In his essay “On Reading,” Proust writes, “Reading is that fruitful miracle of a communication in the midst of solitude.” I try to make reading plans every year but I honestly never know where the year will take me. This year was a stellar year for me as far as these “communications in the midst of solitude” were concerned. But my communications were carried farther by the literary connections for which I am very grateful—-readers of my blog, my fellow bloggers, and, the one that has the most influence on my reading, the wonderful literary community on Twitter. I know that social media is a tough place for some—I’ve seen many come and go. But my little corner of book Twitter has proven to be a wonderful place this year and I would like to thank all of those who have commented, connected, supported my reading on this blog and on Twitter.
Fiction and Non-Fiction:
Wolf Solent by John Cowper Powys
Deadlock by Dorothy Richardson
Sentimental Education by Gustave Flaubert, trans. by Robert Baldick
A Question of Upbringing by Anthony Powell
The Fox and Dr. Shimamura by Christine Wuunicke, trans. by Philip Boehm
Ovid’s Banquet of Sense by George Chapman
The Odyssey by Homer, trans. Emily Wilson
Romola, by George Eliot (I only got half way through this one. Not the right time for this book for me.)
The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, illus. by Dore
The Completion of Love by Robert Musil, trans. Genese Grill
The Temptation of Quiet Veronica by Robert Musil, trans. Genese Grill
The Confusions of Young Torless by Robert Musil, trans. Shaun Whiteside
Thought Flights by Robert Musil, trans. Genese Grill
The Voyage Out by Virginia Woolf
Landscapes by John Berger
The Man Without Qualities Volumes 1 and 2 by Robert Musil, trans. Sophie Wilkins
A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr
Hadji Murat by Tolstoy, trans. Kyril Zinovieff and Jenny Hughes
Contre-Jour by Gabriel Josipovici
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, trans. Moncrieff et al.
The Immoralist by Andre Gide, trans. Richard Howard
The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera, trans. Michael Henry Heim
Aline & Valcour Volumes 1 and 2 by Marquis de Sade, trans. Jocelyne Genevieve Barque and John Simmons
Notebooks 1935-1951 by Camus, trans. Philip Thody and Justin O’Brien
The Stranger by Camus, trans. Matthew Ward
Lives of the Poets by Michael Schmidt (I have been reading this book for half the year and have about 300 pages left to read which I will finish in the final week of the year.)
Poetry:
I have read more poetry this year then every before because I have been stopping to read selections from the poets that Michael Schmidt discusses in his book Lives of the Poets. Too many to list here. So listed here are only the collections I’ve read in their entirety:
Poets on Poets, edited by Nick Rennison and Michael Schmidt
A Test of Poetry by Louis Zukofsky
Astonishments: Selected Poems of Anna Kamienska, trans. David Curzon and Grazyna Drabik
Love and I by Fanny Howe
Lapis: Poems by Robert Kelly
Elegiac Sonnets by Charlotte Smith
The Gorgeous Nothings: Emily Dickinson’s Envelope Poems
Selected Poems by Charlotte Mew
The Last Innocence/The Lost Adventures by Alejandra Pizarnik
Selected Poems of Attila Jozsef, trans. Peter Hargitai
The Withering World by Sandor Marai, trans. John Ridland and Peter V. Czipott
The Romantic Dogs by Roberto Bolaño, trans. Laura Healy
I’ve also continued to translate my own selections of Ancient Greek and Latin poetry which I won’t bother to list again. But translating Sappho was a particularly rewarding experience.
And finally, I’ve done posts on the fabulous artwork I’ve had the pleasure of viewing this year. I had the pleasure of seeing the Bonnard exhibit at the Tate Modern, The Blake Exhibit at the Tate Britain, The Ruskin Exhibit at the Yale Center for British Art, and, my favorite, The Troy Exhibit at The British Museum. A stellar year for reading, for poetry and for art all around.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hannukah, Happy Holidays, and Io Saturnalia!
The Book Binder's Daughter 
I couldn’t agree with you more about the bookish corner of Twitter, Melissa. For professional reasons, my partner inhabits the political neck of the social media woods. It’s very different there. Happy holidays to you, your family and, of course, Henry and Rufus! Here’s to another brilliant reading year in 2020.
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Happy Holidays to you, your partner and your own cute kitty! There are a lot of negatives about social media, but book Twitter is a special place!
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Seasons Greetings to you too Melissa! Thanks for sharing this impressive reading list. I’d read A Month in the Country too and watched the film. The two are very different in mood. Enjoy more reading during the holidays. Any films lining up?
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Happy holidays to you as well! I’m currently rewatching my favorite Christmas films. My favorite of all is Dicken’s A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott.
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What a fabulous list of books you have read this year! Your reading is inspirational, and I always enjoy reading your posts. (I actually started Compass this past weekend, and I skimmed the post you wrote about it so I will come back when I’m done.) I look forward to coming back to your posts on Poust when I start reading him in the new year. I really am grateful for bloggers like you because you are erudite without being overly academic in your discussions of the books you read.
Have a great holiday and enjoy the season.
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PS: And the fact that you can read 300 pages in one week (even if you are off work) boggles my mind! Would that I was that fast a reader, and I read all the time!
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Thanks so much for all of your wonderful comments and your recommendations this year. I was thinking about you when I wrote the into to this post! I hope you enjoy Compass. I read it very slowly. One of those books that demands a lot of attention. Happy Holidays!
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I really want to read some Cowper Powys because he was one of Iris Murdoch’s favourite authors, but the books are SO BIG! A wonderful list and I do so cherish the book blogs I follow.
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Thanks Liz! I really enjoyed Wolf Solent. Maybe start with that one? Happy holidays!
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As you say, it’s delightful to have a small corner of bookish Twitter that is supportive and enthusiastic about the stars of the show, the books themselves. What a wonderful year you’ve had, thanks for letting us accompany you on your journeys!
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Thanks to you too, Marina. And next time I’m in London I’ll let you know. It would be lovely to meet in person!
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Season’s greetings to you as well.
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I love that you describe Romola not only as “not for me”, but as “not for me now”, leaving space to go back to it. I’ll be borrowing that phrasing in future, if I may. Also lovely to hear you’ve been delving into poetry – this year I’ve started reading whole collections rather than just picking poems here and there, and I have really enjoyed the different perspective it gives.
I’m hoping to get to the Blake exhibition too, since I believe it’s on until February? Any highlights or top tips to make the most if it?
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I really do love Eliot’s novels. And I know I will revisit it. Of course, feel free to borrow the phrase.
The Blake exhibit was spectacular. Give yourself lots of time. My favorite part of the exhibit was the pieces at the end which displayed his illustrations for The Divine Comedy. I hope you enjoy it!
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Thank you! I’d forgotten that Blake had illustrated the Comedy – something to look forward to, then.
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Hi, I do enjoy reading your blog. I must have been traveling when you wrote about Musil (did you?), as I did not see any and am curious about what you had to say. I don’t want to start him if I can’t finish in time (his books are hard to find and I don’t like library books, but even there they are hard to get). So please let me know how you did with him because I feel it is a gap in my education! Let me know how to find your reviews, if any. All the best, your reading is definitely in excellent category. My favorite write is Javier Marias.
Violeta
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Thanks so much, Violeta! If you go to the front page of my blog you can do a search. If you enter “Musil” all the posts should come up. I wrote several. Also, if you click on the name of the book in this post they should come up as well.
I enjoyed the book very much. Happy reading!
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A wonderful year of reading indeed: thank you for bringing us along with you through your posts and conversations on Twitter too. All the best to you and your family for the holidays – here’s to an equally rich 2020!
(Also, I sympathize about Romola — but it does have some remarkable elements that reward persisting through the (ahem) not so wonderful parts, so I am glad you think you’ll come back to it one day.)
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Happy holidays to you and your family as well, Rohan!
Eliot is one of my favorite authors and I will definitely go back to Romola. I got side tracked in the middle of reading it and that through me off. I have to give it my undivided attention.
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Some really great reading there Melissa, and I couldn’t agree more about the bookish part of the Interweb – it really is (mostly) the nicest, and I’ve found so much friendship there (as well as far too many book hints!) Have a wonderful festive season with your lovely family (including that cute cat!!) 😀
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Thanks, Karin! A very happy holiday to you and your family as well! 🎄🎁
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The bookish social media world is wonderful. Very supportive and helpful plus a great source of knowledge and insight on authors and books. In the absence of any credible coverage of books in most newspapers, its the bloggers that I rely upon to tell me what’s going on in the world of books
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That’s a great point. With lack of reliable print media, electronic media has filled in the gap.
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Wonderful books you have read this year, Melissa! I wanted to read all your Proust and Robert Musil posts together. Hoping to read them soon. Thanks so much for inspiring us all to read more. Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!
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Thank you so much, Vishy. I really appreciate your friendship and support on my blog and on Facebook. You are always so kind! Happy holidays to you and your friends and family as well!
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Thank you so much, Melissa 🙂
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A great list
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Thanks, Scott. Happy New Year!
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I have loved your blog in 2019, so many good things to read! Thank you:)
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Thank you and Happy New Year!
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