Here I am again, after a halfway planned break from blogging. Christmas throws a delightful wrench in all of our plans, doesn’t it? I hope your Christmas and New Years were delightful and relaxing.
We have swung back around to the beginning of the year. A whole year stretches out before us, as yet blank and unlived. It feels like an infinite amount of time with an infinite amount of possibility. I make goals and plans for all of the things I could do and want to do in what seems like an endless space, only to be at the end of the year wondering where all the time has gone.
It is time for New Years Resolutions.
Last year I had two that were related to books. The first was to read the nonfiction books languishing on my shelf, the other was to read one book at a time.
As to the first, I successfully completed it! I read all of the books I set out to read. My shelf no longer has a row of unread books frowning down upon me and silently cursing my procrastinating self. I had decided to read one of those books a month, which was a very manageable way to meet that goal. I could read said books as slow or as fast as I liked, and then be done until next month. I think I ended up reading the books from smallest to largest, the largest being read in December. Which, along with the help of Christmas break, worked out very well.
The last was to read one, or two, books at a time. I started the year with very high hopes of how this goal would make me a more thoughtful reader, how I would feel less overwhelmed, and how I would get through books quicker because I was no longer bouncing between books. I think my goal lasted a few days. I quickly ended up reading three or four books at a time, and it stayed that way for most of the year. Needless to say, I did not complete this goal. It is hard to change old habits, as I am sure you know.
I did so abominably at this goal it is in fact my resolution for this year as well. No, no, I am not giving up, just doubling my efforts to keep myself from staring at a sea of bookmarks and wondering how I will ever finish them all.
My other book goal for the year is to annotate another book. I annotated ‘The Great Gatsby’ last year and very much enjoyed the process. I felt that I learned more about writing that way than any class I have ever taken. The book I have in mind is ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’, which has the bonus of being one of my favorite books of all time.
There you go, two relatively simple New Years Resolutions. We will see how I do this year.
Did you make any resolutions?
Shaina Merrick
The Beauty of a Story 