Happy New Year! It’s a brand new year. Every year I get excited at the thought of all the books I am going to read in the upcoming year. I know that may sound a little weird. Most people probably dream of all the places they will visit or think of all the fun times they will have this year. Instead, I think about what books I’m going to read.
I’ve always surrounded myself with books. It’s natural for me to always be reading one book and think ahead to the next book I want to read. I separate the different stages of my youth by what I was reading: Dr. Seuss as a preschooler, Trixie Belden as an elementary school student, Anne of Green Gables as a middle school student and so on.
This year, I’m trying something new: reading challenges. This year I’m determined to read more and surf the internet less. I’ve started by picking out the first two books on my New Year’s reading list: All They Need by Sarah Mayberry and Ain’t Misbehaving by Molly Cannon.
Last year at the national RWA conference, I attended a seminar on Emotional Resonance delivered by Tanya Michaels. She named several writers throughout her talk, one of whom was Sarah Mayberry. I downloaded two of Ms. Mayberry’s books on my Kindle following the speech. I read the first last year and loved how Ms. Mayberry molded her characters into realistic people who could live next door. Both the hero and heroine impressed me because they had faults as well as strengths. So I picked out the second book that I had downloaded to be one of my first reads of the year. On the dear reader page, I discovered it was one of the two sequels she had written so I found a copy of the first one because I like to read books in order whenever possible. Tonight I started All I Need, the story of Mel and Flynn. So far it’s very good, and once again, Ms. Mayberry does an excellent job in entwining the reader into the lives of the characters, people you want to get to know and meet in real life.
I’ll let you know if it continues its present form of being a really good read. I especially love that it’s set in Australia, as Ms. Mayberry herself is from Australia. I have a particular fascination with Australia and New Zealand, two very beautiful and scenic countries.
So far, so good. The first book of this year is an enjoyable read. I’m hoping it’s a good sign for this year as well. May your new year be filled with good books and good goals. Happy reading.
What books are you excited about reading this year?