Sadly, I didn’t do a whole lot of reading in 2019. Many of the books I did read were some old favorites. I’m currently working my way through Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials to get a refresher before watching the HBO adaptation. Heard good things about it so far, so I’m excited. That being said, I would like to fill my literary world with some new stories in 2020, and in my compulsive need to make lists, I thought it’d be fun to go ahead and find these books.
My plan is to read at least 50 pages a day. That may not seem like a whole lot, but I think it’ll be attainable and won’t stress me out. I’m thinking I’ll read one popular fiction, one literary classic, one non-fiction book, and one favorite from 2019 each month.
I’d like to find some random indie books because I’ve found some great reads from smaller authors in the past, but that’s a lot more research than I want to do at the moment. But I won’t rule out making substitutions. If you are an author trying to get the word out, point me towards your book. I might squeeze it in during one of my bonus weeks.
My 2020 Reading Calendar
January
Jan.1- 8: Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman - I’m making it my mission to fill in my Gaiman gaps this year.
Jan. 9-12: To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf - I bought this book a while ago, but it’s just been sitting on the shelf.
Jan. 13-18: The Heavens by Sandra Newman
Jan. 19-20: The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White
Jan. 21-31: Bonus Week
February
Feb. 1-8: Stardust by Neil Gaiman
Feb. 9-15: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - I’ve actually already started reading this, but I got sidetracked by other books.
Feb. 16-21: Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi
Feb. 22-29: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
March
Mar. 1-5: Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Mar. 6-15: Emma by Jane Austen
Mar. 16-21: Trust Exercise: A Novel by Susan Choi
Mar. 22-26: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Mar. 27-31: Bonus Week
April
April 1-9: Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman
April 10-13: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley - I bought a three-book compilation several years ago that contains Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Frankenstein. So far, I’ve only read Dracula. I always meant to go back but kept forgetting I owned it.
April 14-20: The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells
April 21-24: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi
April 25-30: Bonus Week
May
May 1-6: Interworld by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reaves
May 7-11: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
May 12-16: The Divers’ Game by Jesse Ball
May 17-23: H Is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
May 24-31: Bonus Week
June
June 1-6: Interworld: The Silver Dream (Book 2) by Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, and Mallory Reaves
June 7-16: Invisible Man by Ralph Waldo Emerson
June 17-23: Recursion by Blake Crouch
June 24-July 6: The Warmth of Other Suns: the Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
July
July 7-12: Interworld: Eternity’s Wheel (Book 3) by Neil Gaiman, Michael Reaves, and Mallory Reaves
July 13-27: Ulysses by James Joyce
July 28 - Aug. 1: In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria
August
Aug. 2-7: Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
Aug. 8-14: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
Aug. 15-30: Moby Dick by Herman Melville
Aug.31 - Sep. 5: Normal People by Sally Rooney
September
Sep. 6-13: Silent Spring by Rachel Carson
Sep. 14-27: Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
Sep. 28 - Oct. 8: Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
October
Oct. 9-14: Women Talking by Miriam Toews
Oct. 15-16: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
Oct. 17 - Nov. 2: Mistborn: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sandorson
November
Nov. 3-11: Middlemarch by George Elliot
Nov. 12-21: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Nov. 22 - Dec. 3: Mistborn: The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
December
Dec. 4-17: Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Dec. 18-27: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo
Dec. 28-30: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
If you want to follow along with my reading or just chat about any of these books or other books you've read, drop by the discord.