I’m excited for this year and coming years. I’m going to finish a few series that I started (great tip), track my pages (trying to listen a bit less and look at words a bit more) and maintain my journal!
Thanks for the wonderful tips and ideas. There are so many things that I hear about here first, so thanks for being on top of it all!
Us humans just can't resist the silly resolution. A lot of writing on this platform about "the new year". I think yours was ONE OF THE BEST as it was positive, incremental and left a lot of options. Here's to a great reading year.
I want to read more fiction but always end up reading too much news and long-form journalism. I've come to realize I need to capitulate and start buying, borrowing, and reading mostly e-books. The convenience of the phone/iPad is too strong, and with little kids at home I rarely (never) have blocks of uninterrupted reading time. Hoping the digital tools will bring more fiction into my life.
I spent a few years matching my books to the destinations I was visiting for work. Not only did it get me more excited about the places I was seeing, and with a deeper sense of local culture, but it came with the unintended bonus of introducing me to (translated) authors I would probably never have come across otherwise.
Anyone going to Malaysia this year, bring some Tan Twan Eng along!
Happy New Year to you! I never set New Years resolutions because I only get disappointed in myself as well but I do like the Reading Challenges. Last year-it was read a book a month (easy) and at least 2 books every other month and I did it and I was actually able to read 2 books for just about every month! One way I did this was to make it a routine to read every morning by sitting in my kitchen (no tv and no computer to distract me) while drinking my coffee for at least 20 minutes and it actually worked and I would typically read even longer at least until others woke up to break my silence.
Book Club - when I joined the book club you started years ago, it introduced me to different books and authors. The goal of reading and discussing a book actually made reading fun again for me.
Travel reading - that is a great one for work travel. When I worked I would have to travel for weeks at a time and it would just be me with no family and stuck in a hotel room. Its amazing how much you can read when you have no chores or distractions around you. Those were always my best reading times!
I like your ideas to get more reading in and what a great way to start the year.
I'm trying to pair some non-fiction that's in the same realm as the fiction I'm reading this year, just to see what benefit that has. For example, In the Heart of the Sea alongside Moby-Dick. I'm hoping it works out well.
I like how writing about what we read plays into this so much. Journaling and reflecting on what we enjoyed or didn't enjoy. That's such good advice and something I'll definitely put into practice this year.
For completing an author's works, I've alternated between two authors before in the past and really enjoyed that. It gave enough variety to keep me interested but was focused enough, so I still felt like I was making progress.
Great ideas. I need to get back to reading real books. My private library is filled with unread tomes. Also, hate series. I don't have the time to read 7 books in your crappy series - looking at you Mr. King! Coincidentally, have so many ideas for series of mine own. Fortunately for the reading community I'll never finish writing A book.
Thanks for so many ideas to inspire us to read more intentionally. I’m often an opportunistic reader, picking up whatever catches my fancy at the moment, with little plan and often just for escape from the daily drumbeat of troubling news. Joining a book club, reading about future travel destinations, cooking from a cookbook with a friend, picking a “doorstep” book to read--such excellent ideas! Hoping I can put at least a few into effect.
Thanks for the suggestions! Audiobooks have made it possible to read so much more, while walking and doing mundane house chores. Scouring the bathroom is much easier when your mind is occupied with great stories! I save physical books for reading at bedtime, but can only do a few pages each night.
I have stayed away from challenges because I feel underwhelmed by some of them. I feel like a reader who superficially ticks a box instead of trying out a few books and trying to understand the region/genre/country/culture etc. Not all challenges, of course. Many are made with a lot of thought into the challenge list and they help us to have goals. But some of them feel 'just for the sake of it'. I agree with your idea about resolutions. For eg: I am intimidated by large books, but a resolution to read a big book that I've been putting off forever seems like a good idea.
I also find sometimes goals that don't have to do with output are nice. So instead of read x books, read for 10 minutes before bed. Whatever, if you only manage a page one night. I think that's way more satisfying.
I love these suggestions – I too am less inclined to complete an arbitrary challenge. This year, I have written a specific list because we're moving from Australia to the UK so my main 'challenge' for lack of a better word is to really slim down my piles of books. In looking at my unread books, I realised some had been bought 10 years ago and I still haven't read them. So, I've tried to pick some up and be ruthless in discarding (and donating) if I'm not hooked immediately. For the newer additions to my shelf, I'm trying to prioritise books I think I'll enjoy but be happy to pass on to friends. And I'm making use of the library as much as possible and resist buying anything new.
What a great list of creative ways to shape the reading year! I'll figure out how to share this with my readers. :) I gave up on counting the number of books I read every year (bad Goodreads habit) and instead started making a list of 7 or 8 types of books I want to read in the coming year (a book in translation, a book that makes me laugh, a classic I've never read before, etc.). This works so much better--and I do read more of those doorstops now because I'm not trying to meet an arbitrary number goal.
I’m excited for this year and coming years. I’m going to finish a few series that I started (great tip), track my pages (trying to listen a bit less and look at words a bit more) and maintain my journal!
Thanks for the wonderful tips and ideas. There are so many things that I hear about here first, so thanks for being on top of it all!
I love this. I'll be really interested in your experience in trying this out this year. It just makes so much sense and sounds so rich.
Us humans just can't resist the silly resolution. A lot of writing on this platform about "the new year". I think yours was ONE OF THE BEST as it was positive, incremental and left a lot of options. Here's to a great reading year.
I want to read more fiction but always end up reading too much news and long-form journalism. I've come to realize I need to capitulate and start buying, borrowing, and reading mostly e-books. The convenience of the phone/iPad is too strong, and with little kids at home I rarely (never) have blocks of uninterrupted reading time. Hoping the digital tools will bring more fiction into my life.
I spent a few years matching my books to the destinations I was visiting for work. Not only did it get me more excited about the places I was seeing, and with a deeper sense of local culture, but it came with the unintended bonus of introducing me to (translated) authors I would probably never have come across otherwise.
Anyone going to Malaysia this year, bring some Tan Twan Eng along!
Happy New Year to you! I never set New Years resolutions because I only get disappointed in myself as well but I do like the Reading Challenges. Last year-it was read a book a month (easy) and at least 2 books every other month and I did it and I was actually able to read 2 books for just about every month! One way I did this was to make it a routine to read every morning by sitting in my kitchen (no tv and no computer to distract me) while drinking my coffee for at least 20 minutes and it actually worked and I would typically read even longer at least until others woke up to break my silence.
Book Club - when I joined the book club you started years ago, it introduced me to different books and authors. The goal of reading and discussing a book actually made reading fun again for me.
Travel reading - that is a great one for work travel. When I worked I would have to travel for weeks at a time and it would just be me with no family and stuck in a hotel room. Its amazing how much you can read when you have no chores or distractions around you. Those were always my best reading times!
I like your ideas to get more reading in and what a great way to start the year.
I'm trying to pair some non-fiction that's in the same realm as the fiction I'm reading this year, just to see what benefit that has. For example, In the Heart of the Sea alongside Moby-Dick. I'm hoping it works out well.
I like how writing about what we read plays into this so much. Journaling and reflecting on what we enjoyed or didn't enjoy. That's such good advice and something I'll definitely put into practice this year.
For completing an author's works, I've alternated between two authors before in the past and really enjoyed that. It gave enough variety to keep me interested but was focused enough, so I still felt like I was making progress.
Great ideas. I need to get back to reading real books. My private library is filled with unread tomes. Also, hate series. I don't have the time to read 7 books in your crappy series - looking at you Mr. King! Coincidentally, have so many ideas for series of mine own. Fortunately for the reading community I'll never finish writing A book.
Thanks for so many ideas to inspire us to read more intentionally. I’m often an opportunistic reader, picking up whatever catches my fancy at the moment, with little plan and often just for escape from the daily drumbeat of troubling news. Joining a book club, reading about future travel destinations, cooking from a cookbook with a friend, picking a “doorstep” book to read--such excellent ideas! Hoping I can put at least a few into effect.
Thanks for the suggestions! Audiobooks have made it possible to read so much more, while walking and doing mundane house chores. Scouring the bathroom is much easier when your mind is occupied with great stories! I save physical books for reading at bedtime, but can only do a few pages each night.
I have stayed away from challenges because I feel underwhelmed by some of them. I feel like a reader who superficially ticks a box instead of trying out a few books and trying to understand the region/genre/country/culture etc. Not all challenges, of course. Many are made with a lot of thought into the challenge list and they help us to have goals. But some of them feel 'just for the sake of it'. I agree with your idea about resolutions. For eg: I am intimidated by large books, but a resolution to read a big book that I've been putting off forever seems like a good idea.
I also find sometimes goals that don't have to do with output are nice. So instead of read x books, read for 10 minutes before bed. Whatever, if you only manage a page one night. I think that's way more satisfying.
I have two "doorstoppers" I'd like to read this year. Can you give any more tips about how to break them up without forgetting the plot?
I love these suggestions – I too am less inclined to complete an arbitrary challenge. This year, I have written a specific list because we're moving from Australia to the UK so my main 'challenge' for lack of a better word is to really slim down my piles of books. In looking at my unread books, I realised some had been bought 10 years ago and I still haven't read them. So, I've tried to pick some up and be ruthless in discarding (and donating) if I'm not hooked immediately. For the newer additions to my shelf, I'm trying to prioritise books I think I'll enjoy but be happy to pass on to friends. And I'm making use of the library as much as possible and resist buying anything new.
What a great list of creative ways to shape the reading year! I'll figure out how to share this with my readers. :) I gave up on counting the number of books I read every year (bad Goodreads habit) and instead started making a list of 7 or 8 types of books I want to read in the coming year (a book in translation, a book that makes me laugh, a classic I've never read before, etc.). This works so much better--and I do read more of those doorstops now because I'm not trying to meet an arbitrary number goal.