I’m not sure which is more satisfying, shutting a book you really enjoyed right after you finish it or putting it back in its place on the bookshelf.

I just wrapped up “Now I Can Die In Peace,” a book largely of sports columns cobbled together from one of my favorite writers. I’ve devoured his columns for years, and I’m pretty sure I read 99 percent of them the day they were posted, yet I thoroughly enjoyed that read over the last few days.

Actually, there are few books I tackle where I don’t feel really good when I’m done. The lone recent exception is “A Farewell To Arms” by Hemingway. I hated that book from the first page. Needless to say, the name “Hemingway” has only one appearance on my bookshelf.

That brings me to my upcoming goal. After polling some people about their reading habits, and in response to a poll that 57 percent of adults in the U.S. read a book in one year (which has to be high), I’m committing to reading 20 books in 2008.

Now I could take some really lame attempt and read 20 kids books in a weekend and declare victory. But I’m taking my time in compiling my lineup to make sure I’m actually getting something out of this experience. I have exactly two weeks before I crack open the first tome.

There has to be a flow, not just the same kind of book or crushing the same author’s entire library. Different genres, writing styles, pedigrees of authors. Classics, modern novels, literary non-fiction. It’s like going on a long car trip–you can’t slam 75 mph the whole way, you have to ease off the gas once in a while.

The lineup so far:

-The Survival Game: David Barash
-The Sound And The Fury: David Faulkner
-The World Is Flat: Thomas Friedman
-Main Street: Sinclair Lewis
-The Prince: Niccolo Machiavelli
-Cannery Row: John Steinbeck
-The Picture Of Dorian Gray: Oscar Wilde
-Zlata’s Diary: Zlata Filipovic
-The Year Of Living Biblically: A.J. Jacobs
-The Hunchback Of Notre Dame: Victor Hugo
-The Last Juror: John Grisham
-The Best Seat In The House: Spike Lee

Ok, so that’s 12. I started writing Anna Karenina…but there’s I just couldn’t lock myself into an 800-page behemoth before I even get started. Maybe if I get way ahead of pace by July I’ll slip it in there.

I need eight more, so any suggestions are welcomed. I definitely want to leave my options open since I can’t walk out of a Barnes & Noble empty handed even though I’ve been amassing the previously mentioned books for a solid two years.

I’ll also be documenting my quest in some form. Two weeks to figure that part out too.