New Year's resolutions are, I guess, a secular version of Lent, though without Easter to look forward to. I've never given much attention to this observance, but I like Lent, and I like new beginnings, so coming up with a few resolutions might be fun.
To those who know what a bookworm I am, resolving to read more books in 2010 will appear about as useful and as difficult as resolving to eat more chocolate or drink more tea. However, despite being an unemployed "empty nester," I've discovered to my shock that I'm now reading fewer books than ever before. I listen to audio books in the car as I run errands; I read blogs, articles, and news stories online; I skim magazines. I read books in five-minute gulps as I can throughout the day—on visits to the "reading room," while eating, while falling asleep at night. But I hardly ever read, i.e. concentrate on a single book for an extended period of time, which is the only way to absorb a book of any substance. I write much more than I used to, and I spend a whole lot of time researching, but to my shock it will apparently take a deliberate determination to once again be able to call myself a reader.
Adopting the management maxim, "What gets measured gets done," and stealing my sister-in-law's idea, I'm creating a page on which to document the books I read this year—see "Books Read" under Links/Personal, in the panel to the right. If I also write about them, I'll include a link to the review as well. And maybe a rating, if I'm feeling ambitious.
