Many readers plan their reading year ahead, hoping to pay particular attention to a specific author/genre/period/sex/nationality.
I don't know if it's a real trend, but it is noteworthy that several specifically limited reading plans have been announced in recent days:
At The Guardian's Comment is free Sunili Govinnage explains that In 2014, I'll only read books by writers of colour. Here's why. I can understand her wanting to seek out: "new perspectives in literature, popular culture and news" -- but I'd be a bit more impressed if the first three authors she mentions weren't Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Julie Otsuka -- who are certainly fine authors, but are also steeped in the 'West'. I.e. this doesn't look like really pushing the envelope (or coming anywhere close to that) to me.
Meanwhile, at the Asymptote weblog Matthew Jakubowski has A Focus for 2014 too -- vowing: "to read only books by women".
I can understand the temptation of such ... directed reading. I'm occasionally tempted to 'guide' my own reading too (especially at points such as this, when I look back on what I read and reviewed over the year -- with a ridiculous 85.37 per cent of the 205 books reviewed at the complete review in 2013 authored by men surely there are few review-fora which would seem to be in as much need of some affirmative action as this one ...), but I just think I'd miss too much. The pervasive local sexism is obviously problematic; on the other hand, surely few sites are as globally and linguistically diverse in what they consider. Obviously, I'm not finding my way into all the right corners, especially as far a female authors are concerned; on the other hand, look at the past ten or twenty books reviewed -- that's about as varied a lot as you'll find anywhere. (Or do I have blinders on, seeing only 'global'/linguistic variety, at the expense of any other kind ... ?)
(Continuing to sound way too defensive, I can't help but note that numbers might also count (a bit) in my favor: Lilit Marcus explained a couple of weeks ago at Flavorwire Why I Only Read Books by Women in 2013 (a piece referenced by both of the above) -- but she's also speaking about: "the 40 books I read this year". So with 30 books by women reviewed at the complete review in 2013 (and, I'm fairly sure, more than 40 read by me) I don't lag too far behind -- it's only relatively speaking that my performance is woeful .....)
At The Guardian's Comment is free Sunili Govinnage explains that In 2014, I'll only read books by writers of colour. Here's why. I can understand her wanting to seek out: "new perspectives in literature, popular culture and news" -- but I'd be a bit more impressed if the first three authors she mentions weren't Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Jhumpa Lahiri, and Julie Otsuka -- who are certainly fine authors, but are also steeped in the 'West'. I.e. this doesn't look like really pushing the envelope (or coming anywhere close to that) to me.
Meanwhile, at the Asymptote weblog Matthew Jakubowski has A Focus for 2014 too -- vowing: "to read only books by women".
I can understand the temptation of such ... directed reading. I'm occasionally tempted to 'guide' my own reading too (especially at points such as this, when I look back on what I read and reviewed over the year -- with a ridiculous 85.37 per cent of the 205 books reviewed at the complete review in 2013 authored by men surely there are few review-fora which would seem to be in as much need of some affirmative action as this one ...), but I just think I'd miss too much. The pervasive local sexism is obviously problematic; on the other hand, surely few sites are as globally and linguistically diverse in what they consider. Obviously, I'm not finding my way into all the right corners, especially as far a female authors are concerned; on the other hand, look at the past ten or twenty books reviewed -- that's about as varied a lot as you'll find anywhere. (Or do I have blinders on, seeing only 'global'/linguistic variety, at the expense of any other kind ... ?)
(Continuing to sound way too defensive, I can't help but note that numbers might also count (a bit) in my favor: Lilit Marcus explained a couple of weeks ago at Flavorwire Why I Only Read Books by Women in 2013 (a piece referenced by both of the above) -- but she's also speaking about: "the 40 books I read this year". So with 30 books by women reviewed at the complete review in 2013 (and, I'm fairly sure, more than 40 read by me) I don't lag too far behind -- it's only relatively speaking that my performance is woeful .....)