I'm not that big on making resolutions in the New Year, but there's a resolution I have really no excuse in not doing: reading more!
Too often, I find when people make a big announcement about trying to change something big in their lives, they never get to it. They start entire blogs, bring the topic up at parties, and so on. But whether it's losing weight or quitting smoking, they don't follow-through. I'm no different, so I'm a little hesitant to make any announcement unless I'm 100 percent committed.
Right now I'd say I'm 90 percent committed to this one.
One of my resolutions last year was something I hoped I could do, but wasn't totally committed to doing: watching all of the DVDs I had never seen on a flatscreen on on my then-new flatscreen TV. Shortly into trying that, I realized that yes, everything looked bigger and better, but that was expected. So I went ahead with watching movies and TV shows in widescreen all the time and have not looked back.
But with reading, based on how non-busy my daily life is compared to others, I really have no excuses. Almost every week, I get GoodReads updates from blog pals like Jeff and Donna about what all they've read lately, and they have way more things on their plates than I do. Still, they have the time to read entire books in no time. I don't have the excuse of raising a family or working more than 40 hours a week, but I do have the excuse of being a slow reader. But I did read Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking in one sitting and Craig Thompson's Blankets in one sitting last year.
I think my goal can be reached by agreeing to a few terms:
1) Spend more time reading a book than checking Facebook every half hour for updates.
2) If I'm not totally pulled into a book and it's just trudging along, set that one back on the shelf and read another one. I've got plenty to choose from.
3) This is reading for pleasure and not for a grade, right? Then don't be held to the rules and expectations that were bestowed by high school and college teachers about understanding plot, character motivations, symbolism, rising action, and themes that professors have written entire books about . . . all in one reading. This is supposed to be fun, right?
There's the challenge I've set for myself. And it couldn't come at a better time as Stephen King collection just keeps growing and growing.
Too often, I find when people make a big announcement about trying to change something big in their lives, they never get to it. They start entire blogs, bring the topic up at parties, and so on. But whether it's losing weight or quitting smoking, they don't follow-through. I'm no different, so I'm a little hesitant to make any announcement unless I'm 100 percent committed.
Right now I'd say I'm 90 percent committed to this one.
One of my resolutions last year was something I hoped I could do, but wasn't totally committed to doing: watching all of the DVDs I had never seen on a flatscreen on on my then-new flatscreen TV. Shortly into trying that, I realized that yes, everything looked bigger and better, but that was expected. So I went ahead with watching movies and TV shows in widescreen all the time and have not looked back.
But with reading, based on how non-busy my daily life is compared to others, I really have no excuses. Almost every week, I get GoodReads updates from blog pals like Jeff and Donna about what all they've read lately, and they have way more things on their plates than I do. Still, they have the time to read entire books in no time. I don't have the excuse of raising a family or working more than 40 hours a week, but I do have the excuse of being a slow reader. But I did read Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking in one sitting and Craig Thompson's Blankets in one sitting last year.
I think my goal can be reached by agreeing to a few terms:
1) Spend more time reading a book than checking Facebook every half hour for updates.
2) If I'm not totally pulled into a book and it's just trudging along, set that one back on the shelf and read another one. I've got plenty to choose from.
3) This is reading for pleasure and not for a grade, right? Then don't be held to the rules and expectations that were bestowed by high school and college teachers about understanding plot, character motivations, symbolism, rising action, and themes that professors have written entire books about . . . all in one reading. This is supposed to be fun, right?
There's the challenge I've set for myself. And it couldn't come at a better time as Stephen King collection just keeps growing and growing.
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