I Resolve to Read

When I was growing up, I painstakingly made an annual list of New Year's resolutions that was most often forgotten by the first of February. I gave up the habit ten or fifteen years ago and have felt none the worse for it, but a couple of weeks ago I got to thinking that this year it might be fun to make a different sort of list.

As I suspect many of you do, I have a long list of books that I would like to read--or think that I should have read--but for one reason or another have not yet gotten around to them. Without further ado, then, I present, in no particular order, my 2005 New Year's Reading List, the books I resolve to have read by year's end.

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf -- This is considered by many critics to be Woolf's greatest novel, and it was also the inspiration for Michael Cunningham's award-winning novel and Academy Award-nominated film The Hours.
The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood -- I have been an Atwood fan for quite a number of years, but I haven't yet read this book, which was awarded the Booker Prize for Fiction. I recently saw it included on a list of recommended long fiction for writers, and decided it should go on my list as well.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver -- While it is fashionable among many of today's self-proclaimed literati to deride Oprah Winfrey's long-running book club, I have nothing but respect for the woman herself and for the work she has done in bringing great works of fiction to the attention of millions of people who might otherwise have passed them over. I first heard of this book--the story of an American missionary family in Africa--a few years ago when Oprah was hosting a round-table discussion about it. Since then it has been one of those books I figured I should get around to reading sooner or later. I just ordered it from my favorite online bookseller, so it looks like the time has finally come.
One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez -- I've heard nothing but good things about these two novels from the Nobel Prize-winning Colombian Márquez, and though they're rumored to be somewhat difficult reads, I've been assured that they're more than worth the effort.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck -- Quite simply, it's about time that I read this book.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou -- My mom has had this book on her bookshelf for as long as I can remember, so the title is familiar to me from earliest childhood, though I haven't yet read it myself. It is the autobiography of Angelou's growing up black in Arkansas in the 1930's and 1940's.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston -- A number of people I respect have called this their favorite book, or at least, their favorite love story. The title has always captured my imagination.
Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe -- Another book that's rumored to be difficult-but-worth-it, Wolfe's 1929 coming-of-age novel is an American classic.
My Àntonia by Willa Cather -- This is another American classic, widely considered Cather's greatest work. It is the story of an immigrant, pioneer woman in the American Midwest.

Some of my choices are recognized classics, while others might have you scratching your head (and I know many of you are wondering how it is that I got through both high school and college without having read The Grapes of Wrath), but there is a reason behind each choice. Some are simple (I found an English copy of My Ántonia at a thrift store in Stockholm a few years ago and couldn't resist buying it), some are simplistic (Look Homeward, Angel made the list largely on the merit of its evocative title), and some probably need no explanation.

I've decided to begin with One Hundred Years of Solitude, and I can hardly wait until the postman brings it to my door next week so I can get started. Look for updates on my progress throughout the year in "All Booked Up," and, if you haven't already, consider making up a New Year's Reading List of your own!