06.06.06: The Beginning

No, the Rapture didn't happen, planes did not fall out of the sky, nor did the sun explode. But the day hasn't been an entire bust. On this auspicious date, I'm finally undertaking a project that I've been kicking around for the past few months: blogging about the books I've read. I don't claim to be an expert on much of anything, but as a recently minted (albeit unemployed) librarian, the need to proclaim the virtues or failings of my recent reading is in my blood. Hence this blog. It will chronicle my thoughts, opinions, adulations, pet peeves, rants, and other emotions triggered by my recent reads. It may be coherent. There may be links to other book-related sites or stories, and perhaps commentary on other cultural events that catch my interest. One thing is certain: it will evolve, as I'm fairly new to the blogging world and will have to learn by doing. Mostly, A Reader's Year is for my own benefit: a record of what I've read recently and what I thought of it.

A note on what I read: pretty much whatever strikes my fancy. I tend most towards nonfiction: history, memoirs/biographies, works on social topics, books on quirky subjects. Whatever. If I were stuck to reading only books on a particular topic for an extended period of time, I would start crawling up the walls. I'm also interested in literary fiction, mysteries (of the British, civilized murder sort), art books, women's studies, cultural studies, graphic novels, and young adult books. I have a strange desire to read as many of the Penguin classics as I can before I expire. So, in a nutshell, I read random books. What may capture my interest one week might be old news the next.