Reading Plans for 2020 & Beyond…..

I was going to do this next week but I couldn’t think of anything else so…… As we approach the end of the year and, indeed the end of the first decade in the 21st century, it naturally comes to mind to think ahead to what books I’m planning to read next. Now I’m the first to admit that I have grand ideas and mad plans that either never come to fruition or take AGES to get going. But with that caveat in mind here’s a few of my ideas for the year(s) ahead….

I’ve mentioned a few times about reading deeply into the beginning of World War Two and particularly that short period between the Fall of France in 1940 and the US entry into the war at the end of 1941 when Britain essentially stood alone against the Axis Powers. That will (finally) be arriving next year. I have over 30 books covering that time period so it’s about high time I get to reading them! I also have a growing pile covering the period from D-Day into the Cold War after WW2 ended in 1945. I do get a Cold War vibe occasionally from the nightly news so inevitably my interest in this time (just before I was born) has been piqued. Rather oddly (or maybe it’s just me?) as I’m reading a series of books about the end of WW1 and the effects of that conflict between the wars I’m intending to shift back a bit to address how it all started in 1914 and even a little further back to the transition of the Victorian Age to the Edwardian and the emergence of clearly modern times. Saying all of that I am very conscious of the fact that the vast majority of my history reading is based in the 20th century (where I feel most at home). I’ll see if I can address that by at least dipping into the 19th and maybe even sooner.

Geographically I shall still be concentrating on UK and European events and will mostly be looking at other countries through the European lens. The List over on the right of the page already has entries from Afghanistan to the UK and this list will probably grow over time. For now my outside Europe reading will be mostly focusing on the Middle East, China & Japan and the USA. As part of this, to get away from a purely historical viewpoint, I’ve been looking at some travel stories – both classic and modern – from around the world so they should be filtering through fairly soon. I’ve already added a Travel tab into the List covering previous volumes so you’ll be seeing that figure (presently 5) regularly increase.

Somewhat of a surprise – to me as well! – will be a number of sport related books in the future. As someone who barely registers that sporting events even occur my burgeoning interest in the area intrigues me probably as much as it does you. So far the only sports being covered are running and motor racing but that will probably expand as we go. We’ll see where that one leads……

Politically I’ll still be focusing on my special R4 category (Revolt, Rebellion, Resistance and Revolution) with the emphasis on the Resistance aspect and, therefore inevitably, mostly 20th century. At some point, when it all starts to gel in my mind, I hope to turn it into a PhD project but that’s another thing we’ll have to see about. Naturally my political reading will still be primarily from the Left of things but I’ll no doubt be tipping my toes into the other side – particularly if I’m reading about 20th century Prime Ministers and Presidents.

Having such a butterfly mind my reading will, from time to time, be all over the place. My ‘probabilistic’ approach is, I think, working really well so I’ll be continuing with that. This will mean that rather surprising books will turn up periodically which should be fun for all of us. Although I do like structure and don’t much like surprises the probability side of things does keep things interesting!

Finally, for now, is the issue of my upcoming retirement in March 2020. With (much) more time on my hands I hope/expect to be reading (much) more. My average presently is in the low 60’s. Next year I’m aiming for 75. The year after I’ll see how far I can push it to 100. From then on 100 will be my yearly target. How often I meet it…. Well, we’ll see! Here’s (hopefully) to some interesting a fruitful reading years to come!