read, the readings are expressive and make for a most pleasant listening experience! Who knows? Maybe I'll sign up to record something myself!
Image: The 2009 Reading Woman engagement calendar
Rebecca - A reading diary is a great idea! As is recording for LibriVox... a step into new territory for 2011.
ReplyDeleteDavid
Greetings,
ReplyDeleteI jumped over from a link that titled you a "sister blog." I can't find it specifically but you probably know it.
First a comment, then a question.
I have what seems to be a mental block against poetry. If I am reading a book and the author throws in a poem or a "song" as part of the story, my eyes go glassy and I skip over it.
I have tried to read poetry and I can't get into it, yet I realize that the music that I like, stuff that rhymes and has complete thoughts and harmony and such, is based on poetry. There have been times in listening to pod-casts the program will sneak in someone reading a poem and sometimes I can really enjoy it.
It isn't a big issue in my life but when I read statements like yours about the joy of poetry, I feel like there is something I am missing.
Question: Do you have any sure fire methods that would remove this mental block? It isn't the end of the world, but a matter of interest.
Grace and Peace
Hello David, I hope you'll let us know what you find on LibriVox that you enjoy. What do you like to read these days?
ReplyDeleteI understand the poetry block. It takes a different type of thinking - slow reading mode - & that messes up the prose rhythms. Basically, I recognize the author feels this is important, & try to adjust my thinking accordingly. Not much else I know to do.
ReplyDelete