New year = new lists and new goals. I’ll keep this brief, for my purpose here is a public commitment to meet at least two of my goals for 2016: read some hefty volumes, and write that abecedary I’ve been thinking about for 15+ years.

First Goal: read hefty books. My list includes Remembrance of Things Past (2200+ pages), Tale of Genji (1000+ pages), The Water Margin (800 pages), House of Leaves (700+ pages), and Moby Dick (600+ pages). Of these, I’ve read only Moby Dick in full (3 times already!), and not quite 20% of Proust.

Second Goal: The abecedary will be a joint venture with my daughter (printmaker; see some of her work here). We’ll pick the 26 subjects soon, then go off into our individual corners, me to write and her to illustrate. We’ll use letterpress, printing and bookbinding skills learned at the Center for Book Arts to put it all together and, with luck, have an edition of 20 printed and bound before 2017. Watch this space for progress reports.

Best wishes to all my readers for your own goals and projects that keep you excited throughout 2016.