Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Goals revisited

My thoughts stray to the many books I want to read or themes I want to explore, causing me to lose focus on what I planned on reading. Since the year is half gone, I thought it a good time to refocus on what I want to accomplish by the end of the year. I won’t get to everything I aimed for in this post but I’m OK with most of the ‘substitutions’ (such as participating in the Reading Odyssey group on Arrian in place of Hellenika). If I get to the following books I’ll be content…or satisfied, that is, given time and other resource limitations.

I realize it isn’t a list for most people (who am I kidding…it's not for anyone else), but if you're interested in joining in on any of these books just let me know. As always, I welcome comments now and as I stumble through the books.

July – December:

Plato: Crito, Phaedo, at least 4 more dialogues (maybe Symposium, Protagoras, Gorgias, Meno, Ion). The Republic is a goal for next year.

Finish Arrian’s The Campaigns of Alexander (see the Reading Odyssey schedule)

Joseph Roth: The Radetzky March, The Tale of the 1002nd Night

Stefan Zweig: The World of Yesterday

Rudyard Kipling: Debits and Credits (Yep, the odd man out on this list, and won't be the only one I'm sure.)

Xenophon: Memorabilia, Oeconomicus, Symposium, Apology. Next up, whether this year or next, is his Hellenika.

And at some point I want to start working in some books on the Thirty Years War I mentioned here.

2 comments:

Gil said...

Boy, now I feel like a slacker for my "one book from A Dance To The Music of Time each month" goal. Sheesh.

Dwight said...

Ha! I don't think I could keep up with that goal, much as I'd like to. Fortunately most of what I'm planning are short works, or short pieces at a time, which is the only way I'll come close to doing it.