I’ve been keeping track of what I’ve been reading since 2009 here on this blog. My goal for 2015 was to read 50 books. I came pretty close at 42, which is 8 more books than I read in 2014 and 22 more books than I read in 2013. During our hot, dry summer, I read a few books while walking here and there and really love to read that way. It’s different than reading on the treadmill (which I hate), so it’s not just about moving while reading, though I do think that is a part of the romance for me. Sometimes when I sit and read, my body gets antsy and I close the book to get up and move around. When I walk and read, I can read for longer stretches of time than when sitting still. And I can still take notes while I read. I only need to pause and make a note in the margin before moving on. Theoretically I could do this on the treadmill in any weather, but the treadmill is sooo boring to me and that boredom seeps into my reading. I’m not going to post a list of the particular titles I plan to read in 2016, though I will post a picture of some I have lined up by my desk that I’m interested in reading. I’d like to read a variety of books from different genres and stay open to new books too. I’d like to read a couple of books with Chris and all the books my book group chooses. I’d like to write down all the found sentences I mark when I read this time and look back at them at the end of the year. I always mark them by writing a heart in the margin, but I don’t consistently go back to pull them out later. I want to read more attentively when I’m at home, for longer stretches without checking my phone or getting up to put a load of laundry in. I’d like to spend at least one full hour a few times a week just reading without distractions.  Below is a list of the books I read in 2015 (the first five I absolutely loved, and I can’t wait to see The Brothers K at Book-It in May) and a picture of some I have queued up for 2016.

How about you? What did you read? Why? What will you read in 2016? How will you read?

1. The Brothers K/ David James Duncan (novel)
2. My Year of Meats/ Ruth Ozeki (novel)
3. Through the Second Skin/ Derek Sheffield (poetry)
4. Time and Materials/ Robert Hass (poetry)
5. Song of Solomon/ Toni Morrison (novel)
6. Fun Home/ Alison Bechdel (graphic novel)
7. Glitter and Glue/ Kelly Corrigan (memoir)
8. Ice Haven/ Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
9. The Interestings/ Meg Wolizer (novel)
10. The Blue Flower/ Penelope Fitzgerald (novel)
11. 10:04/ Ben Lerner (novel)
12. Queenpin/ Meg Abbot (novel)
13. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man/ James Joyce (novel)
14. The Awakening/ Kate Chopin (novel)
15. The Best American Poetry of 2009 (poetry)
16. How to Meditate/ Pema Chodron (non-fiction)
17. The Art of Slow Writing by Louise DeSalvo (ALSO LOVED! Non-fiction)
18. Praise/ Robert Hass (poetry)
19. Maus/ Art Spiegelman (graphic novel)
20. The Uninvited Guests/ Sadie Jones (novel)
21. Persepolis 2 (graphic novel)
22. The Round House/ Louise Erdrich (novel)
23. Far From the Madding Crowd/ Thomas Hardy (novel)
24. Making Shapely Fiction/ Jerome Stern (non-fiction)
25. The Kundalini Yoga Experience/ Dharma Singh Khalsa (non-fiction)
26. Between You & Me/ Mary Norris (memoir)
27. Vox/ Nicholson Baker (novel)
28. The Laughing Monsters/ Denis Johnson (novel)
29. Slaugherhouse-Five/ Kurt Vonnegut (novel)
30. My Brilliant Friend/ Elena Ferrante (novel)
31. Paper Towns/ John Green (novel)
32. Holy the Firm/ Annie Dillard (Creative Non-Fiction)
33. Poser/ Claire Dederer (memoir)
34. The Magician’s Feastletters/ Diane Wakowski (poetry)
35. The Wisdom of Insecurtiy/ Alan Watts (non-fiction)
36. Food Matter/ Mark Bittman (non-fiction)
37. In the Woods/ Tana French (novel)
38. The Likeness/ Tana French (novel)
39. And When She Was Good/ Laura Lippman (novel)
40. Brave Enough/ Cheryl Strayed (non-fiction)
41. Merry Christmas, Baby/ Donna Kaufman (fiction)
42. How to Relax/ Thich Nhat Hanh (non-fiction)

Want To Read 2016

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