2022 Reading Plans

It's time to start planning our themes for 2022! I am assuming that we are still happy with our set up and will continue to have hosts each month who choose and post the theme for that month.

We still have a couple of months to go in 2021, but it has been a very good year and I am looking forward to 2022.

If you can host a month please let us know here - you don't have to choose your theme now but can start thinking about it. If you wish to suggest any changes, please don't hesitate, post them here and we can discuss.

2022

January: Currier Bell: Eastern Philosophies & Religion: https://www.librarything.com/topic/337020
February: Tess_W: Rural Life: https://www.librarything.com/topic/338785#
March: Miss Watson: We Are Time's Subjects: https://www.librarything.com/topic/339157#
April: LibraryCin: Technology: https://www.librarything.com/topic/339735
May: AnnieMod: Beginnings: https://www.librarything.com/topic/340682
June: DeltaQueen: The Golden State: https://www.librarything.com/topic/340991#n7803961
July: cindy/david4: Mental Health - Then and Now: https://www.librarything.com/topic/341699#
August: scunliffe: What can fiction teach us about history? https://www.librarything.com/topic/342031#n7859073
September: cindydavid4 - Harvest Moon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/343298#n7897931
October: LadyoftheLodge: Musically Speaking: https://www.librarything.com/topic/343817#
November: AnnieMod: Ends and Endings: https://www.librarything.com/topic/344936
December: DeltaQueen: Reader's Choice: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345031#n7949666

If people who keep forgetting to stop by and post about what they are reading are acceptable, I’d be happy to host a month. :) May for example.

I'll definitely be hosting again next year, but before I choose a month, let me ask a question. Would folks be interested in a topic on Eastern Philosophies and Religions? For the sake of a more generalized interest, this would include "Eastern" per se as well as "East Meets West" (which could include, e.g., Jack Kerouac, Thomas Merton's The Way of Chuang Tzu, T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, and Ursula Le Guin).

And "Eastern" per se could combine with "East Meets West" in the world figure of Mohandas Gandhi, with such concepts as satyagraha and swadeshi.

It could also include, for those who might be interested, some of the Great Courses/Wondrium videos (or other video sources that members might be aware of) on these subjects.

The reason I ask is, that this is a topic I can prepare for January if folks are interested, and I can give a good bibliography of suggestions. That lets us get something together quickly to start the year and gives other members some breathing space to come up with their own hostings.

But if there's a sense that I'm getting too esoteric, then I'll need some more time to think of an alternative topic, in which case I'll have to sign on for later in the year.

Comments?

ETA: Yes, I realize that the Abrahamic religions are of Eastern origin, but I would be deliberately excluding them because of the more Western orientation of current-day Judaism and Christianity combined with Islam's Abrahamic relationship with them. I'd be going "further east," if you will, toward the subcontinent and East and Southeast Asia (and yes, I do realize that Islam is a dominant force in Indonesia, but Islam is just so very world-wide). Including the Abrahamic religions would just broaden the topic way beyond what I'm thinking of.

>2 AnnieMod: Thanks, I will put you down for May, and I will send you a reminder in April if you haven't posted your topic early.

>3 CurrerBell: I would like to see this subject as a theme, my only concern would be that you make it broad enough so that people who mostly read historical fiction will be able to find something that fits.

>4 DeltaQueen50: How early do we want the topic (so I know how to plan) :)

>5 DeltaQueen50: Great! I'll get working on it. And I would definitely want to include historical fiction. One book that comes right to mind is Cyrus Mistry's Chronicle of a Corpse Bearer (Parsees). Here's my 5***** comment on it in this group August a year ago.

There's Herman Hesse's Siddhartha, which I've yet to read. My understanding of it is that it's more an example of "German romanticism" than it is Buddhist philosophy, but that would be part of the whole idea of "East Meets West." There's also Kerouac's The Dharma Bums.

And Kipling's Kim with its magnificent character of the lama would certainly qualify. Though I very much respect Edward Said, and despite any "orientalist" criticism that can legitimately be leveled against Kipling, Kim is a novel I love and that I've reread more than most others (with the exception of Jane Eyre and The Master and Margarita).

Speaking of lamas, don't let's forget James Hilton's Lost Horizon. It's my favorite Hilton, and thank god for Ted Turner, who (as I recall) reconstructed Frank Capra's 1937 movie from lost footage. (Personally, I think the 1973 version with all that Burt Bacharach moozak was one of the worst wastes of Hollywood talent ever.) Granted, though, that Hilton really stretches the boundaries in his treatment of Tibetan Buddhism.

Why don't you put me down for January with the theme Eastern Philosophies and Religions. I'll get something whacked up in the next month or so based on my "prospectus" in this comment and in >3 CurrerBell: above.

ETA: Also, I'm going to work Islam into this, but in a way that treats it in its South/East/Southeast Asian expression. As I've been thinking about it, I realized it would be highly offensive to ignore a religion that by now is indigenous to significant parts of these territories and which produced the Taj Mahal and the Mughal Empire.

>7 CurrerBell: I have just finished Kim and think it needs a more focused reading than I was able to give it right now, so I'll be happy to do this in January and hopefully explore some more of India and its religion.

I could host March.

>6 AnnieMod: There are no strict rules about posting our threads, some like to post early and some closer to the actual time. Let's say the deadline is the 15th of the previous month. So for May the thread should be posted by the 15th of April. I usually send a reminder in the first week of the previous month, if the thread hasn't been posted.

>7 CurrerBell: Excellent. I have put you down for January.

>8 MissWatson: Thanks, Birgit, I have March reserved for you.

>3 CurrerBell: yes, I think thats a great idea! Tho since most of us know about western relgions and philosophy, Id like it to be focused on the far east:buddaism, Hinduism. confusuciam, tao, and others from that ares. Tho I do LOVE Kim. I remember how taken I was by kiplings discriptions and even at that age I just fell in love with his portrait of india. Later reading gave me more levels to explore, but Id love to read it again. (another similar book far pavillions is another east meet west book that takes place in India)

>1 DeltaQueen50: given our current climate I thought "Popular Delusions and the Madness of crowds" might be an interesting theme. The title is the name of a book about the subject written in 1841 I remember reading it in college. thought it might be interesting to contrast then and now. Or, I could do Mental Health then and now. Lots of interesting choices in that category. Comments?

>8 MissWatson: >11 cindydavid4: If you're doing a reread of Kim, you might want to consider the Norton Critical Edition for the supplementary materials, which include three maps and substantial critical essays (one of them, Edward Said's "Kim as Imperialist Novel"). I see I've got this Norton Critical stashed away and catalogued to "Box 54" so I can find it easily; I may do a reread myself, because I've never read the Norton Critical.

>11 cindydavid4: I agree with you on emphasizing Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism (and other Chinese schools, notably Legalism), the Jains, and the Parsees. That's why I initially was going to exclude all Abrahamic religions. While I still lean that way, though, I do want to be sensitive to the substantial centuries-long presence of Islam on the subcontinent (not to mention dominant presence in Indonesia!) and not offend anyone who might want to consider that subject. As for myself, my own interests lean much more toward Hinduism, and I'm hoping to get through Bibek Debroy's three-volume translation of Valmiki Ramayana (having read and positively detested R.K. Narayan's "Cliff Notes" version that pandered to colonialist-minded English readers).

And >11 cindydavid4: I'll be sure to include Far Pavilions in the listings on the January comments page (and also put it on my own TBR).

Oh... I'm out of ideas! LOL! I'll try to come up with something...

ETA: I thought of something much quicker than I'd expected.

How about a Technology month?

>13 LibraryCin: YEAH! There are a lot of new books coming out about Facebook and other social networking media, with more to be expected considering upcoming Congressional hearings on Facebook/Instagram.

And there's Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs that I just picked up in a used book store (and least I think I did, but I gotta check my haul). And there's also Isaacson's biography of Leonardo da Vinci (which I've got boxed and catalogued TBR) for those who want to go back to a Renaissance technological genius. As well as The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution.

I just a few days ago, browsing at B&N, wishlisted Max Chafkin's The Contrarian: Peter Thiel and Silicon Valley's Pursuit of Power and I've also recently wishlisted Brad Stone's Amazon Unbound: Jeff Bezos and the Invention of a Global Empire (with Bezos starting out as tech, though now become general merchandising). And I know there's stuff out there on Mark Zuckerberg.

On a somewhat different tech track, I've also recently wishlisted Annie Jacobsen's First Platoon: A Story of Modern War in the Age of Identity Dominance, which deals with U.S. military use of facial recognition in Afghanistan.

Reason I've got this list (and probably more) is I've been thinking of a reading/reviewing project of a political nature, so I've been accumulating quite a wishlist. Don't know if I'll ever get around to it, but it's worth a daydream anyway.

>14 CurrerBell: Ooooh, nice to see a bunch of new technologies (which was my original thought when it came to mind), but of course looking at other books out there, and the historical angle, there are a lot of other technologies, as well. There could end up being quite a few options for it...

I have been thinking about exploring time as a topic, as I was recently reminded that until 1752 the New Year in England started on 25 March...

>16 MissWatson: ...and this thread is called Reading through Time, so very appropriate!

I just want to assure everyone that there is no need to stress over coming up with a new and different topic. If you do think of something we haven't explored before - great. If not then revisiting previous topics can be just as rewarding. You can always check the wiki and choose a previous topic, rework it a little and voila - a new topic! My only concern is that the topic is wide enough to accomodate both fiction and non-fiction reading.

>11 cindydavid4: I think the subject of "Mental Health" would be fascinating. How mankind has treated mental patients and issues over the years, discoveries made, strange and useless treatments over the centuries, how at one point tourists were accepted as visitors to mental institutions all would be interesting topics to visit. "Popular Delusions and Madness of Crowds" would also make a great topic. There have been many documented cases of mass hysteria over the centuries.

I will take February ( or any open month) with the theme: Happy Birthday. Please and thank you!

>11 cindydavid4: I've got a novel about Vienna's first lunatic asylum waiting on the TBR. Mental health would be a great topic...

>11 cindydavid4:, >18 DeltaQueen50: Louise Penny took the title of her new book from Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds:

I'd first come across the book as a teenager when my mother, who'd gone back to work in her late forties and qualified as an investment dealer in Toronto, began reading it. It was suggested reading, and probably still is, for stockbrokers since so much of what they deal with is "smoke and mirrors." Perception rather than reality."

>21 clue: So technically a book about the South Sea Bubble could count? Now that's an interesting option...

Well, one person seemed interested in Technology. :-)

You can go ahead and put me/Technology into April.

I am thinking on my topic... is "Beginnings" too vague as a general topic (yes, I will restrict it a bit and it may get some adornments before I post the topic). If it is too vague, I will restrict it further.

PS: And if someone is up for it, a matching "Ends" topic towards the end of the year may be fun :)

>24 AnnieMod: Hmmm, I'd have to think about that a bit. But first thought - you are thinking the "beginning" of something...?

Like the beginning of an event (a war), or the beginning of something broader (agriculture)? Or something along those lines?

I am putting myself down for June, not sure of the topic yet. If anyone particularly wants June for themselves, I will be happy to switch to another month.

>25 LibraryCin: Maybe the beginning and ending of a trend??

>27 clue: >25 LibraryCin:

All of the above. The start of a war, the beginning of a dynasty, the beginning of a country, the start of a literary style. Or even the very personal beginnings - of a family, of a new life in a new place, of a new life with/without someone. Some are well defined, some less defined. It can be as wide open as that. Or I can narrow it down a bit.

But that’s why I am thinking of a matching Ends topic later in the year (or the year after?) - one may chose to read books for the start and end of the same event. :) or not.

Just thinking aloud for now.

>28 AnnieMod: I like this idea!

>28 AnnieMod: I like this idea as well, it leaves us plenty of room for our own interpretation.

We have volunteers for the first six months of 2022, now we need more to complete the year.

>11 cindydavid4: Mental health then and now sounds like a lovely topic!

>12 CurrerBell: not sure Id call it lovely, but definitely interesting!

>13 LibraryCin: Kurt Vonnegut player piano would be perfect!

Ack! I just realized I didn't star this thread! Soooo kinda late to the party

>18 DeltaQueen50: I was considering Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds first. And yes not just over the centuries but in present day! Not sure which I want to do, but it would be a good discussion, if someone else wants to take it

Mental Health then and now, wanted to do it sooner than later but guess I'll go for July

>28 AnnieMod: Another idea would be Second Place. I remember reading a book not about winners, but those who came in second. Could be fun.

>7 CurrerBell: edited: you were right. Actually you could consider the Isamic entry into that region and the conflicts it later created (thinking India but in other places too)

>8 MissWatson: Oh I read Kim in HS, stealing it off my big sisters shelves. I didn't get the politics, but I loved the description of India. Read it a few years back and got the whole picture and was fascinated Id read it again.

>16 MissWatson: there are some fascinating books about how the calendar came to be, and how modern concepts of time developed.

speaking of time, I want this https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1195310640/author-clock-a-novel-way-to-tell...

For those interested in Kim, there's a book titled The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk, an excellent study of Anglo-Russian competition in central Asia. One caution, if you get it, try to get the hardcover. Maps are very important in this book if you want to keep track of where everyone's going and what's going on; but the maps in the paperback, when they span across two pages, tend to be difficult to read in the gutter of the pages, and the maps could do generally with a bit higher resolution. I suspect the maps are clearer in the hardcover edition, which may be available online, although it's the paperback that's currently in retail print.

>39 cindydavid4: I have put you down for July - and, I want that clock!

>40 CurrerBell: oh I would like to read that. And yes, hopefully the hardback has the maps (hate when the publishers decide that maps are not important. Yes i can google, but maps often pinpoint, or provide more context, for the reader. Just laziness, really

>31 DeltaQueen50: The May topic is "Beginnings" :) I may qualify it a bit in the thread but I plan to leave it as open as humanly possible so people can interpret any way they want. It may even be used for someone to read that first book in a series/first novel of an author which had been sitting on their shelves since 1973. :P

>35 cindydavid4: Hard to find books to fit (plus isn't that a polite way to call the first among the people who lost?) :) If someone wants to tackle it, be my guest. Plus I am more interested in beginning as in a timeline event (plus we are in the time group after all) and not as an award event (although of course the category can be interpreted in any way or form)

well yeah but there is a story behind that person. Thinking of a book I read ages ago, about those who lost the race for presidency. Really interesting; But I do understand what you are saying; carry on. I may think about this more and refine it for much later

>45 cindydavid4: It can be an interesting topic on its own - it does not need to tie with Beginnings is all I am saying :)

oh no, i didnt mean it to be, just chatting

>40 CurrerBell: That's been on the wishlist for quite some time...

Although I am new to the group, I would be happy to take on August, by which time I will be less new.
Whats the best way to see what topics/themes have been chosen in the last few years, so that I do not unintentionally re-invent the wheel?

>49 scunliffe: The current Wiki goes back to 2020, and has a link to previous threads back to 2016. The wiki is here:

https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Reading_Through_Time_Challenge

>49 scunliffe: Welcome to the group scunliffe. I will add you to the list in the first post and you can let us know at a later date what your theme is going to be.

>50 kac522: Thanks for showing the way to the Wikis!

I have decided that we will explore the history of California in June. I have added my theme of "The Golden State" to the list above.

>52 DeltaQueen50: Ooooh, and I've been meaning to do a reread of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City series. I could also do with a reread of Geoff Ryman's Was (a very dark take on Frank Baum and Dorothy Gale). I've got volumes 7-9 of Maupin catalogued and boxed, but I'll have to see if I can find my copies of the original six installments.

>53 CurrerBell: that sounds intriguing, a good companion read to finding dorothy that I just loved. Ive read some of his other books before one air: Or Have not have was a very interesting premise, but had problems with it. Might try this one tho

>52 DeltaQueen50: I haven't read much about California, but two books I did enjoy were:

Where I Was From, essays by Joan Didion about her family's role in California history
A Crack in the Edge of the World: America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester, which I listened to on audiobook.

Just a couple to include in your suggestion list when the time comes.

>55 kac522: Thanks. I am happy to note that California has had a very rich history and hopefully there will be something for everyone.

I think we all enjoy a Reader's Choice Month to fit in those book that never seem to match one of our themes. I will take December as a Reader's Choice Month, but if anyone wants December for a particular theme, I can switch Reader's Choice to another month.

>57 DeltaQueen50: If no one else wants December for something specific, I feel like it's a good month for a Reader's Choice. It can be used if a theme is missed in an earlier month to "make it up", and all the months are included this way.

>58 LibraryCin: Thanks, Cindy. December can be a hectic month for many so just being able to grab something you want to read can be a bonus. Now we just need to fill in September, October and November!

If noone else steps in, I can do "Ends and Endings" in November - to close up the Beginnings of 6 months earlier. If we get enough people for this year, that one can go into 2023 - I am just putting it on the table if it is needed.

>60 AnnieMod: Thanks, AnnieMod, I will add you to November and we can change it or switch it out if we need to.

I am new to this group, but willing to give it a try. I will take October with the topic Musically Speaking.

Oh I like that one! The possiblities are endless!

>62 LadyoftheLodge: Welcome to the Group, Cheryl. I have added you to October, thanks for volunteering. :)

If you don't get another volunteer, I will take September. However, that's ONLY IF!

>67 Tess_W: ill take it. theme harvest moon.

Thanks both to >67 Tess_W: & >68 cindydavid4:. I will add >68 cindydavid4: to the list.

And that does it - all the months are filled and our 2022 is set!

>69 DeltaQueen50: actually thinking of Harvest Moon, or Dark Side of the moon, which do you think would better for Sept (either way it will be about our writings of the moon ours and others)

>70 cindydavid4: I like "Harvest Moon", personally. :-)

Yeah, I was thinking that. Need to think of a theme for dark side of the moon, just coz I love the song!

>72 cindydavid4: LOL! Ah, yes!

>70 cindydavid4: I like "Harvest Moon" as well, it goes well with the month.

The January 2022 theme page is posted: https://www.librarything.com/topic/337020

February thread is here:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/338785

Any idea what the March theme will be?

Oh, and look at that... I'm April! I guess I need to start thinking about setting something up...

>77 Familyhistorian: That's me, and it will be about time.

>79 MissWatson: Thanks for the heads up. Sounds like there will be lots of scope there.

>80 Familyhistorian: Oh yes. From What is time? to time travel, anything goes.

I've posted April's thread here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/339735

>82 LibraryCin: Thanks, Cindy, I've added the address to this thread's opening post. I have also added the address to the Wiki.

May 2022 is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/340682

>85 AnnieMod: Thanks Annie, I will post the link in the first message at the top of the thread and the Wiki. :)

ETA: Someone already beat me to the Wiki! Thanks.

June's Thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/340991#n7803961

I am going to be absent from Library Thing for awhile. My mom is in her final days and I am off to go and see her and spend as much time with her as I can. She has had an amazing life and is 100 years old (if she makes it to the 21st of the month, she'll be 101). Enjoy your May reading, and June's thread is up and ready. I expect we will be seeing cindydavid4 posting July's thread soon.

Im so sorry; 100 years is astonishing. Id love to know more of her life. Hugs to you and your family

>88 DeltaQueen50: I'm sorry to hear this. Enjoy the time you have left with her.

>88 DeltaQueen50: I am very sorry to hear this, Judy. I hope her last days will be peaceful.

>88 DeltaQueen50: Hugs. :(

Do we have a topic yet for August?

Thanks for your kind thoughts >89 cindydavid4:, >90 LibraryCin:, >91 MissWatson: & >92 AnnieMod:. My Mom passed away peacefully on May 9th, but my family is very grateful that we had her as long as we did.

>93 CurrerBell: I will send a reminder to the member who volunteered for August and see if they are still interested in posting a topic.

>95 DeltaQueen50: Hugs (again). Sounds like she had a full life but still... letting go one's loved ones is never easy.

>95 DeltaQueen50: Sorry to hear about your Mum, Judy. My condolences to you and your family.

>96 AnnieMod: & >97 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Annie and Meg.

>93 CurrerBell: The topic for August is going to be "Can We Really Learn About History From Fiction" and the thread will be coming in the near future.

>98 DeltaQueen50: Oh! you have picked a topic that is near and dear to my heart and reading habits! Looking forward to this!

>99 cindydavid4: I can't take any credit for the August topic, I heard from member scunliffe, and that is the topic he has chosen. I am looking forward to it though. :)

November is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/344936

Thanks, Annie. I will add the links to the Wiki.

December's thread is up: https://www.librarything.com/topic/345031#n7949666

I will be posting the 2023 Reading Through Time planning thread in a couple of days so now is the time to start thinking about themes you would like to see for next year.