andamu

For a while I had been reading mainly mysteries which would mostly be classified as escapism despite the fact that some of them transcend the normally plot-driven genre into the realm of "literature."

While at school I fell in love with serious reading again in a Comparative Literature class, to the extent that I took the second course even though not only was it not required, I could not apply its credits toward my graduation - I had already completed every free elective I had.
Then I started working in the real world, and while adjusting to the pace and demands of my job and without overt guidance as to what to read I fell back into reading mysteries almost exclusively.

Years ago I started compulsively collecting the authors whom I frequently read. Through various moves (several of them among countries) I got rid of some of them, but I kept a few. Looking at them now my eye glides over neat shelves of Patricia Cornwell, Colin Dexter, Elizabeth George, Sue Grafton, Martha Grimes, Reginald Hill/Patrick Ruell, PD James, Faye and Jonathan Kellerman, John le Carre, Ellis Peters, Ian Rankin, Ruth Rendell/Barbara Vine, Peter Robinson, Dorothy Sayers and Dorothy Simpson.

Much as I enjoy these, I started yearning for more challenging reading as well. At first I returned to my alma mater's web page to look for the book list for the same set of courses, then I branched out to Comparative or World Literature courses at other universities to build a reading list, focusing on literature from East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the Middle East. One of the advantages of finding suggestions from courses is that although the books for each course are from varied cultures, they explore similar themes, making for much more involved reading.
Then one day I received an email from B&N advising me of reading groups led by the authors at Barnes & Noble University. I had a look at the books to be discussed and they also had suggested additional reading; this again allowed for the exploration of a theme across multiple books. I found some that interested me there and started adding to my reading list. Since these books were western (mostly American or Canadian with some British and Irish) the result was a more balanced reading list.

Currently many of the additions to my list are made based on the suggestions by various commenters, or blogs I regularly read.
When a new author is suggested, I generally pick one title and try it. If I like it, I add the author to my reading list rather than individual works - I get a little obsessive that way (as you might tell by the mystery list above).

I am still trying to decide what exactly to do about the books I am reading in the blogging context. A thought that keeps whirling around is to start a book blog where I would post my thoughts about and reactions to the books I read.
In an ideal world it would actually be a book club blog, where others would post their own reviews/thoughts, or we might "discuss" themes and questions about a book we've all read in an online version of a reading club. Of course we would have to make our own coffee and bake our own muffins...