Widely read or bust!

I didn't make any very concrete new year's resolutions but I've been thinking about things I'd like to get done in the next year. I'm not too sure where life is going to lead us in 2009, possibly new jobs, maybe a move to a different city and that makes it hard to envisage what goals are realistically achievable. I did think of one little thing I'd like to get done though:


These are the books I want to read during 2009. They are all novels that I've owned for some time (I can't think of when my most recent fiction purchase was) and that I've either not read or started and not finished. I'd like to finish all of these by the end of the year. If I actually get my thesis out of the way eventually (even more so if I manage to divest myself of my current job) I think this ought to be an achievable goal - I don't always feel like reading that much when I've
been either researching or proofreading the whole day, which you can imagine limits my reading opportunities somewhat.

I won't be too strict with this, if I don't finish everything it won't be the end of the world and since most of these books are reasonably heavy going I'll excuse myself if I need to read some mindless chick lit for light relief now and again :o)

For information purposes here is the list of books (I'll try and update as and when I am able to tick them off the list):

1. The Berlin Novels - Christopher Isherwood - bought years ago and never even started(!)
2. Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance - Robert Pirsig - nearly finished twice, will have to start again as I can't remember what's happened so far
3. Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro - bought a couple of years ago, never started
4. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer - bought last year from a pound shop (!) haven't had a chance to look at it yet but I loved Everything is Illuminated
5. Der fremde Freund - Christoph Hein - cheating... I've read this before but I desperately wanted to re-read it and I've already started on this one... easing myself in I guess
6. Der geteilte Himmel - Christa Wolf - bought in a clearance sale from the uni bookshop never got round to looking at it
7. Was bleibt - Christa Wolf - bought in a clearance sale again
8. Kein Ort. Nirgends - Christa Wolf - it's sort of related to my thesis topic so I bought it second hand, but got sidetracked by reading for research
9. Russendisko - Wladimir Kaminer - nearly finished this and it's all little anecdote-type vignettes so should be able to pick up where I left off
10. Perfume - Patrick Suskind - got at least half way through this and was really enjoying it but will have to start again now because it's been too long
11. Life of Pi - Yann Martel - a charity shop find, started but not finished
12. Siddhartha - Hermann Hesse - another vaguely thesis related thing bought out of curiousity but haven't had a chance to look at it yet
13. Austerlitz - WG Sebald - another charity shop find, not started as yet
14. The Sorrows of Young Werther - Goethe - had to read it in German as an undergrad, don't think I really got it so thought I'd try it in English
15. Elective Affinities - Goethe - ditto the last reason
16. The Stone Raft - Jose Saramago - was postgrad coursework which I didn't manage to read at all - naughty me!

Hope this list doesn't make me sound overly pretentious!!!