With retirement less than a week away, it's time for a reading plan.
- First up: Peony in Love by Lisa See. This is for my face-to-face book group. Last year I read See's Snowflower and the Secret Fan - a fantastic novel. This one is sort of a sequel, though I think it's a stand-alone book as well. The reviews have not been as good for this one as for Snowflower, but I'm still anticipating a good read.
- Other book group reads coming up in the next few months: Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver; Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey; The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak. Prodigal Summer is a re-read; it was my least favorite Kingsolver book, but maybe I'll read it differently this time. I'd intended to re-read it even before the group decided on it, just to see if my opinion of it shifted. I'm very much looking forward to the other two highly rated books.
- And then I get to choose whatever I feel like reading! High on the list are: Affinity by Sarah Waters; The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (memoir); When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro; At Swim, Two Boys by Jamie O'Neill; The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje; Holy Fools by Joanne Harris; The Leopard by Giuseppe di Lampedusa; After You'd Gone by Maggie O'Farrell; and Mosquito by Roma Tearne. That oughta keep me occupied! And I think it's safe to say I'll reach my goal of 100 books for the year (I'm at 86 right now).
- Then! in January, it's all contemporary women writers, as we do Orange January (like
Orange July, only cold. Well in the northern hemisphere anyway). I have a lot of great books lined up on the shelf, and I'll name just a few here: Rose Tremain's The Road Home; Amy and Isabel by Elizabeth Strout; Ursula Under by Ingrid Hill; What I Loved by Siri Hutsvedt. I'm salivating with anticipation!
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10 comments:
Really lots of books..happy reading.
I am green with envy - I've still got 15 years to go, or more if they move the retirement age up from 65.
I hope you enjoy Oscar and Lucinda and The Book Thief as much as I did. Both are among my all-time favourites.
100 books - that's quite a goal! I never made a goal this year (unless you count the "25 books" thing from my book review group, 5-Squared. I've read 69 books for the year so far, or 76 if you count the fact that I've read the entire HP series twice (I'm such a dork!). I've been trying to lay off reading, and write more in the last couple months. I was reading so much this summer that I forgot to keep writing!
Good luck with your goals. Looks like you will have time to read a lot more. Good for you!
Oh Terri! Our week is here at long last! I can hardly believe I only have THREE working days left too and here's wishing the both of us plenty of books and reading ahead.
Retirement is not all you're expecting, let me tell you. I too thought I was going to have more time to read but have found the truth of what I thought of as a meaningless cliché - I am so busy I have no idea how I ever found time to go to work and as for having extra reading time - forget it. Having said that, I am busy doing things I really want to do so it certainly isn't all bad. I hope you enjoy it too.
You have some great books coming up. I was especially fond of The Book Thief and The English Patient. They were both among my top 10 faves a couple of years ago.
Enjoy counting down the days!
That sounds like a great reading and retirement plan. Congratulations on making into the last five days before retirement!!
Retirement is in the air. :-) It's almost here! My mom recently read Peony in Love and really enjoyed it. I am hoping to get to that one some day. Eventually. I say that all too often, I'm afraid. So many books and not nearly enough time to read them all. The Book Thief is another one I am really hoping to read. I've heard such great things about it.
You've got some great reading ahead of you! I had hoped to get to The English Patient this year, but it doesn't look like I'll manage it. Oh well. There's always next year!
Have a fantastic week, Terri!
Thanks Mimi! Yes, lots of books, and many more after those!
Anna - I think those are the two I'm most looking forward to.
Oh Amanda, I really want to get on a writing schedule too. Let's encourage each other in that endeavor!
Thanks for the well wishes Serena.
Lynne!!!! Retirement just 'round the corner for us both. I will be so interested to hear how it feels for you.
Thanks for the warning, Ann. I've heard the same from my friends who have retired.
Thanks, Andi and beastmomma and Wendy -- it's going to be an exciting week. And then when this week is over, election week! I've scheduled a therapy appointment for late in the afternoon on election day! LOL!
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