Friday, March 9, 2007

Themed Reading

While I procrastinate a bit on getting back to Grapes of Wrath (I love the book, it's just so disheartening), I revert to a favorite procrastinating activity: list-making. So, my lists today relate to some theme-reading posts going around at the moment.

If I were to be denied book-buying, and the library, here are some theme-reads from my bookshelf in which I could occupy myself (all books I have not yet read):

Australiana:
- Australia: The New World, pub. By Granta
- Oscar and Lucinda: Peter Carey
- Living with Crazy Buttocks – Kaz Cooke

Classics by Male Authors:
- Moll Flanders – Daniel Defoe
- Robinson Crusoe – Daniel Defoe
- The Mill on the Floss – George Eliot
- Tom Jones – Henry Fielding
- Far From the Madding Crowd – Thomas Hardy
- Catch-22 – Joseph Heller
- The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne

Politics/Current Events:
- Standing Alone – Asra Q. Nomani
- Jihad vs McWorld by Benjamin Barber
- Hidden Agendas – John Pilger
- The Algebra of Infinite Justice – Arundhati Roy
- International Human Rights in Context – Steiner

Plays:
- A Doll’s House – Henrik Ibsen
- Phaedra – Jean Racine
- Andromache – Jean Racine
- No Exit – Jean Paul Sartre
- The Misanthrope – Moliere
- Twenty Seven Wagons Full of Cotton - Tennessee Williams

Books By Barbara Pym:
- A Glass of Blessings
- Some Tame Gazelle
- An Unsuitable Attachment
- Sweet Dove Died

That would keep me going for a good six months, I believe!

5 comments:

Sycorax Pine said...

Hi, NyssaNeala!
I am glad to hear about BOTH your Australiana and your Plays themed-reading lists since I am engaged in similar projects - my "Year of Down Under" challenge to read 12 Australian books in 2007, and my 52 Plays/52 Weeks project for 2007. I am afraid that "Down Under" has rather stalled, but I am seriously pondering picking up "Remembering Babylon" if I can ever resist the siren song of the NYT Notable Books Challenge. I would love to hear any recommendations you have from your Australiana reading!

By the way, did you know that George Eliot is a pseudonym for Mary Anne Evans? Sneaky. :)

Nyssaneala said...

Oh yeah - I did know that about George Eliot and forgot. Oops. :)

I probably won't start on many of these books until 2008. It was sort of a "stuck on a desert island" scenario, only should be more aptly named, "stuck with only the books you already own"!

Anonymous said...

Hi Nyssaneala - Loved reading your themed lists. I have one Barbara Pym novel that I've been meaning to read. Several people have told me her books are wonderful comfort reads.

darkorpheus said...

Hi Nyssaneala, this Themed Reading is really fun. I love looking at other people's lists.

I was pleasantly surprised by the "Classics by Male Authors" - I believe a lot of the bloggers usually have more female authors under their classics reading.

I always wanted to pick up "The Algebra of Infinite Justice" by never did.

Cheers.

Nyssaneala said...

Iliana - Thanks! I have read Excellent Women and really enjoyed it. Someday I'll get around to the others!

Dark Orpheus - It is always fun to look at others' lists! I tend to read more female classic authors too, that is probably why most of the unread classics on my shelves are by men!a