A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION THAT I’VE KEPT -- SO FAR

I never make New Year’s resolutions. I figure I don’t need one more added stress in my life, and whether I make a resolution about it or not, no matter how much I diet and exercise, that muffin top isn’t going away. And let’s face it, isn’t that what 99% of New Year’s resolutions are about -- losing weight?

But why, you may ask, am I talking about New Year’s resolutions in June? Because even though I never make New Year’s resolutions, I did make one last year. I kept it last year, and I’ve repeated the resolution this year. (The trick is to pick something that has nothing to do with losing weight!)

Last year I decided to keep track of all the books I read. So I opened a file on my computer and named it BOOKS READ IN 2009. There are 23 books on that list. My BOOKS READ IN 2010 list is already up to 13. I’m well on my way to breaking last year’s record, and I’m feeling pretty good about that. I know many people read a book a day or at least one a week. I wish I had that much free time. I’m juggling 3 jobs. Carving out time for pleasure reading isn’t easy. So I’m grateful to have the time I do for the reading I’ve done.

I’m a very eclectic reader. So far this year I’ve read books as diverse as Pride and Prejudice, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mistress of the Art of Death, and The Spellmans Strike Again. I’ve also read quite a few books by my fellow Inkspotters. Right now I’m reading Winging It, a memoir about a family and their pet parrot.

As diverse as my reading has been, I gravitate toward books with happy endings. I’m convinced as a society and a country, we need happy endings now more than ever. With people all around us losing their homes, their jobs, and their retirement nest eggs, plus an environmental disaster and two wars that show no signs of ending any time soon, we need an escape from reality. And what’s more of an escape from reality than books with happy endings? Who needs books filled with angst and despair when we get more than enough of that by watching the news?

So what about you? What kinds of books are you reading lately?