Classic literature: Last year I resolved either to read In Search of Lost Time, or else finish Don Quixote and read Catcher in the Rye and The Tin Drum. I managed the latter two, got no further with Cervantes and am just over halfway through Proust. It should not therefore be impossible to finish both Proust and Cervantes this year, and then I think I should reread some of the classics – Middlemarch in particular would probably reward another look.
SF: Last year I resolved to read three out of A Princess of Mars, Tau Zero, Grey Lensman, Again, Dangerous Visions, The Female Man, Last and First Men, Deathbird, and Dhalgren – in fact I managed all but Grey Lensman (which I won’t read; I have given up on Smith) and Again, Dangerous Visions, which I should be able to get through if I have some long journeys during the year (which is not unlikely). I need a new list of classic SF, and the SFBC has supplied oneChildren of the Atom by Wilmar Shiras, I Am Legend by Richard Matheson, Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice, Little, Big by John Crowley, The Rediscovery of Man by Cordwainer Smith, On the Beach by Nevil Shute, Rogue Moon by Algis Budrys, Stormbringer by Michael Moorcock and The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. I should be able to read at least four of those nine in 2008.
Comics: I got a lot of good recommendations in this post, and will try to work through another five or so of them.
Backlogged Books: This time last year I had 143 books on my unread list, and hoped to get through a third of them. In fact I managed 75, more than half. Of course, there has been a steady process of replacement, and my unread list is almost at the same level again, with
what is passing for service is actually female subservience
I agree that’s part of it, unfortunately, but from experience I also get a seat that I fit in (and I’m short to start with), and much better food.