My Blogging Plans and Reading Resolutions for 2010

Six months ago I began my blog.   In those six months my blog has become a very important part of my life.   I wish I had a detailed record of everything I have ever read to look back on and that is an important part of why people blog.   Some book bloggers in their teens and twenties now will go on to become famous 21th century writers and thinkers.   Future historians will be able to see everything they ever read and their thoughts on it.   So will they as their life advances and their children and grandchildren can also.   Many bloggers say they blog just for themselves or a few close friends and do not care if anyone reads their blog.   In some cases this is true but most of us want readers and love the sense of community book blogs create among people all over the world that all love books.   A lot of times I will read a blog post and think to myself "That post is like a small work of art itself".  On January 7 on my 6th month blog anniversary I will do a sort of look back at my first sixth months as a blogger.   I want now to look to the future.

The first thing I have to realize is that things can come along and change all your reading plans.  On Jan 1, 2009 I would have never dreamed that I would read over 40 Japanese novels that year.   Given this here are some of my hopes and plans for The Reading Life for 2010.

1. To complete all the 30+ reading challenges I have signed up for.    I hope and think I can do this while reading quality books I want to read anyway and I am maintaining full control over what I read etc.   I think these challenges can be completed in about 40 or so books.   I read about 130 or so in 2009 (and I slacked off a bit in the first half of the year!) so I will still have plenty of time for impulse reads and to go in new directions.   I fully intend to complete all these challenges but will not be stressed if I do not.   I also expect to sign up for more as the year proceeds as well as joining in some read alongs.   If I end up signing up for 50 challenges for 2010 that will be great fun for me.   The biggest challenge will be keeping records on all this and cross posting the reviews to the challenge blogs but actually I will find that sort of fun also.   I am sort of creating a challenge for myself to see if I can do all these challenges.   I know it may seem a bit crazy, compulsive etc to some and perhaps it is and that is ok!    I already have a mental list of about 50 books I want to read in the first few months of the year.
2. To try to set up a cooperative group of bloggers to review more Filipino novels.  Last year I posted on three Filipino novels set in WWII and sadly that seems to be near all there is to posting on Filipino novels in the book blog world.   I know there is an interest in this as these posts got many reads.   If you are interested in this project please let me know.
3. To continue on reading more Japanese Novels-to read any Oe or Tanizaki works I have not yet read.  
4. To read more new to me contemporary authors and to read more books by some of the wonderful writers that were new to me in 2009-Margaret Atwood, Marcus Zusak, Fan Wu, Anita Brookner, Jeannette Winterson, A S Byatt and others.  In my many years of near compulsive reading I only began to read modern literary fiction about two years ago so I am enjoying a lot of new discoveries that are old friends of other bloggers.   It is through book blogs I discovered these writers.
5. To continue to seek out and read as deeply as I can the greatest literary works of all times.    This gives you a basis for comparison as your reading life proceeds.   Reading too much lower quality literature (I know this may seem a bit elitist to some but that is ok also) is like a diet of twinkies and red bull.  
6. To read books from a wide variety of countries-my challenges will help me do this
7. To ponder hosting a read along of Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End.   If you are interested in this please let me know.
8. To read more books about the reading life-the theoretical focus of my blog!
9. To have fun, be open to new ideas, learn something everyday (on a good day more than one thing!)   
10. To support the international community of book blogging through thoughtfull commentation on posts where I can.  

11     To expand on the concept of the bookish boy genre I used in talking about Club Dumas and Dance,   Dance, Dance.    

Mel u