The Semi-Writerly resolutions have gotten off well.

Well, excepting the relearning basic Danish.

Rosetta Stone's customer service folks and I need to have a word about why the thing won't fully install and now won't come off my computer.

But I digress . . .

So far had kept to semi-diet, have semi-exercised, have written each day as required and have fed soul this week by seeing Black Swan. (Soul was in the mood for the equivalent of a really strong Black Russian with a little bleeding maraschino cherry spike.)

My eyes are turning to the Windowsill Books as I'm going to call them.

I have trip to Chicago coming up.

That will mean about ten total hours of train time, plus or minus a talkative seat-mate.

The last time I rode the train I got no reading done as I listened to the life story of an ex-Israeli Army officer and biker who was trying to figure out a major life problem.

Again, I digress. That's a story for another day.

The Windowsill books are taking lessons from my Basset Hound in reproachful looks.

They tell me, "You promised to read us last year and you didn't. Are you going to keep breaking your promise to us?"

An old journalism professor noted that I have a problem with over-promising and under-delivering. I've been working on it, Books, so pipe the hell down.

My trip would seem to be an excellent time to start keeping that promise.

I may not keep it to all the books on the sill this year (Books moan and hiss behind me).

But, I'd like to make it farther than last year's tally of two. I'm still not certain how I made it through The Niebelung Saga and not the saintly The Life of Thomas More.

Maybe blood-thirsty queens who lop off heads are more interesting than saints who got their heads lopped off?

Wonder what that says about me?

But, a third time, I digress.

I have to start somewhere so here are the first 15 Windowsill Books I intend to tackle in this newest of years:

Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, James Agee and Walker Evans

Madam Secretary, Madeleine Albright

The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri

The Map of True Places,  Brunonia Barry

Away, Amy Bloom

March, Geraldine Brooks

The Fruit of Her Hands, Michelle Cameron

The Yiddish Policemen's Union, Michael Chabon

The Best American Short Stories 2005, edited by Michael Chabon

Imperial Life in the Emerald City, Rajiv Chandrasekaran

The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

Hearts Grown Brutal, Roger Cohen

The Awakening, Kate Chopin

Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Arthur Conan Doyle

David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

A lot of heavy reading. Many classics that were so wonderfully shortened in childhood text books and Great Illustrated Classics.

Perhaps some of my musings as I tackle the tomes could be on whether or not a Great Illustrated Classics series for adults.

Consider how reality TV directly destroys our ability to concentrate and think of matters beyond Snooki or Cookie or Sharpy's latest plastic surgery/new bi-sexual love affair/fashion dilemma, it probably couldn't hurt.

But then, as the books eye me hopefully, I can't help but wonder if I shouldn't count myself amongst those I just needled.

As the Basset Hound is busy consuming a bone on his sunroom dog bed - as opposed to the bedroom or living room bed - he won't advise me on the matter.

Oh well. On to reading dangerously and purposefully.

Windowsill Books Away!