by

Reading Intentions 2024

Photo Ylanite Koppens @ Pexels.com

I’m not really into reading goals and rarely participate in challenges that might oblige me to stick with a fixed plan.

A mood reader, I like being able to change my mind about what is going to be picked next. So often, the book I’m reading points the way forward to the next one, or a conversation leads me to recall another book I have on the shelf already.

That said, there are certain intentions I have, and I thought I would list them this year, to give a little direction or framework to the year. As always, things can change, they probably will and if so I will welcome that!

1. Read one book a week

While the number doesn’t really matter, it exists so that that at any one time I can see if I’m keeping with my intention or lagging behind. This reading challenge is on Goodreads, which is where I dump my first impressions as I read or makes notes while reading, or not.

Some may think that reading 50-60 books in a year is a lot; it is about the equivalent of reading 50 pages a day, which is around half an hour to an hour each day. The trick is to read a little every day. I mostly read at night, in the TV watching hour(s) and just before sleep.

2. Reading Ireland Month, March 2024

Last year I read 18 Irish books and I could easily do the same this year, the main focus being Reading Ireland Month in March over at Cathy’s 746Books.

In addition to books from this pile I own here, Cathy has just posted Irish Novels to look out for in 2024 and Irish Short Story Collections + Nonfiction to Look Out for in 2024.

There are few books here I am interested in, notably, from author’s I’ve read and enjoyed; Jan Carson’s Quickly, While They Still Have Horses (short stories) plus collections from Mary Costello and Lucy Caldwell; in fiction, Nuala O’Connor’s Seaborne, Siobhan Gleeson’s Hagstone, Caiolinn Hughe’s The Alternatives. There’s likely to be more temptations I’m sure!

3. Read More Latin American Fiction

Thanks to a subscription with Charco Press, I will be receiving nine books throughout 2024, as they are published.

2023 was a stellar year of reading books from this region, I enjoyed them all, in particular A Little Luck by Claudia Piñeiro (Argentina) tr. Frances Riddle, Two Sherpas by Sebastian Martinez Daniell (Argentina) tr. Jennifer Croft and The Delivery by Margarita Garcia Robayo (Colombia) tr. Megan McDowell.

The 2024 Fiction Bundle includes these titles, so many of which I am excited to read:

4. Read More Annie Ernaux, In French

In 2023, I read Annie Ernaux’s Nobel Prize lecture, I Will Write to Avenge My Race (2022), Simple Passion (1991), and Shame (1997).

In 2024, I hope to read her masterpiece The Years (2008) in English and these three titles in French, L’occupation (2002), (The Possession), Une femme (1987), (A Woman’s Story) and “Je ne suis pas sortie de ma nuit” (1997), (I Remain in Darkness).

I live in France, but tend to read French titles in English, in order to encourage readers to pick them up, however all these titles are available in English anyway and reading in French is a great way to increase vocabulary and exercise the brain!

5. Observe the Awards

Each year, there are certain awards, I like to follow, though they rarely influence what I am going to read. If anything, I’m more likely to find something that might interest me on the longlists, but I do enjoy watching the process of these so very subjective gatherings and all the literary chatter they evoke.

The awards I’ll be looking our for in 2024 are, the New Zealand Book Awards, The Irish Book Awards, The Dublin Literary Prize, The International Booker, The Booker and The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation.

I also like to see who makes the Dylan Thomas Prize longlist, an award for young writers, aged 39 and under, as it is can be a predictor of authors to watch out for in the future. The author Okwiri Oduour (Kenya), who wrote Things They Lost, my One Super Outstanding Read of 2023, was longlisted for this prize and another favourite author Sara Baume (Ireland/UK) was shortlisted.

6. Read More Women in Translation

I love to read around the world. In 2023, I read books from 23 countries and a third of them were in translation. I particularly like to support women authors in translation, due to the challenge this group has in being picked up by publishers and seen.

There is a wealth of great literature to discover here and it is heartening to see classics by the likes of Alba de Céspedes (Italy) coming to print in English for the first time, since being published in the 1950’s.

In 2024, I hope to read more of her work, more by Natalia Ginzburg (Italy), plenty via Charco Press and certainly more that I have yet to decide on. Women in Translation month #WITMonth is in August, which isn’t a great reading month for me, as it’s peak season work wise, so I’ll be reading it all year round, but following closely in August for recommendations.

7. Écrire Marseille: 15 grands auteurs célèbrent la cité phocéenne

Jean Claude Izzo Alexandre Dumas Gustave Flaubert Albert Cohen Simone de Beauvoir

Marseille is a wonderful city, only 25 minutes from where I live. I came across this title in a local bookstore, a compilation of extracts from various French works that mention or celebrate the city of Marseille in some way.

Having had a glimpse inside, I won’t be exactly reviewing the titles or extracts, but I will allow each text to inspire me to write something, using them as a kind of springboard to discover whatever it is to be found by studying the text. That is likely to include a few visits to this complex, unique city herself.

The opening quote is from The Trilogy Fabio Mentale, of which I have read the first in the series, Jean-Claude Izzo’s Total Khéops (1995) (Total Chaos):

“Marseille n’est pas une ville pour les touristes. Il n’y a rien à voir. Sa beauté ne se photographie pas. Elle se partage. Ici, il faut prendre parti. Se passionner. Être pour, être contre. Être, violemment. Alors seulement ce qui est à voir se donne à voir.”

“Marseilles isn’t a city for tourists. There’s nothing to see. Its beauty can’t be photographed. It can only be shared. It’s a place where you have to take sides. Be passionate. Be for, be against. Be, violently. Only then what is to be seen, shows itself.” 

The 15 authors included in the anthology are:

Arrivées à Marseille: Alexandre Dumas (1802-1870), Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880), Albert Cohen (1895-1981), Simone de Beauvoir (1908-1986)

Regards sur la ville: Paul Valéry (1871-1945), Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974), Albert Camus (1913-1916), René Frégni (né en 1947), Rebecca Lighieri (née en 1966), Alain Damasio (né en 1969)

Quelques quartiers de la cité phocéenne: Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), Albert Londres (1884-1932), Louis Brauquier (1900-1976), Jean-Claude Izzo (1945-2000), Maylis de Kerangal (née en 1967)

8. Read What I Like, When I Like

Photo by Julia Kuzenkov on Pexels.com

Have intentions, not obligations. No need to review or finish a book, just follow what lights me up.

Reading and playing around on this blog is total freedom and enjoyment, never a chore, just a fun place to hang out and create content that are like the conversations I am unable to have, because I would never wish to impose all this on anyone.

But thank you to those willing to read and comment, who follow along anyway, that is like the icing on the cake, a gift that is much valued and appreciated and which often contributes to what I might read next.

* * * * * * * * *

Do you have any reading intentions for 2024? Let me know in the comments below.

33 thoughts on “Reading Intentions 2024”

  2. Of all your intentions, I like Number 8 the best! Nevertheless, I’m with you on Women in Translation, and Reading Ireland – though that seems an easy one. So many books that I really enjoy turn out to be Irish. I’ll be cheering you from the sidelines.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Ha ha, me too Margaret, No 8 is the best. I could probably rewrite this post every month, I have so many more good intentions. 🙂 Women in translation is like an adventure, both the finding titles and then deciding what’s for me, always a pleasure because of the literary landscapes it takes us to.

      Yes, reading intentions are allowed to be easy, they are not challenges or goals, so Reading Irish Lit is in there! I did do a year of reading Brian Moore, but I haven’t been tempted to do that again, I was drawn to him because he lived in exile and had a fearlessness in his writing that was unique. I have a few more of his on the shelf that might get read this year too.

      Thank you for the cheering, I know you are a loyal fan, much appreciated always!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. Golly, you’re organised! I like your description of yourself as a ‘mood reader’ and realised that’s how I operate too. I rarely stick to my professed intentions, which this year are to read rather more history, as I have quite a few books languishing on that pile…

    I also value my ability to read in French as well as English, because it gives me access to a lot of books which never do get translated, particularly East European fiction, to which I’m very drawn.

    Do you have a deliberate policy of only reading and reviewing books by women writers? Back in the 70s and 80s I had women friends who said they did, because there were so many good books to read by women, they had no time to read books by men… You have prompted me to go to my reading diary and look at the ratio there…

    Happy reading year 2024!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Yes, mood readers find it hard to stick to challenges, because venturing into the unknown creates excitement, whereas a list can drag us down, slow us down, even stop reading. So number 8 is very important.

      I love seeing the books available in the French bookstores, the diversity of translated works is phenomenal, I’ll never forget seeing mature students casually reading contemporary Colombian authors, I’d never heard of, books they’d picked up on the front table of the shop.

      When I first started looking at the stats of what I read, some years ago now, I discovered that without intention, I was reading far more men authors than women, so I decided to correct that. I’m less strict about it now, but definitely maintaining my intention to support and uplift women writers and give them space on these pages. So I guess I’m correcting what was a long time bias, because I used to be influenced by newspaper reviewers who tended to favour books by men.

      I then also discovered a UK/US bias in my reading, so I am still in the process of trying to change that. And then reading in translation versus English is another. So I guess those are my real challenges that underpin the reading intentions. So now I’m going to read a little more in French, but I want the works to be accessible to other readers, so I’m more likely to choose titles that can be read in English.

      I would be interested in what you find out about your own reading bias and whether you’d be prepared to deliberately challenge it.

      Happy Reading 2024 and thank you for sharing your thoughts.

      Like

      Reply

      • I went back over the last four years, and was a little surprised to discover that my reading of women writers hardly reached 20% of my total. I won’t make excuses, but did also observe that of the women writers I did read, many were among my lifetime favourites that I regularly re-read, such as Marge Piercy, Ursula Le Guin, Olga Tokarczuk and Ella Maillart. But not good. I am alerted.

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  5. Great plans! I am also avoiding reading challenges again this year, although I might return to rereading 20 books for 20 Books of Summer.

    I’m also keen to read more Latin American fiction and look forward to your thoughts on the Charco Press titles.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thanks Laura, I tried 20 Books for summer and failed, but I was using it as a kind of ‘clean up the shelves’ activity and of course got bored after a while, and allowed myself to then get distracted doing other things. I probably won’t do that this year, usually in summer I just go for ‘One Summer Chunkster’. I may do that this year, I’ve never read Middlemarch,so I’m going to suggest that to myself, but it might change! 🙂

      I’m looking forward to the Latin American titles and since they are not books I chose, I give myself permission to abandon or not read a title that doesn’t suit. In 2023 that only happened with 1 book, so here’s hoping it’s another great selection this year.

      Happy Reading 2024 to you Laura.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  6. Claire, Claire, Claire…there is so much I like in your reading intentions!
    Book a week: that I can do. I’m also trying to see a 3 movies a week (streaming). At the moment I’m trying to see films available on streaming which are longlisted for the BAFTA’s. Documentaries about Noel Coward, John Le Carré and Michael J. Fox….all were excellent.

    Reading Ireland: It is in my DNA! I will read Irish books in March but as you said…I read Irish authors during the entire year.

    Read French: As you know I’ve been on my “French” journey for the past 10 years! So I’m just going to read French books “…Read What I Like, When I Like”

    Awards: Favorites are the French literary prizes (Goncourt, Renaudot,Prix Interallié, Fémina and Jean Giono) in Oct-Nov, Australian Political Book of the year and Australian Walkley Prizes (great non-fiction). I start with the longlists and see if I can finish as many as possible!

    TBR: Écrire Marseille !!

    Like

    Reply

  7. I love setting reading goals and intentions, but I don’t focus on them too closely. I mostly follow your #8. This is a hobby, so I like to keep it as stress free as I can. I do intend to participate in a few reading events this year, but only ones I know I can manage.

    Like

    Reply

    • Yes, reading that quote reminded me that I still have series 2 & 3 to read, I may have to go back to the beginning, I remember how evocative it was.
      I love Marseille, it is such a unique city, such a gateway for the many, it’s many pockets have so many stories to tell and it continues, never playing by the rules, but it has always provided refuge for the marginalised.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  9. I love your plans and I’m happy to see you’ll read more in French, it’ll give you access to more books in translation. As you mentioned in other comments, lots of books in translation are published here.
    I’m going to Marseille soon, thanks for the heads up about this Folio.

    Most of all : Happy Reading. I’ll share my 2024 reading projects soon.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. As a professional reader and specialist for Scandinavian literature, I hardly ever read French literature, well, except Proust and Ernaux. So I found it interesting how you presented French titles I haven’t heard about. Thanks a lot.
    Reading one book a week is easy, isn’t it. The problem is to remember what you have read at the end of the year.
    Happy reading
    Klausbernd
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Like

    Reply

    • That is one of the great benefits of wtiti g about one’s reading in a blog, it creates a memory deposit of all I have read and makes it easy to recollect the reading experience. The stand out books stay with me, the rest not so much, but revisiting the review brings it back every time. And reading in print rather than digital is also significant.
      I have yet to read Proust, a friend once said that you don’t read Proust until your children have all left home. I’m almost there, not quite. :⁠,⁠-⁠)

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • Hi Claire
        I keep a diary about the books I read that helps me to remember.
        My first time I read Proust was as a young student. Later I ran a course about the inner monologue that made me read Proust and Joyce again. For me reading Proust is like a meditation – but unfortunately I read Proust in an English translation.
        All the best
        Klausbernd

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply

  11. I like the combo of structure and whimsy in your intentions. Hopefully you find it to be a stimulating and rewarding year of books! There’s a bit of overlap in our goals in terms of focussing on diverse choices via select indie publishers, prizelists, and French attempts. I’m a moody reader too but I accommodate it by having a sprawling stack of in-progress books, and that way I can manage specific goals with different reading moods (but I know that wouldn’t work for everyone and occasionally it’s too chaotic even for me!). Some of my goals this year are specific but, in general, I’m looking more to backlisted reading than is usually the case. With a focus on books published before 2000.

    Like

    Reply

  14. Thanks for sharing this post! One of my book intentions for 2024 is to engage more with the literary books I finish before moving on to the next one (i.e. writing down some thoughts, finding reviews to read, etc.).

    Love your intention of following the literary awards… adding that to my intentions now 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  15. I’ve just read John Boyne’s Water and started Wild Houses by Colin Barrett. Also read Keegan’s latest so I’m having an excellent start to the year with Irish literature topping the list.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  16. Pingback: International Booker Prize Longlist 2024 – Word by Word

  17. Pingback: The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez – Word by Word

Do leave a comment, they are much appreciated!