Let's Get Started

Hello,

My name is Keith. I'm 48 years old, currently unemployed. In a prior life, I worked in software development, both as a developer and a manager. I have decided to take some time off and try to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. I've been mostly goofing off for the last year, but I have taken a few classes, including a literature class. This has rekindled an interest in reading for personal pleasure, and I have decided to embark on a challenge. I have decided to attempt to read 52 books this year. I plan to do this whether or not I take any more classes or manage to find a job. A quick Google search will reveal this to be a fairly common challenge, and I don't know if anyone will wind up reading this blog, but hopefully having to write about the experience will keep me going. Perhaps also, there is an offhand chance that someone will read this and be inspired to do the same.

I'm going to have to assume that at least for now I am a voice in the wilderness, but if anyone is out there and wishes to make suggestions for what I should read, please feel free. I plan to read from contemporary novels and classic literature, although I think there is a good chance I will delve into biography and other non-fiction. I'm not sure that there is anything that is off-limits, but we will have to see. I'm not necessarily going to let popular opinion make my reading decisions for me. I just look to you for suggestions.

I also look to you for feedback. If anyone winds up reading this blog, it would be nice to be able to discuss the books. I guess we'll see if that takes shape or not.

To give you an idea of what I've been reading lately, I just recently finished an American Literature Class in which we read the following:

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
O Pioneers - Willa Cather
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest - Ken Kesey

I may take another class this semester, which will of course dictate some of the books I will read. I also do not necessarily plan on sticking to a one book/one week schedule. I also may read more than one book at a time, and re-prioritize books based on my whim. The ultimate goal is to read 52 books over the course of the year. I welcome you to follow my progress, and join in if you like!

Keith