A New Year, A New Challenge

The New Year is under way and if you are like most of us you have made many resolutions…the question is how many of them will you keep this year?  Are you setting realistic goals or the typical “lose weight/be healthy”  one we all say but then by February have forgotten. While this is a good goal and one we  should all aim for…why not set yourself a goal to stimulate your brain or just set aside some time for yourself?

Might I suggest this year you choose one of the following goals…

1. Set a number of books you would like to read for the year.  Grab a notebook and write down what you read (and your thoughts about it)…keeping track throughout the year.  You may surprise yourself!
2. Pick a new genre or author each month to try.  If you always read romances, try a mystery or something from the Young Adult section (they have become really good in the last few years)
3. Select a few “classics” to read throughout the year.  While sometimes it takes dedication to read and understand some of these, I do recommend challenging yourself to a non-easy read every once in a while  (I know some of you are nodding your head right now…for the others who re-read these types of books yearly…you inspire me!)

I will admit, I do all of the above!  Keeping track of what I read is a habit I got into several years ago when someone mentioned a goal of reading 50 books that year.  I wondered how many I would read (having never thought about it) and have enjoyed over the years seeing which months I appear to have more time for reading than others.  Its also a great way to make suggestions to your friends who are looking for a great read.

Picking a new author or genre is always a good way to branch out.  This is where I would either ask your friends for suggestions, read what is recommended here (grin) or judge a book by its cover…yup that’s right…checking out a book by a catchy title or interesting cover can often lead to a great find.

Finally, I suggest challenging yourself to a classic.  I don’t know about you, but there are many books out there that people rave about that I have never read.  Any book that someone says is good enough to read more than once, piques my curiosity.

Over the years, I find that challenging myself to a new book can be hard work, but often very rewarding.  There have been some really great finds and others that I will not be reading again!  In the end, though, curiosity always wins and my need for something new and exciting gets me to pick up another interesting looking book and diving in!

My personal challenge for this month is Wuthering Heights…

What book/s will you be challenging yourself to this year?