I don’t usually make New Year’s Resolution – I prefer to make them all year round, just to keep things interesting. But happenstance was that I made a resolution, it was in early January and thus, I decided it would be my NYR. It’s a bit of an odd one. I decided that I was going to make it my goal to stay out of the library until I have finished reading all the books I have borrowed (and returned them to their rightful owner… two I admit I have had since 2008), swapped or bought this year.
This may not sound like something that requires a resolution, but I tell you I have an insatiable weakness for library books. I’ll get a notion of a book I want in my head, I’ll look it up on the catalog and put it on hold. They call me to tell me it’s ready and I “dash” in to pick it up. Thirty minutes later, I am checking out with a good dozen other books. I don’t know what happens to me in those thirty minutes but I become overcome with something akin to binge-reading. Because they have a due date, they take precedence over the books that are sitting on my shelf, neglected and humble. So this year, I pledge to finish all my borrowed, swapped and bought books before I set foot in Reynolda Manor Library again. You heard it here first. I'm 2 months in, and making good progress.
Here’s the breakdown:
Borrowed, To Read:
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (just finished)
- Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (just finished)
- Alice Waters and Chez Panisse by Thomas McNamee
- Food Matters by Mark Bittman
- Fat Like Us by Jean Renfro Anspaugh
- Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge
- Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
Swapped, To Read:
- Get Out of the Boat by John Ortberg (currently reading)
- Mindless Eating by Brian Wasnick
- Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
- A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
Bought, To Read:
- The Master Key System by Charles Haanel
- The Writer’s Home Companion by Joan Bolker
- The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Already Read Once, but Want to Read Again:
- Master your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels
- End of Overeating by David Kessler
And then…. THEN…. my reward. Here are the books that are accumulating on my library list. Feel free to lend them to me if you have them, I’ll make sure to return them by 2013.
- Real Food by Nina Plank
- Inside A Dog by Alexandra Horowitz
- Better by Atul Gawande
- The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson
- Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
- Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro
- Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson
- The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah
Have you read any of these? What did you think? Are there any I must add to my list?
In the meantime, should you see me approach a library, book store, or your own bookshelf, please feel free to dive in front of me to stop me. I know not what I do.
8 comments:
Are all your books about food? Do you read fun books ever??
I haven't read any on the list but have read some Bill Bryson and am hoping to read Lost Continent as well. His "Short History of Nearly Everything" is in my top 5 all time.
That's a long list though, you better get crackin'!
History of Love is sitting in my 'to read' too. We share this habit in VERY similar ways...I buy tons of books I can't wait to read and then 'school' related books/activities get in the way. Do you care if I steal/borrow this resolution and join you?? Bring a few next month for VACAY.
oh meggie, you have amazing taste in books! i ADORED ADORED ADORED the hunger games and catching fire! i am on pins and needles for mockingjay to come out in august!
also, i would LOVE to read the alice waters book you mention, as well as several other food books. what do you recommend?
Well, crap, Kevin you just put another one on my list!
Jess, check out swaptree.com! It's cut down on my book buying expenses, and helped me clean off my bookshelves of ones I'm not going to re-read. But, I never get any reading down on wino vacays... there's too much TALKING to be done!
Laura, I am really most excited about reading Real Food which is on my to buy list. Another one I am just in love with is "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver. Also anything by Michael Pollan is very good. I'll let you know how the Alice Waters and Mark Bittman ones are once I get to them. And yes, I am in a tizzy waiting for Mockinjay...and the Hunger Games movie!
KT, only 25% of my books are food-related. You shush, you should just be happy I'm such a bibliophile. Isn't that what you want your little students to grow up to be?
Did you like Hunger Games? I just borrowed it and am deciding if I should make the time to read it!
Page, I loved it and it's actually a really fast read. It's shorter than Twilight but just as page-turner-worthy. I read it in about 2 nights, and I read the second one (Catching Fire) in about 5 hours. So, even though you probably have about 2 seconds a day to yourself, you can get through them quickly!
Ok, I just read Katie's comment, but hey--Nina Planck's book IS FUN anyway!!! Stop whatever you're reading and read it Meg!!!
(This from the woman who just bought "I Am Murdered" and "Bring Out Your Dead" while in Philadelphia, and is reading American Lion, about the Jackson presidency...maybe I can't talk.)
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