When we set reading goals, I believe many of us do this as we are striving to set meaningful goals - to learn more whether it be about a person writing their autobiography, or a destination in a travelogue or trying to solve the mystery of who the killer is.
There are different ways we go about this - some listen to audiobooks while others read ebooks and some are drawn to a manuscript they can hold in their hand.
One thing we often have in common is we have in mind that we wish to exceed the bounds we previously confined ourselves to.
Stating this, I will tell you that I set goals, and above X number of books, I pinpoint areas to improve upon. One I've mentioned is wanting to read more translated works.
Since I am drawn to descriptive detailing and am a fan of short stories I was pleased to find a French manuscript translated by Patricia J. F. Worth.
Winter Tales, was originally published in French as 'Histoires d'hiver' by Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé in Revue des deux mondes, February 1884. And, fans of Turgenev will enjoy these 19th-century tales set in Russia and told by French author Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé.
I love the details in this book which encourage a more sensory experience! This translation opened my eyes to the lives of those in serfdom and the narrator makes me aware of the lives of peasants struggling to live freely after serfdom is abolished.
I concentrated on the passage where one goes to the window and looks out to access the world at the same time another observer does. If we change our juxtaposition in a window seat between near and far we may allow ourselves the freedom to ponder two contrasting concepts and perhaps freely explore the thought of a balance between multifaceted constraint and liberty.