Books And The Best of Intentions

The year has come to a close, and the new year is all of a sudden here and now.  Time for me to do what many people do this time of year.  Time to look back, take stock and make plans for the future.

I've had ups and downs with New Year's Resolutions.  Over the past few years I have come up with lofty goals and vague plans to meet them.  Going to the gym everyday, learning a new language and keeping my house Martha-Stewart-clean; I've come up with all sorts of ideas for self improvement.  For the most part they have all failed.  My goals too ambitious, my interest not genuine.

But change is afoot.  The time for failed plans is through. For my third year in a row, I'm making the same simple resolution: I'm going to read 50 books.

Some of the books on my list this year.

When I was young, I would have laughed at such a goal. 50 books?  I could do that in 3 months.  I read constantly.  There was nothing on the bookshelves (shared with my brother and sister) that I hadn't read at least 5 times.  I would seek out the books that I hadn't yet read on the small shelves at my local library. It was a point of pride that I would read the entire Lord of the Rings Trilogy every year and every year, a little bit more of that dense text would make it into my brain. 

I'm not sure when this changed. High School? University? I can vividly remember hundreds of stories I read as a child, but I can not name you one book I read in university that wasn't also a text book.

It was when I came across the online community Goodreads when I realized how few and far between books had been in my life.  Using Goodreads as a tool to find new books and track my progress I slowly eased my way back into books.  It had been a long time, did I still know how to immerse myself into a story?  Appreciate fiction? Would I ever be the reader I wanted to be again?

I'm happy to announce, that my treatment has been success and I'm back in a reading groove. In 2012 I read 50 books.  In 2013, 37 (short of 50, but I still feel pretty good about it). 2014 I'm aiming for 50 again, and I'm feeling confident.

If I don't get to 50?  That's alright, I'll be at least partway there, with some new stories and experiences in my heart. It's a win-win. So, that's my one goal. My sole resolution. Read 50 books.

Oh, I also want to lose a few pounds.