reader resolutions

New Year's Resolutions for Readers!

The new year is almost upon us, you guys. Let’s resolve!

1. Go to the Gym (Read Something that You “Should” Read):

You know that scene in Gilmore Girls where Lorelai and Rory visit Harvard and Rory freaks out because they pass a library and Lorelai tells her that it’s just ONE of the libraries and that there are 13 million volumes in the Harvard collection! (She’s reading a brochure, Lorelai isn’t just well versed in the Harvard library system.) And then Rory loses her mind and says “Thirteen million volumes? I've read like, what, three hundred books in my entire life and I'm already sixteen? Do you know how long it would take me to read thirteen million books?

gilmore

Instead of going to the gym, because who are we kidding, pick a book you’ve always been told you should read, and read it! There are so many books in the world to read, so I’m SURE there’s something that you should read that you haven’t. For instance, maybe 2016 is the year that I read Pride and Prejudice! Or, maybe not. I’ve gone this long and written at LEAST two papers on it, so I feel like I get the jist. So on the other hand...

2. Clean out your Closet (Admit Defeat): 

So I’ve just admitted that I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice, and wow that felt good to get off my chest. But there are some other books that I haven’t read (at least 2 or 3), and maybe it’s time to admit that I am never ever going to read some of them. I have a copy of Tom Perrotta’s Little Children that has been sitting on my nightstand for longer than Keeping Up with the Kardashians has been on the air. And since that show’s been on for what, 30 years? It’s time to throw in the towel there.

3. Eat Good Food (Read Something Out of Your Comfort Zone):

Guys, I read a lot. I’m not trying to brag, as it is kind of my job, but sometimes months and months (and months) go by without me reading a book with a male protagonist. I think the last one I read was The Disenchantments and that’s because I thought “Colby” was a girl. Other things I don’t read a lot of: books for adults, books with a lot of romance, and books about pets. There are also probably serious holes in my reading from a #diversityinya standpoint. Having books that accurately represent your reality is an amazing feeling (I’m half-Japanese, and when Lara Jean drank Yakult in To All the Boys I Loved Before I almost cried. Asian people actually doing Asian things! Also, Yakult is *thumbs up emoji*.), but sometimes that means that I only read books with non-white characters if non-white the same way that I am, so… Asian. Which is kinda not the point. So let’s branch out!

4. Spend More Time With Family (Reread an Old Favorite):

When I was in high school and college, I reread books all the time. Because if you have to study for a Statistics final that’s in 2 days, what better way to start than to read a couple of Harry Potter books. I’m an excellent procrastinator. But now that I don’t have homework anymore, I hardly ever have to procrastinate like that! So it’s been years since I’ve reread HP, or any of my other favorites. This is a good resolution.

summer's books

(My first OTP was Jason/Marceline.)

5. Konmari (Choose to read only what sparks joy):

If you know me (and I feel like you all do by now, we’ve been at this for some time), it may surprise you that on top of being a lazy dramatic mess, I am actually extremely tidy. So when I read The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up this year, it wasn’t so much a wake up call that it was for many people, but more of a vindication of everything I’m already doing.

Perfect closets don’t exi-

perfect closet

But I’m not going to ask you to Konmari your bookshelves. I mean, I might, in person, if I know you in real life. “Excuse me sir, do you have time to talk about our lord and savior Marie Kondo?” But for this post, I’m not going to ask you to take every book off your bookshelf, hold it in your hand and ask yourself “Does it spark joy?” before deciding if it goes back on the bookshelf.

In a bookstore though! You could do it then! When you pick up a book and are trying to decide whether to buy it or not, ask yourself, does this book spark joy? Am I genuinely excited to read it? Could I read it right this second? If you only buy the books that spark joy, I promise promise promise, you will actually read MORE books because you’ll just read them faster. It’s science. Let 2016 be the year that you spend nearly every day in a bookstore/library because you are reading SO QUICKLY! It’s very easy if you don’t have Little Children slowing you down for the last 100 years, or so I’ve heard.

So tell me, do any of these sound like good ideas? Are all of them better than going to the gym? Am I going to get in trouble for my fierce anti-gym stance on this blog? 

Author spotlight

Summer O.

Summer O. works in School & Library Marketing at MacKids. She spends the majority of her free time being #cool …

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