On Books...

Ten years ago, I started a project. I cannot even remember why at this point, but I decided to re-read every single one of the 500 books I owned and decide whether or not they had value on my shelves. If they're not worth keeping I ditch them but if I think I'll read them again - ever - then I keep them. Every December I take stock and see where I'm at... and as I was counting up this December I realised that I only have to read 68 books this year to be completely finished. This will be my tenth and final year!

68 books in a year is totally do-able, given that I read about 160 books in an average year. However, I've left myself all the hard stuff to the end! A sample of this year's reading includes most of John Steinbeck - bar Grapes of Wrath which I read last year; Gulliver's Travels (nice and short); Tristram Shandy (it wasn't worth my time in college and I doubt it's improved); Bertrand Russell's History of Western Philosophy (snore); Plato's Republic (at least it's short even if totally and utterly dull); Plutarch's Rise and Fall of Athens (why? really, why? why do I even own this?); both volumes of Le Morte d'Arthur (groan); and the grandaddy of them all, the Complete Works of William Shakespeare.

The complete works in a year? I honestly don't know if it can be done, but I'm going to give it a try! Wish me luck!  I'm making myself do the history plays first to get them out of the way as I suspect they're the least interesting. Henry VI part 2 here I come!