Every year millions of people create new years resolutions about losing weight, getting fit, learning a new skill, getting that new promotion at work, and so on. This year, why not throw in some fun bookish resolutions that you will enjoy achieving? I know I plan to. Here are just a few ideas for book related resolutions guarenteed to make your 2023 much more enjoyable.
Reading Goals
This is a tried and true resolution for sure. Most people set out to read X amount of books in the new year. What’s to stop them from reading 20 picture or middle grade chapter books and calling it a wrap? Why not spice it up a little bit? Challenge yourself this new year with a chapter count, page count, or even word count. No one will have a brag quite like “I’ve perused 30,000 pages this year,” or “I’ve read over 1.5 million words of prose in 2023.”
Branch Out
Make it your goal to read at least one book from each of the classically accepted genres this year. I’m talking about all of them; Sci-fi, fantasy, classic, contemporary, romance, historical fiction, horror, young adult, westerns, children’s, paranormal, memoir, biography, dystopian, self-help, cookbook. Pick one book in each category and get to reading. Who knows, you may find that you enjoy the genre just as much if not more than your current favorite.
For a more focused approach take your favorite genre and try reading one book out of each subgenre. The possibilities in the literary world are endless.
Listen to More Audiobooks
Reading a novel allows you to create an entire world inside your mind, devouring page after page with your eyes as you build. Listening to an amazing voice read books can have a similarly enchanting effect. The tone the author uses, the inflections they choose and their locations can all impact the way you view a story, allowing you new points of view. On top of this, there is the added bonus of allowing you to tackle other tasks while partaking in what I can only assume is one of your favorite hobbies.
Reading Adventures
Take your books on the road to different places. Try your local libraries, or curl up on a quiet couch at the nearest (or farthest) coffee shop. Perhaps take your book out to the park and settle down under a nice shady tree. Maybe you’ll find a likeminded person to share your hobby with, or perhaps the scents and sounds around you will bring your world building to new heights. Whatever the case, it’s sure to make for a wonderful new experience.
Join a Book Club
There are only two things I want to do after finishing an amazing book; re-read it, and talk about it. Joining or even forming a book club will let you get together and talk about whatever parts of the book you want to discuss with likeminded people.
When I was younger, I suffered from the delusion that book clubs only read the classics and discussed the symbolism of a specific colored drapes meant in one scene of a book. In a book club of your own choosing and design, you get to choose what you read and talk about each meeting.
Read the Classics
Books like Pride and Prejudice and Dracula have been around for ages. But why? This could be your year to find out. Pick up some of those classics and figure out just why they’ve lasted so long.
Don’t know where to begin? Check out this list from Annette the author of Bucket List Adventures.
Start a Book Review Blog
You have opinions and the definitely matter. Why not share those thoughts on a blog of your own? Friends reading your blog could get an idea of what to pick up next and what to avoid. As an added bonus, authors (such as myself) love to read reviews of their work. Who knows, maybe you’ll even hear back from a few of them.
Tackle the TBR
Just how many books do you have on that To Be Read list? Enough to last you until March at least. Don’t let them sit on that shelf any longer. You chose them for a reason. Pick them up and get to reading. Make it a goal to finish all of those books on your list and begin a new TBR pile for 2024.
Give Indie Authors a Try
And I’m not just saying this as an indie author. There are hundreds of thousands out there with low cost or even free books. What better way to hit your reading goals and keep the damage to your pocketbook to a minimum than to give a few new artists a try.
I hope your new years [bookish] resolutions bring you joy and excitement in 2023. Now get out there and enjoy your books! If you have any suggestions of a bookish new years resolutions that I missed, I’d love to hear about them. Contact me any time.