Do you read enough? I doubt it. Maybe you just need a different perspective. Herewith, I present to you, 12 books to read in the coming year:

1) Walker Percy's THE MOVIEGOER. OK, so you read it before. How long has it been since you strolled through New Orleans with  Binx Bolling?

2) Nancy Lemann's THE FIERY PANTHEON. Ms. L was a Percy disciple, so this one makes perfect sense. If you don't know her work, this is a great place to start.

3) Jonathan Franzen's THE CORRRECTIONS. Don't worry about the whole Oprah Book club business. This is a Modern American Classic.

4) Kyril Bonfiglioli's DON'T POINT THAT THING AT ME. Bonfiglioli 's Charlie Mortdecai is a neglected  gem. There are 4 Mortdecai books in all, but you have to start somewhere.

5) Nick Hornby's  ABOUT A BOY. Again, you might want to go ahead and order the entire Hornby Oeuvre, but this is a good starting place. If you are ordering more than  one, do consider THE  POLYSYLABBIC SPREE, which is  essays and reviews.

6) Kingsley Amis' LUCKY JIM.  You could do worse than spending the rest of your year reading nothing but Kingsley and Martin Amis. This is the one that started it all.

7) Robertson Davies' THE REBEL ANGELS. Davies' books end up being parts of trilogies and there are several. This is the master at his mid-career stride.

8)John Updike's RABBIT books.  Start at the beginning with RABBIT RUN. Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom ages, more or less, with Updike and the rest of us, except at the end. Better him than us.

9) William Styron's LIE DOWN IN DARKNESS. OK, we are a little heavy on the South here, but the South is stil where so many good books (and Great Literature) come (comes) from.

10) Umberto Eco's FOUCAULT'S PENDULUM. It's a much better conspiracy novel than that code thing. Miles better.

11) Zadie Smith's WHITE TEETH. Hey, it's a multicultural world out there. If you don't know Zadie Smith's work yet, you will want to soon.

12) William Hamilton's THE LOVE OF RICH WOMEN. Hamilton, of course, is much better known as a cartoonist, but this is a fun novel. While you are looking for it, you may want to pick up his ANTI-SOCIAL REGISTER, which is a great collection of cartoons from the New Yorker and the 70's.

So, we have, what, 10 men, several of them dead, and at least two books that might be considered puffballs.  No biggie, we also have Big Hits by Heavy Hitters and enough neglected or out-of-fashion works to make you the most interesting person at your next cocktail or dinner party.  Enjoy them all.

I hope you have found this little guide to be enlightening and maybe even helpful. Please consider voting for it below. It is one of nearly 100 guides and reviews I have written especially for you. You may want to look at some of the others, too.

Thanks

WT