For the most part, I’m attempting to avoid the New Year, New Me trap – every year I get all excited and then realise that it’s the same me after all!

Just with attached guilt for failing to become a fit, healthy eating, multi-linguistic musician!

However, I do find it useful to reflect on the previous years reading habits.

For 2015

Read 1 book every 2 months that’s just for me

In 2014, I  arrived at December and realised that across the year, I’d read exactly 2 books of my own choosing. Don’t get me wrong – I love the book clubs and the huge variety of styles and generas that get picked.

However, I miss me MY books too (even my grammar is effected!). Science Fiction; poetry; an Agatha Christie re-read; perhaps the odd non-fiction book – it doesn’t matter *what* as long as it’s something purely for me.

Focus on my TBR (To Be Read) Pile

My shelves are bulging and I haven’t read more than a third of them (that might be an exaggeration – it’s probably closer to a fifth!).

While I’m unlikely to read my 3-4 LBC books per month as well as 1 of my own choosing AND finish reading all the books on my shelves in one calendar year, it would feel terrific to get a little further through them, especially as I have some brilliant books which have never even been cracked open. Simply sinful!

Use my local library more!

Actually, I’ve already started on this one – having picked up some poetry books to dig into.

To be honest, this is a sort of permanent fixture on my Reading Resolution – you might recall that we’ve had one or two posts about our love of libraries in the past.

Buy less. Buy Better.

My gut is simply screaming at me “NO MORE BUYING BOOKS!!! Not a single one.”

However, I know what I’m like and I have a caveat or two. Such as – if a book is particularly essential for my collection, then I’m allowed to purchase it. An example would be the most recent Shardlake book – once it’s available in paperback. It is just brilliant and as I have the previous books in the series – it would KILL* me not to have the full set!!!

Of course this ties in with the library entry – if I read a fantastic book that I know I’ll go back to and lend out and cherish – it would be silly not to have it on the shelves. A sort of try before I buy kind of thing.

Course, as I mentioned earlier, my shelves are ridiculously full, so a clear out is in order. I wonder if the TSl will be open to taking them in and finding new homes!

Blog shorter. Blog often.

Last year – in part due to the domain change – I fell behind with my blogging. In my head, writing about books became a sort of momentous task – I built it up into ridiculous proportions!

Thank the skies for Helen (@isfromupnorth), Laura (@WoodsieGirl), our Pet Author Chris Nickson (@ChrisNickson2) and our guest bloggers who have ensured fresh reading for you all while I panicked about getting all the older ones up and running!

For 2015, I want to get back into my writing groove – more focus on the books, less worry and stress about the writing! It is after all, supposed to be a bit of fun.

 

*It will likely not kill me, but it would be very irritating.