ten books

Last January, one of my New Year's resolutions was to read more and I came up with ten books that I wanted to enjoy.

Ahem.

I was sadly unsuccessful. I did read 33 books in 2014 (according to Goodreads) but from my list I only managed two: Tombstone Blues and Pipi Longstocking. STILL working on Anna Karenina.

I have a feeling that most of my reading this year will be for school, but here are ten that I'd like to read if time allows:

1. Anna Karenina. Determined to finish by October, which will be the two year mark.
2. Saga. Graphic novel that is available in our resource centre. Surely I can manage this one.
3. Muslin Resistance to the Tsar. I never bothered with this title in Winnipeg because I couldn't find a copy but Western libraries has it so going to make it my "time off between semesters" book. I'm sure it will be light and uplifting.
4. Too Far Gone. Due Fall 2015!
5. The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse and...
6. As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust. Getting behind on the Flavia de Luce series.
7. Stone Mattress. I'm a bit hot and cold when it comes to Atwood but have heard lots of good things about this one.
8. Death and the Penguin. Recommended by Karen.
9. A Scanner Darkly. For the same reason as last time.
10. Southern Cross the Dog. Just intrigued by the controversy.

ten books

To help keep Resolution #1 on track, I came up with a list of books I'd like to read this year. In no particular order...

1. Anna Karenina. Started in October and it got put aside over the holidays. Loving it and will finish. 500 pages from now.
2. Vimy. On loan from my sister. Have had it quite a while.
3. Quiet. Um.... because I'm an introvert?
4. A Scanner Darkly. I don't read much science fiction and don't know the genre very well. But I've really like what I have read (Bradbury and Gibson mainly) and think that Dick is the next logical step. 
5. Pippi Longstocking. Okay, fine, not exactly keeping with my resolution but we just got this in at work and I adored it as a kid. I totally wanted to live in an old house with a monkey and a horse. Got the old house...
6. Wolf Hall. Recommended by Elizabeth but also referenced in a Vanity Fair article about the King James Bible. Piqued my interest.
7. North and South. As a change from reading Pride and Prejudice over and over.
8. Burial Rites. Just sounds interesting. I like historical fiction. With murder. Set in Iceland. 
9. Tombstone Blues. Totally looking forward to local author Chadwick Ginter's follow-up to Thunder Road. 
10. At least one of the Smiley novels. Want to read Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy because it's such a classic but feel like I should start at the beginning.

I'm happy with my list. Have a couple of Canadians, nice mix of genres, something old, something new. I'm sure I'll be reading more than 10 books in 2014 so please send recommendations!

yesterday and today

Winnipeg and much of the prairies experienced what I like to call instant winter. The weather channel calls it a Colorado low. Whatever, the result is the same... heaps of snow in a pretty short period of time. Twenty heavy, wet centimeters so far and it is still coming down. Lexi loves it. I love it too, actually, though it feels a bit early for this sort of thing.

Hoping it doesn't put a spanner in my travel plans because I have +17 and partly sunny waiting for me. New York, here I come! Maybe.

The wind in your face during last week's blizzard. The awful sting of the cold, and you out there in the empty streets wondering what possessed you to leave the house is such a pounding storm, and yet, even as you struggled to keep your balance, there was the exhilaration of that wind, the joy of seeing the familiar streets turned into a blur of white, whirling snow.

Paul Auster, Winter Journal