2023 Reading Resolutions

Last year, I jokingly told one of my friends about my reading ambitions: “I like to start off the year with a bunch of reading goals. Then I’ll spend the rest of the year avoiding those goals.”

While not entirely true, sometimes it feels like that. Each year, I like to challenge myself, but I also like my goals achievable. This year, I’m changing it up a bit. Instead of a certain number of books types, I’m just doing book types. We shall see how many of each I’ll read.

 

Goal Type: 700+ pages

One year, I said I’d read a book 1,000 or more pages, and only made it to 700 pages. Every year since then, I set my goal to 700 and I’ve made it past 1,000. I make no sense.

On my list:

• The Priory of the Orange Tree (still) by Samantha Shannon

 

Goal Type: Published in 2023

New releases! Aside from Brandon Sanderson’s secret projects, I’m not really sure what’s coming out this year…

On my list:

• The Stolen Heir by Holly Black
• The Fairy Bargains of Prospect Hill by Rowenna Miller
• Secret Project #1 by Brandon Sanderson

 

Goal Type: Recommended by a Friend

A lot of times, I seek out the same types of stories, and sometimes they can get tedious. I don’t want to get stuck in a reading rut. At the end of last year, I asked some of my friends for their recommendations, and here are a couple I got!

On my list:

• Emma by Jane Austen, recommended by Sarah
• A Coal Miner’s Bride by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, recommended by Karina
• Cats of the Louvre by Taiyo Matsumoto, recommended by Faith

 

Goal Type: Classics

I enjoyed so many last year without even meaning to! Now that I’m not in school don’t have to read them, reading classics is more enjoyable.

On my list:

• Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

 

Goal: Historical Fiction

Especially middle grade novels. I want to discover more gems to share with my students. I’m sure there will be more than we can read in the classroom, but that’s all right. I’ve already amassed a big list. Here are a few:

• A Thunderous Whisper by Christina Diaz Gonzalez
• Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins
• Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai
• Blue Birds by Caroline Starr Rose
• The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

 

Goal Type: English Translations

Mostly contemporary. I’ll put the classics in the above category. Also, I’m not counting Manga here. If I happen across a good series, I’ll be sure to list it in the notable mentions at the end of the year.

On my list:

• The Beast Warrior by Nahoko Uehashi

 

Goal Type: Poetry

Novels in verse, poetry collections, you name it!

On my list:

• The Selected Poems of Tu Fu
• In the Beautiful Country by Jane Kuo

 

Goal Type: Indie Published

Last year, I happened upon a book convention and got to meet some indie authors. It’s about time I read the books I bought!

On my list:

• Blade of Ash by C.F.E Black
• The Case of the Dragon-Bone Engine by Galadriel Coffeen

 

Goal Type: Books with Movie Adaptations

There’re actually a couple movies I have yet to see because I haven’t read the book yet. Not that I can remember many of them… I want to watch all the Studio Ghibli movies, but I haven’t read A Wizard of Earthsea yet.

On my list:

• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

 

Goal Type: Alphabet Challenge with a Friend

I’ve seen this challenge on Likewise, one of the book apps I use for reading recommendations. I mentioned the challenge to my friend Faith, and we decided to read some together so we can talk about them! We probably won’t get through all 26 letters this year, but it will be a fun start. The following books may change depending on what we decide on together:

• The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
• Destroyer of Light by Jennifer Marie Brissett
• Forestborn by Elayne Audrey Becker

 

10 Total Book Types

Shall I read them all? It remains to be seen…

 

Let’s chat! What kind of books are on your list this year? Do you make reading goals?

Similar posts: 2022 Books in Review, 2022 Reading Resolutions, 7 More of my Go-To Authors

Poem: The To-Be-Read List

Reading and gardening are two of my favorite things. I like the way that books make me feel emotions, but I also enjoy the texture of dirt beneath my bare hands, the smell of recently watered tomato plants, the feel of the noonday sun on my face.

But I don’t get to garden very often because my family moves so much. It’s hard to plant something knowing you’re going to be leaving in a couple months, and the next tenants might just kill it. Or maybe I lived in an apartment, and I was limited to house plants. Either way, I try to make the most of my garden while I have it. I enjoy quiet afternoons where I can sit on the porch and just read a good book surrounded by my potted plants.

Should it be any surprise that when I wrote a poem about reading, plants sprung up in between the lines? Probably not.

The To-Be-Read List

Picking up my next book

is more random than I would

have planned.

Flowers bloom in their own time—

daffodils at the start of spring,

tulips near the middle,

and chrysanthemums signal the end

of the final growing season.

Yet the leaves of a book

spring up

of their own accord—

a snow-filled novel pops up in spring,

collections of summer poems warm me in winter,

and autumn stories mimic the trees outside.

When I plan to read a novel—

hooked by the blurb

or drawn by the cover—

I can never tell if or when it will happen

upon me

whether in the library or at the bookstore or online.

Maybe I cannot find it.

Maybe I cannot stop finding it,

and I forget I wanted it at all.

But when they come,

the flighting books—the annuals—

are here,

then gone.

And the perennials last like dandelions—

no matter how many times

somebody tries to dig them up,

they always come back.

***

Let’s chat! What did you think of the poem? Is your To-Be-Read List random or planned? What is something you might compare your reading habit to?

Similar poems: Silent Words, Dandelion Seeds, and Pile of Words

8 Obscure Books I Thoroughly Enjoyed

I’ve got a thing for obscure books. There are plenty of occasions when I tell a friend about the book I’m reading only to hear, “I’ve never heard of that one.” In some ways, it’s nice. Without the influence of my friends or of the masses, I can form my own opinions on the books. But in other ways, it’s annoying. If I really enjoy the book, I may feel like it’s not getting the attention it deserves. And how am I supposed to talk to anybody about it if nobody has read it?

The following books are organized by the authors’ last names.

Reading Flatland with a three-dimensional bookmark.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott

I heard about this book as a kid, and the concepts fascinated me. But it took years before I discovered it again and was finally able to add it to my To Be Read (TBR) List. During a creative writing class in college, a local author came to discuss her own book (see below), and she talked about how she found this book to be an inspiration. Part discussion on mathematics and the dimensions, part social critique, Flatland is narrative that explores the life of a square, from the second dimension (i.e. Flatland), and what becomes of him when he discovers the presence of the other dimensions.

The Shifter by Chris T. Acadian

When Acadian came to talk to my creative writing class about her book, I became really excited. Not just about Flatland but also out The Shifter, a story about people who can slip into the fourth dimension. The writing style and the plot is quite unique, unlike any story I’ve read yet, and the concepts are fascinating! I’m still eagerly awaiting the release of the next book…

Season of Wonder (Remnants, book 1) by Lisa T. Bergren

I first discovered Bergren’s works when I first picked up Waterfall, and it didn’t take long for me to get sucked into the story. Unlike the River of Time series, however, Season of Wonder and the accompanying Remnants books focus less on an epic, whirlwind romance and more on what the spiritual realm might look like in a fantasy/dystopian society. This trilogy has to be my favorite of Bergren’s works.

The Naming (Books of Pellinor, book 1) by Alison Croggon

While I do have a couple friends who have read this book, I feel like the series as a whole is not talked about nearly enough. Croggon develops a unique world and magic system with a Tolkien-esque complexity, and I definitely wouldn’t mind doing more research to find out where her influence comes from. Once a fantasy quadrilogy, now a series of five with the release of the latest prequel, The Bone Queen, the Books of Pellinor contain beautiful scenery and epic adventures. I would recommend starting with The Naming (UK, The Gift).   

Methuselah’s Gift by Mary Elizabeth Edgren

When asked which book has influenced me most as a writer, I cannot give an accurate response. After all, every book has made me who I am as a reader and a writer, and that’s constantly changing considering how much I read. But if I were to pick one book from my childhood that first showed me the joys of reading and writing, it would be Methuselah’s Gift. A charming tale about talking racoons and their adjustment to life on the other side of the creek after a forest fire, this book was among the first that drew me to writing.

In the Palace of Rygia (The Alliance, book 1) by L. Nicodemus Lyons

I received the first book in this series in exchange for an honest review and knew I was hooked. So my mom bought me the rest of the series, and I read all seven in two weeks, part of which was during midterms. Not only are the books captivating, but they are full of good themes, a smidge of humor, and lots of research. I also had the privilege to meet the author, who has become one of my good writing friends.

Where the Woods Grow Wild by Nathan Philbrick

Another indie book with wonderful writing style, Philbrick creates a world with a familiar setting but with a unique twist. Full of well-developed characters, witty remarks, and seemingly impossible struggles, Where the Woods Grow Wild is a must read for fans of fantasy. It’s also a great story in that it addresses what it’s like to live with a physical disability and to know somebody with one.

By Darkness Hid (Blood of Kings, book 1) by Jill Williamson

If there is any series that I most associate with bookworm cramps from being immobile all day, it’s this one. Even though each book is nearly 500 pages long, I read the entire trilogy in four days. Part of it was because I had nothing else to do, and part of it was because the characters and their quest was so captivating, I couldn’t put the books down. This is perhaps one of the first books I’ve read on my e-reader, and considering I still prefer physical books, it speaks to the trilogy’s quality.

***

Similar posts: Treasured Books and Book Reviews: The Shifter, In the Palace of Rygia, and Season of Wonder 

Let’s chat! Have you read any of the above books? Have any been added to your TBR List yet? What are some obscure books you enjoyed? 

Living Under a Rock

Typically, the first year I live anywhere is a blur. It’s that unsettling year of confusion trying to find out how a place works and figuring out how to make a routine and friendships. The first and only year I lived in El Paso, Texas is an exception. I remember lots of things—the mountains and the view of Mexico from my bedroom window, the day we had to put our dog down, the afternoons I spent riding and grooming my horse Connie, and starting community college.

I remember when I was signing up for my classes in community college and my advisor sat me down, glanced at my high school records, and asked if I didn’t want to major in law instead of English. Essentially, why would anybody want to waste talent on studying a language they already speak? I was flattered at the remark on my previous grades, but I stuck with English anyway and breezed my way through my freshman year.

As the spring semester rolled around, my dad received orders to move to Germany. And I was determined that I would go along with my family. There was only one problem—my education. How would I manage to major in English in a non-English speaking country? After much consideration, and several changes of plans, I ended up attending Evangel University that fall.

And many more things changed.

I still majored in English but I also took up a minor in writing and joined Epiphany, the university’s literary magazine staff. But it didn’t take me long to learn that university life was much harder than community college. I panicked when I received my first D on an essay, and not for lack of trying. Having been used to getting all As, such a grade was an unheard of disaster. And while I adjusted to a new level of work, I never quite got used to the reading lists—there were so many readings lists for so many literature classes.

Sitting in British Literature one day, staring at the assigned texts for our course, I realized that I recognized most of the titles but had only ever read maybe one or two of them. And I was an English major! Looking at my friend and classmate, Faith, I said, “I feel like I’ve been living under a rock my whole life.”

Wasn’t I supposed to be a bookworm? How was it that twenty books for a college class should make me feel so ignorant? That semester passed, and the next, and the next. Now that I’m in grad school studying English literature, I still don’t think much has changed. Yes, I’ve read countless books in the past four years, but I’ve also learned that there is so much more to learn.

Studying English in my undergraduate gave me some of the basics, and majoring in English literature at a postgraduate level showed me there are even more things to learn, let alone read. I may have taken a class on Shakespeare, but I haven’t read all his plays. I have studied A Tale of Two Cities, The Faerie Queene, and The Great Gatsby, but I have yet to read Great Expectations, The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, and 1984. And my to-be-read (TBR) list is ever growing.

Studying English has given me a mere sampling of the world’s literature. It’s shown me that learning is a continual process and that there’s more to being an English major than being a Grammar Nazi. (Which I’m not by the way. I don’t want hold people up to such standards when I can’t spell half the time.) And it’s like my mom used to say, “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” I don’t have to feel like I’ve lived under a rock my whole life, basking in ignorance just because I had different experiences.

Connie

I may not have read Les Miserables yet, but I’ve seen Paris twice during summer break visiting my family in Germany. I may not have studied Antony and Cleopatra, but I got to see it performed at the Globe Theatre. I may not have read Black Beauty, but Connie had a beauty of her own despite her shy, awkward temperament. 

On the other hand, I’ve visited Israel with Sherlock Holmes in O, Jerusalem when I might never visit in person while turmoil continues. Through reading, I’ve seen fictional worlds such as Narnia, Middle Earth, and Hogwarts. I’ve even visited Mars within the pages of Out of the Silent Planet and A Princess of Mars.

So no, I haven’t lived under a rock my whole life, though sometimes it feels like it. There’s just more places to discover, more books to read, and less to take for granted—even the ordinary days when I’m at home with family and a shelf full of books. 

Have you ever felt like you’ve lived under a rock when considering what you haven’t read? How many books are on your TBR list?

Literary references: Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, Edmund Spencer’s The Faerie Queene, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations, Howard Pyle’s The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, George Orwell’s 1984, Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables, William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty, C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet, and Edgar Rice Burroughs’s A Princess of Mars.