Book Nerds

31 New Year’s Resolutions for Book Nerds

classicsHere’s what we hope to accomplish this year. Steal some for yourself!

  1. Stop reading while walking. —Emma
  2. Stop making people read pages of books while I stare at them to gauge their reaction. —Melissa
  3. Stop judging people’s character based on the books they read. —Joel
  4. Stop being intimidated that all the character names look so similar to each other and read something by a Russian author. —Chrissie
  5. To rescue every book I loaned out in 2014! I miss them so. —Rebecca
  6. Get a new bookmark. I lose bookmarks like I misplace chapstick tubes. So my bookshelf is filled with tomes stuffed with napkins, photos, bank statements, really flat pens, and anything else that’s on hand at the moment. (Not to mention the dog-eared ones…) It’s undignified, especially when you’re reading something classy. Which reminds me: I should really resolve to start reading classy books. —Nicole
  7. Read a Jane Austen book because—embarrassing!—I have never read one. —Lauren
  8. Organize a book exchange with friends. —Josh
  9. This year, I am finally going to start tracking what books I’ve read. I’ve never tracked them in my life! —Ginni
  10. Get re-obsessed with the classics. And by classics, I mean the centuries-old classics. I haven’t lost myself in The Odyssey or read more than one or two stories from The Arabian Nights in years. With so many shiny new books appearing left and right, who could blame me? —John
  11. Stop giving up on books before the 30-page mark. —Melissa
  12. Write a fan letter to an author —Heidi
  13. Write in my books more. —Lauren
  14. Choose an author I like and try to read all their books I haven’t read. Once done, pick another author and do it again, all year long. —Chrissie
  15. Read John Scalzi’s Lock In imagining the voice as a man, then go back and read it imagining it as a woman. —Jeff
  16. Read a book with my husband. Bill Bryson’s At Home is a good read-aloud. —Heidi
  17. Stop reading more than three books at once, it’s not fair to any of them. —Melissa
  18. Give myself permission to reread a book if I want to. —Joel
  19. Pick up The Brothers Karamazov again. My father always tried to get me to read the book, or at least the Grand Inquisitor chapter. Winter is a good time to throw yourself into the wilderness of a Russian novel; I feel reasonably confident I’ll make it to the other side this time. —Ester
  20. Reread all Roald Dahl books. —Lauren
  21. Finally read my best friend/boyfriend/girlfriend’s favorite book. —Josh
  22. Just once, I’d like to pay for the book of the person behind me in line at the bookstore. Maybe they’ll pay it forward! —Lauren
  23. Stop spending more time reading about books than actually reading books. —Joel
  24. Try to find one sci-fi book I love. —Lauren
  25. Reread all those books assigned in school and actually enjoy them and pay attention this time. —Jeff
  26. Stop sending them to my grandma. She reads a lot but NEVER ANYTHING I want her to. —Lauren
  27. Read a nonfiction book—literally just one, which would be more than I’ve read in years. —Dahlia
  28. Read the lesser known works of a famous author. —Josh
  29. Get at least one more person to read and love Flashman, the greatest character ever created. —Jeff
  30. I’m finally going to make T-shirts for my book club, Champions Read. —Lauren
  31. Sell all my holiday gifts to have more money for books; alternatively, ask to be paid in B&N gift cards. —Jeff

What are your bookish New Year’s resolutions?