I’m not a big fan of making rules for what or how I read, but after writing about the books I read in 2017, I started to think about what I might do differently in 2018.

Take more time to reflect on books

Sometimes, when I finish I book, I’ll jot down some notes about what I liked about it, or questions I had while (or after) reading it–things I want to remember or go back to think about later. In 2018, I’m going to make this more of a priority. I want to do this for all books I read. It won’t be anything too in depth–just a few notes for when I want to reflect on that book later.

Read more diversely

There are so many books to read and such little time to read them, so I don’t want to force myself to read stuff I just can’t get into. But I do want to be open to genres I’ve avoided, and I want to read more books from other parts of the world and time periods. I read a lot of contemporary North American and British literary fiction–and I’ll continue to–but I want to hear more voices and see other perspectives as well.

Let (some of) the books go

Earlier this year, I donated some of my books to Toronto’s First Post Office’s first used book sale. The money raised went the Town of York Historical Society’s research library. It was easier to give away books when I knew it would provide someone the chance to read them at a discounted price (it was PWYC) while also helping a good cause.

I want to do more of that in 2018. I mean, I can’t imagine emptying my bookshelves completely, and I hope to one day create my dream home library (complete with a comfy reading nook). But, to be honest, I still have at least a few books on my shelves that I doubt I’d miss if i got rid of them. And if I do miss them, i don’t have anything so rare I wouldn’t be able to replace it. (And, seriously, I’ll never complain about making a trip to the bookstore.)

Here’s to lots of great reading in 2018!