MARION HILL

The Value of a Reading List

by | Jan 30, 2018 | Marion's Reading Life Blog | 0 comments

I was not a fan of a reading list until a few years ago. I will admit with Goodreads coming on the book reading scene has helped in letting me see the need of a reading list. Since 2015, I have kept a reading list, and it has made a better reader.

My reading list has shown me what genre of books I tended to gravitate towards (primarily science-fiction and fantasy) and how I needed stretch beyond my preferred genres.  I have added (and read) literary fiction (from the likes of Richard Ford, Ann Patchett, Charles Johnson, and Haruki Murakami), mystery (Louise Penny and Walter Mosley), and indie published authors (J.F. Penn, K.M. Tremills, Milton Davis, and Leonora Meriel) to my reading lists over the past several years. Also, I have added classics to my reading list for this year.

I will admit that keeping a reading list ( or any list) can be time-consuming and tedious.  I have changed my lists several times throughout the year and rarely end up with the list I wrote at the beginning of each year by that year’s end.  This year, I decided to wait until January was finished. (Today is the 30th) before posting my definitive list for 2018.

I read between thirty and thirty-five books a year.  I know there are many of you that read twice or three times as much as I do. However, I like the rhythm and pace of reading two to three books a month and I have been able to retain more of what I read with that kind of volume.  Also, I have posted reviews since 2011 for most of the books I read and that amount makes it possible with my lifestyle.  So, here is my reading list for 2018 (I have already read the first four books in January.  More than my normal pace):

  1. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
  2. Binti by Nnedi Okorafor
  3. Estate Planning for Authors by M.L. Buchman
  4. The Resurrection of Frederic Debreu by Alex Marsh
  5. Exit West by Moshin Hamid
  6. Self Publishing Unboxed by Patty Jansen
  7. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
  8. Children of Earth and Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay
  9. Warrior (Great Lands Book 2) by K.M. Tremills
  10. Camber of Culdi by Katherine Kurtz
  11. The Land Across by Gene Wolfe
  12. Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
  13. Meji Book 2 by Milton Davis
  14. The Man in the Maze by Robert Silverberg
  15. The White Raven by Carrie D. Miller
  16. Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg
  17. Once Upon a Thriller (Nancy Drew Diaries #4) by Carolyn Keene
  18. The Artist’s Journey by Steven Pressfield
  19. The Little Country by Charles deLint
  20. The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel
  21. The Girl on Paper by Guillaume Musso
  22. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
  23. The Million-Dollar One-Person Business by Elaine Pofeldt
  24. House of Lost Dreams by Graham Joyce
  25. Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday
  26. Newsletter Ninja by Tammi Labrecque
  27. Tribes by Seth Godin
  28. Green Lantern Mosaic #1 by Gerard Jones
  29. Sailing to Sarantium by Guy Gavriel Kay
  30. Last Song Before Night by Ilana C. Myer
  31. To Ride Hell’s Chasm by Janny Wurts
  32. The Copyright Handbook by Stephen Fishman

There is my reading list for 2018.  I would like to know do you keep a reading list?  If so, where?  Has it benefited your reading life? Looking forward to your comments.

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