2018 Resolutions: Book Bucket List

I have always been a big reader. As a kid, my mom would let us “earn” screen time (time in front of the computer, play station, or television) by reading. Every 30 minutes spent reading during the week was redeemable for 30 minutes of screen time on the weekends.

I earned so much screen time during the week, I couldn’t possibly “redeem” it all.

This reading habit has continued into my adult life. Every year, Goodreads encourages us to read more books. In January, you set your reading goal for the year, and Goodreads tracks your progress.

I have participated in this challenge since 2014, and every year I surpass my goal. I am not going easy on myself either! I average more than 3 books a month.

I plan to participate as always this coming year, but I have only given myself the goal of reading 24 books in 2018. Rather than aiming for a greater quantity (especially since I don’t know how a baby will affect my reading habits), I will instead challenge myself to increase the quality of the books I read.

I found myself convicted that I haven’t read a book intentionally meant to educate or grow myself since I was last in school. So this year, instead of only reading books that suit my fancy (not that there’s anything wrong with that…), I am also going to attempt to continue to learn and grow, broaden my horizons, and maybe even discover new perspectives by reading books that fall under specific, intentional categories.

I will begin my challenge with these 10 categories:

1. A book to make me a better parent (Getting to Yum)
2. A book about my faith
3. A book by someone I disagree with politically
4. A book by someone I agree with politically (Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle)
5. A classic book I’ve never read (A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court)
6. A book about writing
7. A book about or by a person I admire
8. A book about an historical event that I know nothing about
9. A book about technology and/or modern culture (Hello, Sunshine)
10. A book I read and loved years ago

I will also challenge myself to review each book for this blog, mostly because my paltry book review section demands it, but also to force myself to write more intelligently and regularly.

(Glitter and Plato cannot be sustained by my political and social rants…and I have to justify paying for this web domain by actually filling it with valuable content…)

Happy reading in 2018!