Resolutions

So far one of my New Year's resolutions has worked out beautifully. I have vowed to read one book a week during this year, and I'm trying to fill these weeks with books that I believe comprise an integral part of the American literary complex. Books by famous authors and also less well known but still well renowned authors. I braced myself for the effect that this resolution would have on my wallet. I bought a handful of books to start. What I have discovered is that I have enjoyed reading books even more when I do not own them. For some reason, I have found that reading books that I have borrowed from friends or from my local public library is a much more satisfying and engaging experience. Why? Who knows. Maybe because I value the experience for its impermanence. Or maybe I get a pernicious thrill from dog-earing pages I haven't paid for. Either way, I've slowly but steadily read one book a week this year so far. Let's see if I can remember the books that I have read:

Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
Pastoralia by George Saunders
CivilWarLand in Bad Decline by George Saunders
Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce (couldn't finish it, hated it, not even American, I don't feel bad)
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
A Raisin in the Sun  by Lorraine Hansberry
An Unfinished Season by Ward Just
Beloved by Toni Morrison (currently reading)

My other New Year's resolution is to visit at least one state this year that I have never been too before. My tentative plan is to travel to Shenandoah National Park with my dad or by myself and along the way visit West Virginia. I hope to do this by motorcycle. Obviously this has not yet occurred due to a lack of warm weather and my work obligations. But I'm hoping to do it as soon as possible. I have spent a lot of time riding this winter and yesterday celebrated a bout of unexpectedly good weather by riding with my dad up to a local reservoir. Here's a photo of my dad standing next to both of our bikes: