The List

I spoke truthfully in my last blog.  I did feel a list coming on.  And I have made it.  But it needs some explanation, I feel.

For a start, it was impossible to restrict myself to twenty books out of the thousands I have read.  That stalled me, until I was helped out by Professor Carey (of the Unexpected Professor, which I wrote about last time).  He suggested to me that I expand my choices so that I have fiction and non-fiction lists - leaving out poetry and plays - gulp.  For the record, my favourite play is Shakespeare's King Lear and my favourite poem is Mary Oliver's The Journey; well, actually it is Keats' Ode to Autumn, but I'm really trying to bring myself into the twenty-first century.

Then I had to decide between a straight list, or a straight list with explanations against each book.  Oh the dilemma.  

Finally, I have decided to blog my list in sections, starting at number 20 and moving up, one, two or three books at a time, depending on my time and on my aching fingers!

If anyone reads it after all this I will be very pleasantly surprised.

My brother (duringthemeanwhilst.blogspot.co.uk) helped me to decide on how to make my lists.  However, when he wrote that our text conversation was exactly like my being with him, because he couldn't get a chance to reply to anything, I realised it was time to work on my own.  Thanks, little brother.