2017 is here. 2016 is over. And books that gave it life.

year 2017!2017 is here!!

As I sit here typing this in Pensacola, I hear the sound of the train passing outside. It definitely has been a year to remember. I never knew how much I enjoyed reading. And medical issues aside, 2016 is over and I know how much God provides in every way possible. I’ve learned more about myself and the world from  eyes of each book that I read. It all leads back to God, his greatness and wonderful plan. I can see their views on our creator. When I go back to the Word, I enjoy it more!

I managed to read 32 books last year. And I will give credit, where credit is definitely due for my book reading inspiration. From a friend and her blog @ Take It or Tweak It with this particular post.

It has been quite a fun year enjoying classic literature, and a few others. I want to inspire you dear reader to challenge yourself, and pick out a number of books to read. And set your course and stick to it. Classics, are a perfect place to start. Most are referenced in other literature, and it gives you connections and a way to start a good conversation. So, you will be up to date, when an author references one of these.

Here is a link to a good place to start from Clifton Fadiman’s lifetime reading list, which I mentioned in my post at the beginning of last year.

Top three books in 2016!

1) Moby-Dick 2) Middlemarch 3) Count of Monte Cristo.
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And I will add a 4) Night by Elie Wiesel, because it is captivating and it gives me a deeper appreciation as I read back through the Psalms and other scripture. You will have to read it for yourself (I will eventually add a review another day)

[Updated book list at end of this post]    

Medical related update for 2016:

MRI Femur/CT Chest, followup: Result for 2016 is good!! 3 year milestone was reached.

MRI Brain, followup: Results are stable, no growth which is always good.

Abdominal pain referenced in a previous post is gone now. But doesn’t mean possible surgery is still not in future. Which I’ve decided not to do for the time being.

Having bacterial pneumonia at the end of November though initial days of December is not fun. I am better now. But I haven’t got rid of a headache that has started since then. It comes and goes with time.

Eye related issue, that I had was rescheduled to this month, because of the above sickness interference with the scheduled appointment.

But 2017 is a new year. I look forward to what is to come this year. Another year behind and a new year is now on the frontier. And more books on the horizon.  : – )

          [UPDATED BOOK LIST]

Week 22-30: Ambassadors by Henry James – 463 pages
Week 29: Rebecca and Rowena by William Makepeace Thackeray – 104 pages
Week 30-33: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – 415 pages
Week 34-35: Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy – 452 pages (Bought 8/8/16 after MRI)
Week 35-37: Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – 1100~ pages
Week 37-39: Little Women by Louise May Alcott – 504 pages
Week 39-41: Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde253 pages
Week 41-44: Paradise Lost by John Milton -300 pages~  ( Bought 9/14/16 after MRI/CT)
Week 44: How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill – 246 pages
Week 45: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson210 pages
Week 45-46: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Wolfe138 pages
Week 46-47: Break of Day by Colette – 168 pages
Week 46-47: Memoirs of Mary Wollstonecraft by William Godwin – 133 pages
Week 47-51Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville – 615 pages
Week 51-52Night by Elie Wiesel – 120 pages
Week 52: Twelve Baskets of Crumbs by Elisabeth Elliot – 173 pages

13000~ pages according to Goodreads among these 32 books.

 

Books

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So, I’ve started this year out reading quite a few books.                                                                                                  As of today, I am on my sixth book.
I have read the following starting with:

week one: The Iliad by Homer
week two: House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
week three: The Odyssey by Homer
week four: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
week five (1 of 2): Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
and I finished Rebecca in three days, a lot earlier than I expected.
week 5 (2 of 2): Emma  by Jane Austen [currently reading]

I now read in my spare time now.  Such as slow times at work or on my lunch break.

It opens you up to whole another world. And I think to myself, why haven’t I read these classic pieces of literature. Time never changes. As I read these authors, you see similarities that still exist today of the human condition. One gleans from words of old.

There are far too many distractions today, that could be better spent instead by reading a book.

I set a goal to read 30 books in the 2016 GoodReads challenge. I know I will surpass that goal in a few short months. One way to help to be on a firm reading schedule is by using you local public library. Deadlines such as a due date for a book, can give you the confidence to finish the book in time.

There are numerous books to choose from that I want to read. I’ve even asked friends on suggestions on what to read. So far, I’ve read four suggested from one friend. I still have another three from other friend’s suggestions that are on my to-read-list.

The ones I am choosing mostly will come from this list Clifton Fadiman’s lifetime reading list

I think this will be a good year of reading.   : -)