This Year, Make a Reading Resolution!

Happy New Year !  

Are you still tired from the festivities?  I'm exhausted.  

Well, it's that time of year again.  The time where we resolve to do things we really don't want to do in the name of "self-improvement".  Shoot for something painless this year, okay?  Make a reading resolution!!   Maybe one of these... 

Read More – Sometimes it’s nice to turn off the tech and disappear into a good book.  The right book has the power to turn you into a reading nut faster than you can say hardback, but finding one can feel intimidating if you don’t know where to look.  Before you start throwing random paperbacks into your cart at the checkout, ask for guidance and recommendations from people who read regularly – a bookish friend, local librarian, bookstore employee, or overly tired book blogger.  Be sure to browse websites like GoodReads, Indiebound, WhichBook, and LibraryThing that provide easy access to countless amateur and professional book reviews.  Find a book that piques your interest, make time to read it every day, and you’ll be nut in no time. 

Read for You –  Have you ever found yourself torn between your should-read and your want-to-read stack?  Ever felt guilty for not having finished the most recent bestseller or Oprah book club pick?  Well, stop it – right now – and resolve to follow this advice:  Just because everyone is reading the latest über-depressing memoir or poorly written bondage novel does not mean that you have to do the same.  Life is too short to waste time obsessing over self-imposed reading obligations.  Focus on books that uplift, excite, and inspire you! 

Read to Your Children – Children get more from story time than crazy dreams and a later bedtime; reading to your child can change their life. Studies have shown that reading aloud to your children will help them become better readers, better listeners, and better students.  So, make stories a priority this year.  Set aside a specific time every day to turn off all distractions, snuggle up in a quiet, comfortable place, and read together.  Incidentally, better students get scholarships, go to college, get jobs, and don’t live at home till they are forty-five. You could turn their room into a library. I’m just sayin’.

Read (and Buy) Locally –  I know some of you are bemoaning the loss of Borders, but odds are that your city is not without books.  Look around and you'll find libraries and locally owned bookstores that are chock full of amazing reads.  Unfortunately, these stores and libraries will struggle without community support.  This year, invest in your local bookstores, patronize your local libraries, and keep your money and your business in your area. 

My reading resolution is to read something, anything, without falling to sleep.  Who knew four kids was this hard?!  Sheesh.

What is your reading resolution?