2024 - a new year and a new PERSPECTIVE
Every new year, I get excited about the possibilities: what will I read, what will I experience?
Until very recently, I thought that reading was about getting through a book and getting to the next. And while this approach comes natural to me (and yes, I understand that this might not be the most mature approach to it yet it is the fuel I have), I have recently shocked myself with the idea of experiencing every book as a learning experience.
The question I will ask myself each time I pick up a new book is: what did I learn from this book? So I am looking forward to what comes next for me, even more than before!
Additional reflections
These were reflections I did before getting to the big shift in mindset.
Quality over quantity. I loved my journey in 2023 (and getting to this incredible number which I could probably improve on). Yet, I got to a place where I was worried about not spending enough time reading, getting in a bit of a spiral leading to a soft reading in August and especially September.
Pre-set list of books to read. This is new for me while I know that this is an effective way for many to tackle their reading. I want to test this out, I want to have a pre-determined list of books that I will want to read (and I used this tool for all genres I will be tackling this year) and a pre-set of books that I can choose from. I am an impulsive reader too so I will need some room for flexibility, plus these plans can always change but I liked the idea of having a different approach to reading this year.
Multitudes in genres. While I mostly read fantasy, I do not read it exclusively. In fact, my other favorite genre is historical fiction (including all of its facets and different sub-genres!). I also want to be more accountable in exploring other genres, specifically sci-fi; to this effect, I hope to be able to tackle this challenge too!
The quest for diversity. Gender diversity has been a bit of my flagship for a while and I have barely been able to add the right amount of gender diversity. I have also been poor at incorporating other forms of diversity; so I hope that the pre-set list of books will help me with accomplishing the ambitious goal of having a balanced reading, with a good 50/50 split between men and women in fantasy (and other genres).
Concrete plans, per genre!
Fantasy.
This is the genre that required the most mental work to define next steps and, in fact, it helped shape the reading approach for the year.
I had two main drivers: select a gender balanced reading year and making sure that I select a few long series and a few short ones to allow change of paces.
So my main two authors for this year are going to be Robin Hobb, with The Realm of the Elderlings, and Guy Gavriel Kay, with a full catalog of series and stand alone books. Both of these authors are known for their prose and their ability to get the reader fully engaged into the story and the characters. I cannot wait to document this journey. I also think that these are authors that fit perfectly well with the goal of learning from each book.
As for the other series, I also want to tackle two medium size-series. The options are three:
(i) Red Rising by Pierce Brown; this is a series that will help me on a few different areas. First, this is a hybrid between fantasy and sci-fi (actually probably mostly sci-fi) but it is also a series that will complete its journey in 2024 and I want to be front and center for it. Technically, the original trilogy is a re-read for me (and I think it the original trilogy is not very complex yet I hear really high praises for the second part of the series which will be a brand new read for me so I am excited to give it a go).
(ii) The cycle of Galand by Edward W. Robertson; a pure fantasy story with a magician as a protagonist and what seems to be ac complex fantasy world. It feels this is the story that I will need to put on hold for 2024 but the more I read the blurb of the first book, the more I want to dive into it; or
(iii) Chronicles of the Cheysuli by Jennifer Roberson; this author wrote the best love story in fantasy, she was able to create my favorite fantasy couple. When I read that she also wrote a series on shapeshifters, then I knew this was going to be a key read for me in 2024.
The challenge will be to select between the two of them and I have a natural tendency to choose Jennifer Roberson (for the reasons above) and Red Rising will be quite popular in social media so I want to join the hype bus (and hopefully stay on it!).
I will also dive into a few different shorter series, focusing on women in fantasy and on diversity but also on catching up on popular (and well drafted) series such as the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson. Some of the options in this list are Ashes of Avarin by Thiago Abdalla; Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse, the Reborn Empire by Devin Manson. I cannot wait to see what this year brings to my reading table!
Historical fiction / mythology retellings.
This is the second genre per books this year. I have a plan: mostly focus on historical fiction in the Greek and Roman times, with one exception. I will also be reading in Italian and Spanish when the original work is in those languages. The inspiration for this approach came from reading Santiago Posteguillo’s series dedicated to Julius Caesar which was a glorious experience. We will repeat the experiment (with the exception of Hilary Mantel’s series on Thomas Cromwell that has been on my to be read series for a few years). I will read one of my favorite authors of historical fictions in Italy, Valerio Massimo Manfredi, picking up his wonderful series on Alexander the Great, called Alexandros. I will also read a Spanish adaptation of this historical fiction. I will also return to Julius Caesar with Andrea Frediani and his trilogy Dictator. I cannot wait to compare these stories!
I will also explore more from Santiago Posteguillo, by reading this duology dedicated to Julia Domna in 192 d.C. And I cannot wait to see more from him, especially having a woman as the protagonist!
I will also dabble on mythology retellings; I have a few books on my radar, such as The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker (and the other two books in the series), I also would like to continue reading books by Jennifer Saint. So there is plenty of potential!
Sci-fi.
This is a bit of the known for me; my goal is to read one sci-fi book a month; I will start with the Expanse by James S.A. Corey and let’s see what other woman writes wonderful stories in this genre (and I loved Arkady Martine’s Teixcalaan series).
Classics.
While I love them, I would truly like to focus my energies on other stories. With that said, I have a couple of tomes in my reading list, such as War and Peace and Middlemarch so we’ll see where I land with these wonderful series!
Audio
While it might be an unpopular opinion, I love listening to books. In fact, my favorite things in the world is doing immersive reading, the book in front of me, the narrator in my years sharing the story with me.
With that said, I plan having a long workout sessions this year (I made a choice to train for my first triathlon) during which I usually listed to books. I came to the realization that I love listening to crime books mostly (not exclusively though) and I will keep going through the Reacher series, although I am not sure where I am going next. Possibly I will go into Inspector Lynley by Elizabeth George (stories that I have been wanting to read for a very long time and it might be the right next step!).
Final thoughts
Overall, I feel quite pumped about this reading year. I felt quite good about putting these thoughts and ideas together and I cannot wait to see how I do compared to this list. I anticipate that I will be okay for the first one or two months and then I will start meandering and wanting something different. Hopefully I will then be back on track shortly after that!
Do you make plans for your reading year? If so, what are those? Anything special that you found out while preparing for this reading year that you want to share? Feel free to comment down below!
