New Year, New Books

After getting a Kindle for Christmas and the start of my four month countdown for me to finish all the physical books I already own, I have decided to set some reading goals for this upcoming year. Growing up I was never the kid coming home with books to read if they weren’t assigned for class. I always wanted to be the type to read but I never thought I had the time for it and I saw it as boring so it never happened. But then when my undergrad was coming to a close, I found reading was a good way to relax. Soon I was buying books every time I went thrifting, I just couldn’t let those prices pass me. Over the summer I spent a good amount of time visiting my brother in the hospital- I honestly don’t know how I passed time before in waiting rooms. Now I just try to spend my time enjoying the books instead of rushing through them- something I do quite often. And being the young girl that didn’t understand reading for pleasure and froze whenever I was called to read a paragraph in class is proud to say that I have read 28 BOOKS since May (that’s around 3.5 books a month)!

I know that in four months my life will completely change and I won’t have all the free time I have now to read. But I still hope to work on these goals in the next few years:

1. Read at least two books a month

After seeing the rate I am currently reading this one doesn’t seem too hard to obtain, but there are times where it takes me a whole month to read one book where some only take me a day or two. My main purpose of this is to keep it up- make time to just sit down and enjoy a book.

2. Not race to the finish line

This is a big problem I run into, I get so excited to finish books and start new ones that I sometimes even find myself skimming paragraphs. But this year I don’t want to do that, I don’t want to stress over it taking me a month to finish a 400 page book.

3. Stop mid-book if I’m not feeling it

This has been happening a lot and it’s discouraging. For example I read the Millennium Series aka The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson for the whole month of November. When I started the next book after I was so disinterested and even though it was a smaller book it took me the same amount of time as the whole series took me. There were times where I was honestly forcing myself to read. This year I’m going to be okay with not being interested in a book and putting it down- maybe I will read it and actually enjoy it in the future.

4. Take a walk on the wild side

I have read a good variety of books, but it’s no secret that my favorite types are thriller and young loveee. I don’t really dabble in non-fiction, but that’s going to change. I’m going to try to achieve this goal by picking events or people that interest me, like Catherine de’Medici and Mary Stuart (obviously I’ve watched Reign on Netflix). I’ve got the comedic nonfiction down with the help of Chelsea Handler and Mindy Kaling.

5. Pass them on

Because of my thrifting addiction I have a TON of books. I have a dream of owning a house with a library that I can fill with all of my favorite books. Problem is there is no way that is gonna happen soon and I am running out of room for all these books. Cheesy me wants to donate them too after writing my name, year, and maybe a short comment. I always love finding little clues about what kind of person the previous reader was and how long it has been since they read it. I’ve found receipts from the 90s- they always bring me back and make me question what I was doing that year.

6. Work on Rory’s book list

Counting all the books I’ve ever read including school I have read 25 out of the 339 books mentioned in Gilmore Girls. I own 12 that I haven’t read yet and I am currently working on 2, Wicked and Life of Pie. I would honestly be happy if I get to half of this list. Some of the books that I need to get/read on this list are: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Eloise, Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas, and Girl, Interrupted. There are obviously a lot more but it would take me forever to list them. Go to Rory's Booklist to find out how many books you’ve checked off her list.

7. Read the Classics

I’ve read some for school but there are still a ton of literacy works that have changed the world. Some of the books I would like to read include Jane Eyre, Little Women, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Metamorphosis, Brave New World, The Color Purple, and Invisible Man.

8. Get in touch with my Spiritual side

I want to try reading more about the history behind religion and peoples own path through their spirituality. I’m not sure if this is directly a way to find peace with my spirituality or just keep an open mind. One book that I would definitely recommend is Eat, Pray, Love, this was a book that really opened my eyes and a story I really related to. Some books I’m planning to pick up: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (duh, love her), and Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White: Thoughts on Religion, Morality, and Politics by Adam Hamilton.

9. Reading in Spanish

I am hoping that living in Peru will really help me out with this one. I’ve always wanted to read a novel in Spanish but always has a little bit of fear holding me back. I’m hoping actually living and being surrounded by the language that this fear will just fade and I can start a book in Spanish. I’m not quite sure if I want to start with a book that was originally in Spanish or test the waters with a Spanish edition of Harry Potter. We will just have to wait and see.

#books #bookclub #chelseahandler #mindykaling