Normally I devour books ceaselessly, with an enthusiasm I can only compare to when I am in a museum I love, but this last year I’ve taken to re-reading old favorites and lazily reading un-challenging historical biographies (One exception: I was enthralled by a biography of Ernest Shackleton, who is now my Favorite Historical Badass- formerly Piet Mondrian occupied that title.) Feeling like a literate failure, it is time to start actually reading, dammit!  Thusly, I have begun a list of books that I need to somehow get my hands on and read! Or, I want to read more by selected authors, such as Jules Verne, the original sci-fi master.

Here goes.

Berlin Poplars – Anne B. Ragde

Siddharta – Herman Hesse ( I mean, hell, I lived only a short ways away from his house in Montagnola!)

The Extraordinary Voyages – Jules Verne

Moby Dick – Herman Melville (read it once when I was far too young to comphrehend anything other than how awesome it would be to see a white whale)

The Bell Jar – Sylvia Plath

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men – David Foster Wallace

Lipstick Traces- Greil Marcus

A recent book by Slavoj Žižek (I can’t remember the title!) a Slovenian author that I find intruguing- his book had an exceptional review by The New Yorker this summer.

Dracula – Bram Stoker

The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde

Catch-22 – Joseph Heller

Right now I’m reading Harpo Speaks by Harpo Marx, and Chuck Klosterman’s Downtown Owl- one for a History class and another for pleasure. I’ve also been making my way through Hemingway’s short stories, which have been captivating and timeless. Klosterman has been making small town life seem wonderful- all the simmering, waiting, and watching, while Harpo is all doing, living, breathing.

So many books! So little time! This list is paltry, but I hope it grows. (If you have any literary suggestions, I would more than appreciate it!)