Welcome to the fifth (I think) of my bonus blog entries for the this, the first week of 2012!

I’ve hinted that there were several things I wanted to be sure I did this year and you’ll be pleased to hear that thought hasn’t changed. There are sooooooo many books I want to read or re-read that part of me is looking forward to the maternity leave so I can stick my face in a book. Not that there’s going to be loads of time for that at first, but babies have got to sleep at some point, right? Right?!

Please say yes! *whimper*

Anyway, with the arrival of my Kindle (squee!!! – a post on that in later posts) getting hold of books I never would have thought to buy is going to be significantly more simple than it has been in the past. Possibly cheaper too. But book isn’t just about ebooks, its about paper books as well and even though last year, following Alt Fiction, I did a crazy amount of reading of new authors, I want to top that this year. At some point I’ll count up how many new authors I discovered last year, but for this year… I want to find 24.
That’s two each month.
I don’t care if they’re indie authors, self published, on small press or published through the big six… I just want to find 24 new authors that I’ve not read before and expand my reading repertoire even further. I am firmly of the believe that great writers are great readers. I want to be a great reader; so….

So… this month begins my journey!

With the help of my trusty Kindle and regular trips to Waterstones, I’m going to do me some reading!!! Hmm… guess I’m going to need a set of new book shelves after all. o.O

If you want specifics, then here are a few authors I’ve never read and feel guilty at admitting:
Robert Louis Stephenson
Lewis Carroll
Charles Dickens
Charlotte Brontë
Emily Brontë
Oscar Wilde
Victor Hugo
I know… hang my head in shame, right?

 
And some books that I am desperate to read before the year is out (if only just to see what the fuss is about):
Wuthering Heights
Game Of Thrones
The Picture Of Dorian Gray
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Jane Eyre
Oliver Twist
King Lear (I KNOW its a play… I’m still going to read it properly)
Frankenstein

 
And as for books I would love to re-read….
The Iliad
Othello
1984
A Brave New World
Pride And Prejudice
The Lord Of The Rings
Wheel Of Time Series (to date)
To name a few. Lol, there are more, though I would like to give this year over to new authors. That seems better.

 
So… even though it would be easy to meet that new author goal by just picking up 24 books I want to read that I’ve never read before, it would be too easy.

So, on top of the new author goal, I also want to read 24 books. And that is a separate goal and separate counter to the authors. I figure a rate of two books a month shouldn’t be too tricky. Lord, I hope I’m not setting myself up for a fall here. 🙂

Wish me luck!
 

Tomorrow’s post: Word Count Goal for 2012