#reading resolution

✅ renewed library card

✅ checked out a scifi and a fantasy

 If you have suggestions, you can send them in!

If you would just like to read more books in 2018, we’ve got a few suggestions for you. While ultimately it’s up to you to just get more books read, there are some things you can do to make it easier.

First of all, quit going out.

Just kidding. While we love books, people are social animals, so you need to be with other people sometimes. But maybe join a book club. That way, you have a reason to be reading and get that social time. We have a few great book clubs here at the store: Mommy Book Club for moms of littles that reads kind of all over the place, Brunch Book Club which focuses on more traditional book club reads, and Mystery Matters Book Club that reads... you guessed it... mysteries. If none of those suit you, there are neighborhood book clubs, book clubs at the library, some offices have their own, or you can start one with your friends.

Second, try reading some fast-paced novels. If they read faster, you get lost in them easier, and you unsurprisingly end up reading more. This looks different for different people. Some people read YA or middle grade novels because the easier reading level makes them go faster. Others read thrillers, which often have short chapters and a lot of cliffhangers to keep you reading quickly. You may also pick up novellas or books in verse.

Third, as hard as this is for us to suggest/do, if you don’t love a book, quit reading it. How many times have you been stuck on the same book for days/weeks/months because you just don’t look forward to reading it so you hardly ever do? If you give yourself permission to stop reading a book you don’t enjoy, you give yourself time to devote to a book you really do, and that helps you get more books read.

Last, set aside some designated time for reading. Whether that’s thirty minutes with your cup of coffee in the morning, or with your tea in the evening, or just an hour one night a week, or the middle of the day on the weekends, or a binge-read for a whole day every other week. If you love something and you want to do more of it, you have to schedule time for it to happen.

Maybe this year, you want to read a little more for edification instead of entertainment. Books are great for both. We find we learn something from most novels, but if you’re looking for a more direct kind of education, we’ve got you covered. Here are some really cool books to teach you things this year:

Attending is an incredible look at how doctors approach their patients, written from the doctor’s persepctive.

If you’re looking for a new relaxing hobby, check out The Bonsai Beginner’s Bible.

The DBT Solution for Emotional Eating will help you get that stress eating under control.

If you’re interested in what we eat and where it comes from, you should definitely read The Ethical Carnivore, one woman’s quest to only eat meat she’s killed herself.

If there’s just two of you at home and you have trouble getting motivated to cook, check out the Fix-It and Forget-It Cooking for Two cookbook.

Not a history buff but you’d like to get started? Try The History of the World in Bite-Sized Chunks.

How to Be a Better Person is just a fun book with 400 things you can do to have a positive impact on the people around you.

If you’re looking to clear out your living space a little this year, read The Joy of Minimalism to help you get okay with it.

If you’re looking for more closeness in your marriage, pick up the Married for a Purpose devotional.

Are you a mom who wants to take her daughters camping and hiking? On the Trail is a guide specifically for girls and women.

Want to get in on all that repurposing going on? The Pallet Book has projects for all those discarded (you guessed it!) pallets in the world.

If you’re one of those people who is fascinated by all things royal, check out Royalty’s Strangest Tales.

Skin Cleanse is a great look at how to get better skin by starting with whole body health.

For those of you who would like to be able to discuss number theory at you next dinner party, there’s Summing It Up.

If you want to try something more exotic in the kitchen, pick up A Taste of Adventure.

Want to learn some new computer skills? Check out The Ultimate Roblox Book.

Upcycle is the book for you if you want to redecorate your home and reuse random objects. That may not sound that appealing, but your home will be totally unique!

Looking to get your children away from the screen a little more? Wild Play is for you.

If you want to read all the books before the movies this year, here’s a list of books being turned into films. Some have a release date this year, some have just been optioned, but you probably ought to read them all just to be safe.

Forever My Girl by Heidi McLaughlin (January 19)

Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton: movie titled 12 Strong (January 19)

The Death Cure by James Dashner (January 26)

Fifty Shades Freed by EL James (February 9)

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter: movie titled Peter Rabbit (February 9)

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer (February 23)

Every Day by David Levithan (February 23)

The War with Grandpa by Robert Kimmel Smith (February 23)

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews (March 2)

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle (March 9)

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli: movie titled Love, Simon (March 16)

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (March 30)

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (May 11)

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (August 17)

Three Seconds by Roslund Anders and Borge Hellstrom (August 17)

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters (August 31)

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (September 14)

The House with a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs (September 21)

Boy Erased by Garrard Conley (September 28)

First Man by James Hansen (October 12)

The Girl in the Spider’s Web by David Lagercrantz (October 19)

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (October 19)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss: movie titled The Grinch (November 9)

Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve (December 14)

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: movie titled Ashes in the Snow

The Black Hand by Stephan Talty

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

In 2018, you should definitely be diversifying the book collection for your littles. Unless you don’t have any littles, in which case you can probably skip it. Assuming you do have littles, we love the tried and true classics, don’t get us wrong, but there’s no sense in not having the diversity of the world around your children reflected in their library. The following is a list of inclusive picture books and board books for you to consider.

Black Panther Little Golden Book by Frank Berrios

Chicken Soup, Chicken Soup by Pamela Mayer

The Flower Girl Wore Celery by Meryl Gordon

Harvesting Hope by Kathleen Krull

Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara Joosse

Mountain Chef by Annette Pimentel

My Cousin Lili by Amy Lightfoot

The Pink Hat by Andrew Joyner

Princess Hair by Sharee Miller

The Rough-Face Girl by Rafe Martin

New Year, New books, New reading challenges.

So I’ve decided to up my goal to 100 books this year (last year it was 80) on my Goodreads account - https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/10415753

I’m also wondering if I should incorporate reading challenges to read books that are out of my comfort zone, such as the New Adult one - https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/19133838-2018-yearly-challenge.

But then that will mean 50 NA books and I did read a lot of NA books last year when I found the group and participated in their Read It & Review It segment.