An Abashed Look Back at 2017 Reading Resolutions

It's so fun to look back at my 12-months-younger self with a bemused eye. Cringeworthy, but fun:

I would like to read 55 books in 2017. 
I read 61. I won't finish #62, The Great Influenza, by John M. Barry before midnight on the 31st.

I would like to finish Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow in 2017. As of today, I'm 4% in. Well, I didn't make much progress with old George, but let's talk about that other man on the money, Grant!

I would like to read 3 Pulitzer Fiction novels.
I read zero. Aught. Naught.


I would like to continually have an audiobook on the go while I'm driving around. 
I finished several audiobooks this year, so that was a good idea. Then I discovered the Broadway Channel...

(which leads to...) 
Yes....?


I would like to listen to/read more audiobooks this year.
17! audiobooks! Zing! Boom!

I would like to watch or listen to a bunch of musicals this year. Forget Top 40, forget country. Nothing satisfies like a musical.
I found the Broadway Channel! I just sang that to myself Ethel Merman-style.

I would like to read that new Eugene O'Neill biography. 
Didn't get around to Eugene or any other playwright.

I would like to read some Korean literature. 
How could I overlook Korean literature? NOOO! I miss my former home so much. Edited to add: I actually kept this resolution! I read The Vegetarian by Han Kang.

I would like to read The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford. 
I listened to an FMF novel -- not this one -- and while it was good, it just felt like forever. I'm going to need a couple of years to recover before I set out with him again.

I would like to read Earth by Emile Zola.
I didn't get around to Zola this year. Quel dommage!

I would like to read a Stewart O'Nan novel.
I didn't read O'Nan, but I kept obsessively scanning the New Shelf at the library for a new novel by him. There's lots on his backlist that I haven't gotten to yet.


I would like the bulk of my reading to be 19th and 20th century books.
For the most part, I snuggled down with the 21st century and could not be budged. 

EDITED TO ADD:

Well shoot. I had a feeling I wasn't done yet. Two more book wishes floated to the top today while I was walking. I've heard things like that can happen.
Float, float, float your goal/Gently down the stream...

I would like to read The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. Maybe an audiobook? 
I didn't fulfill this resolution, but still think it's a good idea.

I would like to get back to that Vincent van Gogh biography I left off reading while on the subway back in 2013 or 2014. 
I did do this! So glad I returned to this book minus my subway seat.


For my 2018 resolutions, I'm planning a big, bold move. I want to build a 100-book reading list, and let my idealistic bookworm hang out for all the world to see. Then of course I'll make fun of my starry-eyed self in the wee hours of 2019. Stay tuned.