I have crossed one of those life events recently, and find myself having more time to read. I have not read more than a handful of current, 2012 novels (and so am not participating in the annual Locus recommended reading list voting), though perhaps I can do better in 2013.
For the moment, I am expanding my scope and priorities for what books I should be reading beyond current year’s books to think seriously about what I want to read in the rest of my life — considering those calculations about, if you suppose you have so many years left to live, and can read so many books per year, how many books would that be, and which books should they be.
For a start, I am indulging in a long-held intention: to re-read (and in a few cases read for the first time) the books by the authors who formed my world-view over the past decades, since my adolescence; these would be, in alphabetical order, the traditional three, or four: Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke, Heinlein. In this month, December, I am reading each of those author’s earliest novels and first published collections, in that order; I am currently half-way through Clarke’s first collection. My plan is to post reactions to re-reading these books, in a continuing series of posts, on this blog. With other reading/rereading schemes to follow.
I’m interested in your perspectives in this project.
Hope the life swerve wasn’t too severe.