It’s January, so book communities are full of reading-resolutions articles and challenges. This is something I have traditionally ignored.
I’m hugely proud of anyone who sets a goal amount of books for the year, because life is very demanding and carving out the time is an accomplishment in itself, but I’ve never been a numbers person when it comes to reading. I’ve also never managed to make a resolution that involved a specific celebrity’s or club’s reading list without immediately rebelling against it and finding literally anything else more interesting. As soon as it becomes a To Do list, I’m unable to even.
That said, this past year I fell into a rut. When you read and edit in the same genres day in and day out (even when they are your absolute favorites), your brain sometimes refuses to turn off the editor switch. It’s high time to shake the mental snow globe and challenge myself, and I need to make it more playful.
Here’s what I came up with so far:
Exploration
This year, I want to try at least 3 new/long-ignored genres. Trying something new and discovering you love it is one of the best feelings reading has to offer.
I know for some of you the This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me release in March will mark the first foray into isekai/portal fantasy, so the BDH will be with me on this path. For the Horde!
Controversy
I’m deleting my TBR lists.
Ok, take a moment. This is still a safe space. I don’t mean my unread purchased books; sequels and auto-buy authors are also safe.
But the endless Goodreads shelves, bookmarks, and lists that have been accumulating for almost two decades have started to feel less like possibility and more like a pressure that weighs down on my shoulders. I’m a very different person than I was when I started them, they’re chaotically spread all over the place, and I’m realistically never going to catch up. If a book is meant to find me again, it will.
Consider it the reading equivalent of that decluttering trick of turning your hangers around in the closet as you wear the clothes, and donating whatever is left unturned at the end of two years.
Spontaneity
I want to do at least one trust-fall post where I ask for recommendations based on a trope or vibe and then try to read every single book that gets suggested, without being too controlling and selective.
I still love you best of all, but this will probably not happen on the blog. The BDH shows up with thousands of recommendations as soon as Gondor calls for reading aid, and we would still be here next century.
Letting Go of Guilt
At the same time, I want to teach my brain that to DNF is not a sin. Life is too short to finish books you don’t like.
I will give books a fair try, and I will give myself permission to skim, because I know I will still crave closure. But I will no longer force myself to finish because anything else feels illegal.
If you’re a ruthless DNFer, please teach us your ways!
Nostalgic Rereads
As a teenager, I devoured books by South American authors, particularly the Latin American Boom and that distinctive magical realism strain that will forever linger in my brain. García Márquez. Borges. Cortázar. Vargas Llosa. Sabato. I want to reread them with (allegedly) adult eyes and see if the spell still holds and manages to stimulate my reading appetite out of monotony.
Now it’s your turn! The Horde reads a lot and it reads well.
Have you done any of these and how did they go? Will I regret my TBR purge? Is there any reading resolution you’ve made in the past that went particularly well for you? Please brag so we can try it too!
