Happy New Year! I hope everyone’s 2020 reading is getting off to a good start. My first read of the year is Big Sky by Kate Atkinson, which I’m enjoying so far. What’s yours?
When I posted my ‘favourite books of 2019’ list a few days ago, I mentioned that although I had read a lot of good books in 2019, there were very few that I can honestly say I loved. I’m not entirely sure why that is, but I think one of the reasons is that, particularly in the final months of the year, I was concentrating mainly on new releases and getting through my backlog of NetGalley review copies, and reading fewer of the older books that usually turn out to be my favourites. I want 2020 to be a more enjoyable reading year so, without being too specific in terms of targets and numbers, I have put together a short list of resolutions:
* Read more of the books that are already on my own shelves, some of which have been waiting for years for the ‘right time to read them’ to arrive.
* Re-read some old favourites – and don’t feel guilty for taking the time to do so.
* Make more progress with my Classics Club list and my personal projects such as Reading the Walter Scott Prize, both of which have been the source of some great discoveries in the past.
* Find a better balance between trying new authors and reading books by authors I already know and love.
* Continue with some of the series and trilogies I started years ago and inexplicably abandoned after one or two books, despite loving those one or two books!
* Be more ruthless about giving up on books that I’m not enjoying, rather than persevering to the end.
I’m hoping that by trying to follow these resolutions throughout 2020 I can make every book I pick up a potential book of the year!
Do you have any reading resolutions or plans for 2020?
She Reads Novels 
Great reading resolutions! They would suit me perfectly, too:)
I hope we both enjoy our reading in 2020!
No, don’t feel guilty for re-reading old favorites! For me, it’s one of the great pleasures of reading, to revisit those friends and find they still have something new to tell me.
I wish you every success in your quest to find more books you truly love. Some good ideas here, I should follow those as well.
Thank you! I’ve always loved revisiting my favourite books, but do very little of it these days. I’m determined I’m going to find time for more re-reads in 2020.
Other than the ones on my blog – I plan to spend a bit more time on my hobbies this year. I also treated myself to Shakespeare for every day – so will be reading that every day.
I hope you enjoy the Shakespeare! Have a great 2020. 🙂
I finally started reading Outlander last night after years of hearing about it. People who I know
that don’t read nearly as much as I do are asking me if I’ve read it and I want to be able to say yes.
I agree with you about being more ruthless about giving up on books I’m not enjoying, it seems this
past year I persevered through too many.
I have read all of the Outlander books and particularly enjoyed the second and third ones, though I haven’t liked the later books as much. And yes, it can be difficult sometimes to give up on a book you’re not enjoying, so I hope we can both be more ruthless!
This year I’m definitely going to begin Dorothy Dunnett’s Niccolo series. I’ve been meaning to read it for ages, but the chunkiness has put me off, I find her books so difficult to put down.
I loved the Niccolo books (though not as much as Lymond) but starting one of Dunnett’s series is definitely a big commitment as her books are so long and so absorbing!
Great resolution Helen! The part about reading the books that I already own is something I am trying to do this year; move away from mad buying and instead focus on the many unreads lying around home and my Kindle! Wish you a wonderful 2020!
Thank you! I hope we both manage to read some of our own unread books in 2020 and resist the temptation to buy too many more!
Now that I think about it, most of my favorite reads of the last couple of years have either been classics, or books written within the last 30 years or so. There could be a lesson in there somewhere about not feeling guilty about often preferring older books to new releases. I hope you have a better reading year.
Thank you! It’s easy to get tempted by new releases, but I really want to get back to reading more of the classics and older books that I know I enjoy.
Good resolutions! I just want to read more, read more from the stacks and stop getting distracted!!
Getting distracted too easily is a problem for me too! I hope we both enjoy our reading in 2020. 🙂
I think I’m going to try and read more philosophy this year – which is a bit daunting.
Happy 2020.
Happy 2020 to you too. Good luck with the philosophy!
My resolution is not to have any rules/challenges/goals but to read purely for pleasure — though in fact your resolutions would suit me down to the ground!
Reading purely for pleasure sounds like the perfect resolution to have. Enjoy your 2020 reading, Chris!
Thanks, Helen, and it seems I’m not the only one! 🙂
Those are some good reading resolutions. I’m all for rereading favorite books and authors, and definitely on DNF-ing books I’m not loving. Here’s hoping your year is filled with books that you love! Happy 2020. 😀
Thank you, Lark! It sounds as though we have some similar resolutions for this year. Happy 2020 to you too. 🙂
I’m sure you’ll do most, if not all of these in the coming year! All the best!
Thank you! I hope I will. 🙂
Spookily I feel the same, I know I want to read more from my actual bookshelves and not get too bogged down in my Netgalley requests which can get a bit out of hand if I am not careful.
I know in the back of my mind I should be dipping back into more historical fiction so if anything I hope there is more of that on my list this year as I do love it so much.
I’ve discovered some wonderful new books and authors through NetGalley, but it can definitely be tempting to request more books than you really should and then end up neglecting your own shelves. I hope you find some great historical fiction to read this year. 🙂