The year of the book
Happy holidays and happy reading
Another year is winding down and with a proverbial fresh start just around the corner, I began thinking about how I could improve myself over the next 365 days. How can I make the coming year better than the last?
I know myself pretty well, so rather than setting myself up for failure with new year’s resolutions about exercise or eating habits, I decided to focus on something that I already love — reading. Growing up I would always choose reading over TV or video games. I could get through countless books in little to no time and loved getting swept up in their stories. As I’ve gotten older, Netflix and social media have taken over and I haven’t dedicated as much time to books. I get frustrated with myself because I know how much I love reading, so why can’t I spend more time doing it?
I decided enough is enough, and 2019 is going to be the year of the book.
Like I said, I think I know myself pretty well. Well enough to know that just saying I’m going to “read more” doesn’t mean very much. In order to really follow through with my plan, I needed to have a bit of fun with it. That’s when I started creating the “2019 I Should Be Reading Challenge,” a list of 50 book prompts to encourage me not only to read more, but to read out of my comfort zone.
It started out as something I was going to keep to myself, a check list of prompts like “a book published the year you were born” and “the first book you see when you walk into a book store” because nothing is more satisfying than a check list. But as I bounced the idea off of a few people, I realized that this is something I could share with others, even adding a bit of friendly competition.
My mother wanted an excuse to challenge herself, my sister wanted to play along, and my boyfriend just wanted to prove he could read more books than I could in a year. I decided to share my challenge online and create a Facebook group for readers to exchange recommendations and share their progress.
I can officially say that I’m even more excited for the new year to begin now that I have a fun challenge to keep myself entertained and well read. My hopes for the year are that I improve my reading speed, spend less time in front of a screen, and see the world through someone else’s eyes.
As a writer, I think it’s incredibly important to be reading and learning from the writing styles and creativity of others. I think my focus will improve, I’ll gain new inspiration for my own writing, and if nothing else, my “to-be-read” pile will certainly decrease in size.
If you’re interested in checking out the challenge list, you can search “2019 I Should Be Reading Challenge” on Facebook or reach out to me and I’ll be more than happy to send you a copy.
Happy holidays and happy reading, everyone!