Sonntag, 30. Dezember 2012

Changes and Enthusiasm

As all of you currently reading this will probably have noticed, I have finally managed to upload a background image. Doesn't sound like a big deal, right? Except that it took me three whole days, various visits on nerdy IT-websites and several nervous breakdowns to make it work. And they say we're the computer generation...
Anyway, I am brimming over with enthusiasm right now, so I'll seize the opportunity to announce a few changes and plans for 2013. After all, it already is almost New Year's Eve.

A little early, but still: Happy new year!
Like probably every other devoted reader during the last few years and especially now that they are becoming so mainstream I have given a little thought to e-readers. The idea of carrying around as many books as you want to and never lack space on your shelves again is an intriguing one, but in the end I am just a little too old-fashioned to decide on giving up all tangible books for a mere gadget. Thankfully this decision was made for me since I received a Kindle for Christmas! I'm still in the testing phase, but so far I'm -unexpectedly- loving Atticus (yes, I've already named him: which name could be more appropriate than that of book-loving wonderful Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird?). 
The first e-book I've downloaded is Jude Morgan's fictionalised biography of the Brontë family, The Taste of Sorrow. It is very interesting, but I'm anxious to finish it before tomorrow night because I don't want to start 2013 with a half-read book. It is silly, but for me it just feels better to start a new year with a new book.
Which brings me to my developing reading plans! I love making plans and participating in reading challenges, and I am especially excited since I had to cancel all my challenges this year because of my abrupt hiatus.

The amazing Narrative Poem Reading Challenge is hosted over at Half-Hilled Attic. I plan on finally reading Dante's Purgatorio and Paradiso after loving Inferno so much. Additionally I feel as if it was about time I finally tackled Homer, so I will probably give him a try, as well as Edmund Spenser's The Faery Queene which I'm really curious about. And of course Paradise Lost, which I've wanted to read for years but somehow never did.

Another challenge which comes exactly at the right time is the Books on France Reading Challenge. Usually I am horribly neglecting French literature (and my poor French), but this is the chance to change that. I will probably be aiming for the level "beaucoup", meaning that I will read 6 French books, so one every two months, but it will take me a little longer to decide on the titles.

And my for the moment last challenge will be the Wishlist Challenge from Uniflame Creates. This one is especially fun because you only read books that are already on your wishlist; so you basically get to read those books you've been wanting to lay hands on for ages. During the next few days I'll write a separate announcement post detailing which 12 titles I plan to read for this challenge.

That's it for now! I hope I can carry some of this enthusiasm into 2013. Oh, and before I forget: I'm wishing you all a great last day of 2012 and a good beginning of the next year!

12 Kommentare:

  1. Email me if you ever have template troubles again - I've actually used Blogger since 2005 and had a thousand template changes, so I'm pretty down with it now (I think!). :)

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    1. I know - whenever I look at your blog I'm filled with shame about my poor webdesign abilities!
      Thanks for the offer :)

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  2. Sigh, I need to change mine and I don't want to put the work in!

    Woot, I'm also in two of those challenges (not the French one--this year is going to be Russian!).

    A lot of what I like about my e-reader is that I can get so many OLD books for free--books that I can't easily get at the library, that I might not even be able to get on interlibrary loan. I much prefer paper books, but sometimes an e-book is just the ticket. :)

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    1. You're so right! Remember all the trouble I had finding a complete German edition of Les Mis? With Atticus it took me just one click and voilà! And another thing I appreciate very much is the integrated dictionary. It is so convenient and makes me actually learn new words instead of simply reading over them.

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  3. Dante makes me shudder. It's so thick. I tried to read it once, but failed. Perhaps I should gie it another chance.

    I'm in Books on France as well. It will be a fun year.

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    1. Oh, I love Dante! As soon as I start reading I get lost in the beauty of his writing. But I've read him in German and partly in Italian (uncomparable!) so technically we've not read the same book. Perhaps you should try another translation? Or try reading out loud?
      Sorry, I always get desperate when someone doesn't like a book/author I love ;)

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  4. Ohh, those sound like some very exciting challenges! I'm not participating in any this year, but the Books On France Reading Challenge is definitely tempting. Oh, well.
    Yay for Atticus! I always love hearing about the names you give your things. The Taste of Sorrow is going straight to my to-be-read list. I have a love affair with all things Brontë, so this book sounds right up my alley.
    Have a happy New Year!

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    1. I will probably fail half of them miserably, but I can never resist signing up...
      Haha, it's great to hear that someone shares my love for crazy name-giving ;)

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    2. My sister-in-law is an unstoppable name-giver. She christened MY car Philomena after she ran out of things of her own to name.

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  5. Happy New Year!
    Are you enjoying Taste of Sorrow? I loved it when I read it but thought it was perhaps a bit too long.

    Good luck with all of your reading challenges :)

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  6. Happy New Year! It sounds like you have some exciting challenges planned. I read Dante's Divine Comedy a couple summers ago and really liked it--if you like the language, I though Paradiso was the most beautiful. One of these days I need to read some more French lit (I've read one or two books, I think)--maybe this will be the year I read Les Miserables. Enjoy your reads/challenges!

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  7. Ah, you sound as technologically challenged as I am. ;)

    Great plans. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these texts.

    Happy New Year!

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