2022 Reading Plans

January 2022.  Time to sit down in my comfy reading chair with a cup of tea and contemplate my reading goals for the year.  Does it sound too much like work?  Okay, then.  Goal number one: simply enjoy the books.  I'm working on DNFing things that don't serve me well.  

That said, I like to develop some projects around my reading life.  I love to set myself challenges. I may start them or not, and I may finish them or not. But setting intentions for reading lends a sort of structure--or shape--to the type of reading that I want to do, and the effect that I'd like it to have on me.

2021 was a tough year, and I suspect 2022 may be as well. We'll see! How can books be a tool to encourage optimism? How can they teach me things I don't yet know, or want to learn more about? How can they lead me to explore other things that I love to do, like cooking, or crafts (truthfully, I'm not very crafty but I want to be, so there's an idea to play with...)?

So here are some bookish intentions for 2022:

• I'd like to read some 2022 new releases, but will focus on my choices for the "Best of 2021". One of my favourite things to do each December is peruse best of the year lists for books, then choose the ones that appeal to me.  Then I put them all on hold at the library.  I love the library!  The books  become available randomly throughout the year, since they're usually quite popular. It's super fun, because then all year I'm getting books that I forgot I'd put on hold. (I'm also thrifty, so I like to get my books from the library or in a pinch at used books stores or my local indie).  I'm going to throw in some classics, too. Then, I'll try to review them.
• I'd like to read a couple of novel series though I haven't decided which yet. I may choose one that my daughter is reading too, so we can compare our reviews. I like reading books in common with her, because she's a voracious reader and often has great suggestions for me. I may get her to write a guest post here or there.
• I want to read at least one author's complete body of work.   I've chosen Colson Whitehead for the first go at this, then may do others.
• I like to have one very challenging (to me) reading project at a time, and I prefer have company. I've found internet-based resources for this. I'm currently reading Dante's Divine Comedy along with One Hundred Days of Dante, set to finish in March 2022.  
• I'd like to continue to read books by BIPOC authors, and to expand my own learning around anti-racism and implicit bias.
• I've found the last couple of years very challenging, as have many.  Just this week I had the idea to incorporate humourous books into my TBR. I want to find books that make me laugh out loud. (I often tend towards horror, darkness and the heavily depressing in my reading so this will challenge me, probably for the better...).  I hope it works! 
• And for fun, I'd like to see if I can tie in some cooking and baking projects, and maybe some crafts, that are related to books I read.

Alright, I think that's enough 🙂. I'll be posting about my ideas and progress as I go along. Perhaps you can be encouraged or inspired to read new and interesting things too!  Feel free to comment on your own reading projects, or follow along with me throughout the year.