You know, maybe I will make New Year’s Resolutions this year

Book-related New Year’s resolutions only. Because we all know how those declarations about losing weight and exercising more go, don’t we? I mean, as if, right? But these I think I can manage:

1. Read more new-to-me authors. Enough that I can pick a top-ten list of new-to-me authors at the end of the year. This should be easy! And fun! BUT! It will also mean that this year I cannot fall in love with one or two authors and read everything they ever wrote. Because from last year, it’s clear that there is NO WAY I can both read through a couple extensive backlists AND read a lot of different new-to-me authors. NO WAY.

2. Read enough debuts that I can pick a top-five-debuts at the end of the year. I am absolutely terrible about debuts. I think I hardly ever read a book the same year it is published. Though I REALLY don’t want to focus on the shiny new debuts at the expense of older books, I would like to do at least a little bit better at reading at least A FEW of the new, shiny titles.

3. Read at least enough older books that I can pick a top-five list of titles that are at least five years old — or older. Right now I am dipping into THE TALE OF GENJI, which is about as “older” as you can get. I don’t like it much, I admit. Genji is way too perfect and spoiled. But I want to read at least half of it.

4. Buy books even when I don’t plan to read them this year. Especially second and third books in series. As you might imagine, I am way more conscious now of the need to support authors than I was before I needed people to buy *my* books.

5. Post. Even when I lose internet access in May (oak leaves block the signal more effectively than you might think), I hereby resolve to post at least every other day, either from work or by taking my laptop with me when I go to town.