I always liked books. And I noticed that I have read a lot less since I went to Germany to the Navy. And even noticing this last year and pushing myself to read some of the books I had pending (Edge of Eternity by Ken Follet, The Complete Stories I and II by Isaac Asimov, The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke, Ready Player One and Armada by Ernest Cline and “La Zona” by Javier Negrete and Juan Miguel Aguilera) these only totaled 7. Seven! Seven books in a whole year, this isn´t right. I can do it better, and I want to read more. Therefore this year I made up my own literary challenge. I´m not as incredible as Beleth from Book-Eater, who can read 200 or more books a year, but I´d like to read more and slowly increase the books read every year.
This year I decided to start with a simple number, 12. Yes, my challenge for this year is minimum 12 books, and I think it is more than possible by simply spending one hour per day and it should definitely not take 1 year. Obviously this is the minimum, and if I manage to surpass it even better. Currently I have 11 books to read at home, which you can see on the top image, and I will start with these by selecting some and start reading. Some of them are a must read this year for me while others do not have that much priority. This does not mean that I wont get new books. If I see any book I find interesting and/or want in a book store I will buy it and add it to my list. So let´s see the books I already have:
- Hyperion, by Dan Simmons. (First part of the Hyperion Cantos)
- Childhoods End, by Arthur C. Clarke. ✔
- The Emperor´s Assassins, by Santiago Posteguillo. (First part of the Trajan trilogy) ✔
- Dune, by Frank Herbert. (First Part of the Dune Chronicles)
- The Call of Agon, by Dean F. Wilson. (First part of the “The Children of Telm” series)
- Half a King, by Joe Abercrombie. (First part of the “Shattered Sea” series) ✔
- 47 Ronin, by Shunsui Tamenaga.
- A little History of the World, by Gombrich.
- A little History of Philosophy, by Nigel Warburton.
- Orcs, by Stan Nicholls. (This is a Trilogy published in one book)
- Scrutator, by Ian Irvine. (Third part of the “The Well of Echoes” series – being a third part, I may want to read part 1 and 2 first)
I like to read book of all genres to have some variation but I admit that lately I science fiction book, mostly classics (Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke), have caught my attention more than others. I also like to read trilogies or series, which explains why my list contains a few first parts, because I´d like to read these series since I have had them in mind for quite some time.
So this is it. This is my Literary Challenge for 2016, minimum 12 books. If possible, I will of course try to surpass this number. And if I feel like it I may even do a small entry on each book I read, even if it is a small review or opinion. If you have any book suggestion do not hesitate to leave a comment. I´d be happy to check it out!
And you , what are you reading?