I’m not big on New Year’s Resolutions.  I find it a touch difficult to promise that I will consistently do something every single day, 365 times in a row.  Wait . . . 2016 is a leap year so make that 366 times in a row.  But I do set goals for myself for the year.  Sometimes I reach them, sometimes I get close and have to keep working and sometimes I fail completely.  No big surprises there.

This year, among some other personal goals that will remain my private info for now, my middle daughter, Margaret, and I have decided to capitalize on our shared love of all things “book” and take on a unique reading challenge – the 2016 Reading Challenge can be found by clicking on the link (see how “2016 Reading Challenge” is underlined?  Click on that!).  I’ve seen many reading challenges – from the generic “pick the number of books you will read this year” to the slightly insane “read a different book every week in the new year” (who has time for that?!) – but this one is by far the most unique and therefore very appealing!  The list includes everything from “A book that was written at least 100 years before you were born” to “A book from Oprah’s Book Club” and even includes “A book you know will bring you joy.”  There is no stipulation about not reading books you’ve read before – as a matter of fact, you are SUPPOSED to read “A book you haven’t read since high school” – so you are free to revisit old favorites.  But I promise you, it will stretch you into new genres.  It includes poetry, political memoirs, an autobiography, a book by a celebrity, a book by a comedian, sci-fi, romance, classics, bestsellers, books others recommend, a book from the library, a book less than 150 pages, a book at least 600 pages long . . . even a book with a blue cover!  There are 40 books on this list so it’s still a pretty daunting task.  But I’ve started my list and have some fairly short ones on there so I should be okay.  I’m excited to get started.  Won’t you come be a part of the fun?  Click on the link above and print off your list (comes out ready to be cut down into a bookmark!) and see what new favorites you can find!

P.S.  The daughter that is participating in the challenge with me is keeping her own blog about her New Year’s “resolutions” – she’s a pretty fantastic writer so you should check her blog out HERE