Reading Goals for 2024

Time to sketch out reading goals for 2024, and as I pour over my to-read list (as posted on the Goodreads site), I find books that have been there since before I moved into my mother's house in 2019. So I'll concentrate on clearing out that backlog, including five books for each of the past five years, for a total of 25 books. This plan is, of course, tentative, and sure to be revised should I find myself finishing those 25 books well before 2024 is over.

Looking back, my plan for 2023, to read 14 novels and 14 non-fiction books, got sidetracked, and I'm now focusing on finishing 37 books in any category by the end of this year, although only 11 of those turned out to be novels. Come 2025 I may attempt a balance of fiction, non-fiction, and general categories again.

So here's my (tentative) plan for 2024, outlined below:  five books I've been wanting to read since 2019, five since 2020, five since 2021, five since 2022, and five recent additions--for 2023--so I can mix in some trending interests. 

Plus I'm promising myself to get back to reading manga, so I've set "five manga" as a preliminary goal. I'm not listing five manga here, though, because whether "five" means five single volumes, or five lengthy multi-volume series, will be a reading adventure that unfolds throughout the coming year.

Five books added in 2023 (this list is very tentative and may be influenced by upcoming projects and activities, as well as last-minute additions):

1. The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron (Anaheim Public Library)

2. Up From the Pedestal: Landmark Writings in the American Woman's Struggle for Equality ed. by Aileen S. Kraditor (in family library)

3. Sun-drenched Gardens: The Mediterranean Style by Jan Smithen (Hawaiian Gardens Library)

4. Forager: Field Notes for Surviving a Family Cult by Michelle Dowd (Hawaiian Gardens Library)

5. Enough by Cassidy Hutchinson (Anaheim Public Library)

Five books, 2022:

1. Too Much and Never Enough by Mary Trump (Anaheim Public Library)

2. Orange County: A Literary Field Guide ed. by Lisa Alvarez (Anaheim Public Library)

3. Bono's book Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story (to buy)*

4.  In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Amy Bloom (Anaheim Public Library)

5. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (Anaheim Public Library)

Five books, 2021:

1. Keep Sharp:  Build a Better Brain at Any Age by Dr. Sanjay Gupta (Anaheim Public Library)

2. I, Jesse James by James R. Ross (family library)

3. Paradise: One Town's Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson (Anaheim Public Library)

4. Don't Forget Us Here: Lost and Found at Guantanamo by Mansoor Adayfi (Hawaiian Gardens Library)

5.  LA Affairs: 65 True Stories of Nightmare Dates, Love at First Sight, Heartbreak, and Happily Ever After's ed. by Rene Lynch (to buy)*

Five books added in 2020 (this list is set):

1. Me by Elton John (Anaheim Public Library)

2. All I Ever Wanted by Kathy Valentine (to buy)*

3. Pride: The Charley Pride Story by Charley Pride (Hawaiian Gardens Library)

4. This Was Hollywood: Forgotten Stars and Stories by Carla Valderrama (Hawaiian Gardens Library, and also in the Los Angeles city library system--branches in Wilmington and San Pedro)

5. Ending US Wars by Honoring Americans who Work for Peace by Michael D. Knox (to buy)*

Five books added in 2019:

1. Red Eye, Black Eye by Thor Jensen (to buy)*

2. Birth of a Nationhood by Toni Morrison (Hawaiian Gardens Library)

3. 'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky: The Life of  Jimi Hendrix by David Henderson (Hawaiian Gardens Library)

4. Wait, How do I Write this e-mail? by Danny Rubin (to buy)*

5. The Oxford Book of Caribbean Short Stories ed. by Stewart Brown (Los Angeles city library system)

Alternate selection(s) for 2019:  The Philosophy of Punk: More Than Noise by Craig O'Hara (to buy)* or Roots by Alex Haley (library)

Don't forget, five manga (probably five manga series)!

* Books to Buy:  seven are listed here, but seven more will be decided on as the year progresses. I may be posting a "2024 Book-shopping List" shortly.