52 in 52

yesterday, m and i were talking of new year's resolutions and how we hadn't made any. then he said something like 'i want to make 2011 the year where i say yes to more things. let's not allow ideas to stay ideas. let's do them.' i love that.

so, i'd like to read more. as you know, i love books. and i love the idea of reading more (a lot more). so i'm joining the leagues of 52 in 52 and attempting to read 52 books in 2011. i'm also resolving to read more nonfiction because i tend to always gravitate towards the literature section of any bookstore and, i've heard, nonfiction does good things for the brain.

anyone care to join me?

here's a start to my list. many are taken from the new york times best books or from pulitzer prize winners or national book award winners. some are recommendations or standard classics. some are about marriage (it's the year of the wedding after all). and some come from this website where other people write about their 52 in 52.

1. Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann
2. Desiring God by John Piper
3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
4. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (again)
5. Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
6. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
7. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (started this twice... need to finish)
8. The Artist, The Philosopher, and The Warrior: The Intersecting Lives of da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped by Paul Strathern
9. When Helping Hurts: Alleviating Poverty Without Hurting the Poor... and Yourself by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett
10. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
11. The Diaries of Sofia Tolstoy by Cathy Porter
12. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (from Natalie's list!)
13. River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler
15. Tinkers by Paul Harding
16. The Interior Castle by Teresa of Avila
17. Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande
18. A Maze of Grace by Trish Ryan
19. The Mystery of Marriage by Mike Mason
20. I Married You by Walter Trobisch
21. The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace
22. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
23. A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
24. A Christmas Carol & Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens

do you have recommendations? i'd love to hear them!

crossing to safety

i love books. i was recently asked what defined relaxation for me. the answer was automatic: books. to recharge after a long week, i love curling up with a blanket and a great story. i know kindle is all the rage right now, but i'm not sure i'll ever be a believer. there is just something so timeless and romantic about holding pages of the printed word. ah, and the smell of an old book - they should make a candle of that scent. i would have one in every room.

i'm usually reading a couple of books at once, but sometimes a great piece of literature will captivate me wholeheartedly. so when my nana, an avid reader and a woman whose opinion i respect perhaps above all others, recommended Crossing to Safety as one of her favorite books, i suspected it might prove to be one of those few books, set apart.

and nana, you were right. published in 1987, this story begins in the 1920's, following two young couples throughout their married lives. the plot is simple: life. unabashed and honest. its moments of joy, its mundane tragedies. in just a few hundred pages, the story covers over 40 years and yet the book moves at the sweet, slow pace of normal, everyday life. this is character study at its best.

perhaps what i love most about it is how, as a reader, you are able to see the characters come of age, define themselves, make choices, redefine themselves, be defined by circumstance, and then be redefined through the eyes of their grown children. it made me think of my own parents. i wonder how narrow my own view of them is. what were they like as young marrieds? how has life changed them?

if you aren't currently reading, might i suggest this gem?

image found here