The ''to read'' list

Fans of lists will have devoured, hopefully with interest, a previous entry of mine, in which I recorded, with painful lack of critical insight, my reading of 2011.


Fans of organisation and planning will, with luck, enjoy the following post: what to read in 2012?


I'm a big fan of the ''to read'' list as a good method of approaching future reading - it keeps you on track, first, by which I mean it's always a good idea to be thinking about the next thing, even whilst concentrating on the present. Having a reading list also focusses me better on the actual book in hand, I find. I'm currently reading a brilliant novel, and because it's so brilliant, I'm zipping through it (it is Shalom Auslander's Hope: A Tragedy which will come out in a couple of weeks, and which you should definitely buy). When it's done though, I'm going to take the ''it's winter, so it's time for some big books'' attitude. Thus, planned reading for the next couple of months includes Barnaby Rudge (because you just sort of have to this year, don't you?) and The Art of Fielding, the new (and, indeed, debut) novel by Chad Harbach. It's had a number of great reviews, but its sales are less-than-impressive (certainly in my own London bookshop) and I wonder what the gap between reviewing and buying has in it. Short answer: me, in a month or so. After these two massive novels, I think I'm going to re-read Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady. I read this very quickly at university but didn't give it the time or effort that it really deserves. Nonetheless, I very much enjoyed it, so it's worth another go, I think. And then yesterday I discussed the merits of Daniel Deronda, which is one of my most favouritest novels ever. I think all of the above, in that order, should take me up to about August, easily. (Joke, natch. Maybe get it all done by the end of March?)


Some people might question the ''to read'' list, suggesting you should read whatever you fancy, whenever. Literary sluts, I tell you! Planning in advance means you get the best reading for the time you invest: a good balance of fiction and non-, and a good sense, more importantly, of why you're reading. Do you intend to cram the bestsellers, to impress at dinner parties with how zeitgeisty you are? Do you intend to cover old favourites? Is there a theme to your reading? (One might assume on the basis of the above that my theme is ''novels of at least 800 pages'', better known as ''literary sado-masochism''. I don't think the James is that long, actually, but a lesser novelist would take that many pages, for sure.) Having a good reason for reading is almost as important as the reading itself. I just cannot stand people who read a novel and then chuck it. What's the point? It's a total waste of your time. One should have something to show for one's efforts - a passion, a response, a meaning, not just a brag - and a reading plan goes a long way to ensure this success.


Thus, a lot of what's on my list isn't really about ''reading the book for the sake of having read it because everyone else has read it''. With a few (extremely notable and important, naturally) exceptions, that's a pretty crap reason for reading anything. Reading is to improve the mind's fertility, and it's meant to have sod all to do with Keeping up with the Joneses. As such, a few things on my list include:


Anything written by Henry Green
I've read Party Going, and it's one of the best novels I've ever read. Most of his work is sadly out of print, so I'm going to make extra effort to get hold of it this year. His critical reputation is sadly far behind that of his contemporaries, but if you like Evelyn Waugh then you should like Henry Green too.


Rumpole by John Mortimer
A colleague of mine is a huge fan of him, and given my interest in law, and its pretty interesting relationship with literature, this seems like a necessary addition to the library. I flipped through one of his collections at work the other day, and with titles such as 'Rumpole and the Learned Friend', my interest was piqued. On this note, A P Herbert must be read. He seems a pretty interesting chap.


Books by Dorothy Whipple/Barbara Pym/Stella Gibbons
The same colleague likes all these writers, and her enthusiasm is infectious. Also I know that Persephone Books publish some of these books, and anything by Persephone is magical. That's not an overstatement.


I'm sure there's more on the list, but for now, I hope that it's clear that curiosity should be the driving force of any sensible reading list. Just as I keep a record of all books after I've read them (I should point out that this 'record' is no more than just a note of the title and author, and the month in which I read the book) I'm going to start keeping a ''to read'' list - when something really looks like it'll be fun, or worthwhile (and let's not start on the difference between the two), it can go in there.


I'd be delighted if anyone wants to share their own ''to read'' lists. What do you intend to read this year?