Literary Resolutions

Each year, we make resolutions. Sometimes, we resolve to complete a series of life-changing tasks on the eve of the new year; or we may wait until an awakening event happens that causes us to rethink our paths in life. Whatever the reason for your resolutions, here are a few that relate to books and literature. May these book-related resolutions help you to learn and grow in your experience with literature and writing.

Read more books.
There never seems enough time to read books. With this resolution, make a schedule for reading books, and then STICK TO IT!

Join a book club.
It's always easier to stick to a reading schedule if you know you have a hard deadline. By joining a book club, you'll have a schedule that will keep you on track for finishing your book. You'll also have other readers with whom to discuss the books and ask questions.

Organize your library.
There's nothing worse than searching your house or apartment for a book that you want to read or use for a reference--without success. Do you have an organizational plan for your library, or do you shelve your books wherever they fit? Even if you don't have enough room to fit all of your books on shelves, you can still organize your books by topic or alphabetically by author. Take a look at this software.

Catalog your collection.
Whether your book collection is filled with rare manuscripts or reading copies, you can track the books you own as well as the books you plan to purchase. By creating a list of the titles and locations of your books, you'll have an easier time in finding your books. Take a look at this book organizing software.

Read the tome.
You may have a large (or small) volume that you started reading long ago, but you never finished it. You may not have the time or inspiration, or the book may just seem too difficult. Make a resolution to finish the book. After all, there must have been some reason that you picked it up in the first place. Perhaps a friend recommended it, or you've been meaning to read it for years. Just finish it!

Buy books you know you'll read.
Sometimes it's easy to purchase the "shoulda-coulda" books, those works of literature that you know you really have no interest in, but they are classics you known you SHOULD read. There's nothing wrong with reading classics that are outside of your normal scope of reading. In fact you're stretching yourself. You may even find a new favorite author. However, if you start to notice stacks of such books, a different strategy may be required. Maybe you'll read the books if you join a book club where others are reading and discussing the book. Maybe you'll read the book when you're on vacation and you have time to just soak up the book. But, if those stacks of books are becoming a frustration or a bane, why not resolve to buy only the books you know you'll read. It's not worth the frustration if you know you'll never read them anyway.

Keep track of the books you read.
If you've ever come to the end of a year and sighed in despair at the small number of books you've managed to read that year, this resolution may just help! It's easy to forget the books you've picked up on impulse, or the books you've given away to friends or family members, or the library books you turned in. So, that's why it's important to keep track of what you read. Keep a list of titles on your refrigerator, on your desktop, or on your computer. Update the list whenever you've finished your latest novel, biography, essay collection, or other work of literature. You might also want to keep a reading log, so you can start to have a dialogue with your books: jotting down questions you have, making comments about the plot and characters. A reading log also helps you remember what you've read, so you can tell others what you enjoyed.

Talk about your reading.
If you're not in a literature class, it can be difficult to find someone to talk with about the books you're reading, but you have several options: chatting on the forum, participate in a book club, or call a friend to discuss books. By talking about what you're reading, you may come to a better understanding of the book, its author, background material, or just another person's perspective.

Take a literary tour.

Literary tours can involve visiting the grave of an author, visiting a museum that features a writer's artifacts, or walking through the birthplace home of your favorite author. You don't have to travel around the world to take a literary tour. A famous novelist or poet may have been born in your home town, or in a city near you. By visiting the places where writers have lived and worked, you may make connections in ways you never could have imagined. There's something about seeing where the writer sat to write his/her poems or stories, or walking down a street that was mentioned in a novel. The stories may seem more real to you and the characters come to life. Time may have passed; places may have changed; but something is preserved.

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