{"id":29446,"date":"2013-01-01T11:26:00","date_gmt":"2013-01-01T00:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.booktopia.com.au\/?p=29446"},"modified":"2016-03-01T09:46:23","modified_gmt":"2016-02-29T23:46:23","slug":"booktopias-caroline-baum-reveals-her-new-years-reading-resolutions-for-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/2013\/01\/01\/booktopias-caroline-baum-reveals-her-new-years-reading-resolutions-for-2013\/","title":{"rendered":"Booktopia’s Caroline Baum reveals her New Year’s Reading Resolutions for 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nI like making resolutions. Lots of them, so that if I fail at most of them, I still have a few achievable ones in reserve. It\u2019s part of being an over achieving list-aholic.<\/p>\n

While everyone else probably wants to try and read more books it is the perverse nature of my job that makes me think it might be a good idea for me to try and read fewer books, more discerningly, bingeing less, savouring more. I doubt it will happen, but it\u2019s an aspiration. Here are a few other ideas. Let me know how you go.<\/p>\n

\"\"New Year\u2019s Reading Resolutions<\/b><\/p>\n

I will read one classic (and no that\u2019s not the same as vintage clothing, which is anything that is more than ten years old. I mean something by one of the greats you\u2019ve been avoiding since school or university. For me the challenge will be Proust)<\/p>\n

I will read one poem every month (not the kind you find in a greeting card. If you want to read a poem who writes about real life, try Les Murray, or the American Billy Collins, who writes about trying to give up smoking.)<\/p>\n

I will wake up fifteen minutes earlier so I can read in the mornings, instead of when I am a zombie at night (anyone with kids has a dispensation from this one, as it\u2019s simply impossible, even during holidays).<\/p>\n

I will read the book BEFORE I see the film especially when it comes to The Great Gatsby<\/em> (and, for that matter, Midnight\u2019s Children<\/em>, The Life of Pi<\/em>, Anna Karenina<\/em>)<\/p>\n

I will read one thing outside my comfort zone or read one thing from a genre I have a prejudice against (for me it\u2019s sci-fi-\/fantasy and I just cannot crack it. I also don\u2019t get the whole vampire thing, though I really have tried)\"Click<\/a><\/p>\n

I will not cheat and read the ending before I get to it. (I\u2019d love a psychologist to explain this behaviour)<\/p>\n

I will not spoil other readers’ pleasure by giving away crucial plot details in conversation, no matter how enthusiastic, indignant or intoxicated I am<\/p>\n

I will not be a book snob: I won\u2019t put down someone because I think their taste in books is trashier than mine (guilty as charged, but I am working on it.)<\/p>\n

I will return any book I borrow in perfect condition. If I dropped it in the bath or spilt coffee or wine on it, I will buy a new copy to replace it.<\/p>\n

I will not crack the spines of books unless they belong to me (Sorry, but I\u00a0 like that sound, it\u2019s like the noise of the book surrendering itself)<\/p>\n

I will not show up to reading group without having read the book for three months in a row ( a personal bugbear and a complaint I hear from reading group members all the time)<\/p>\n

I will not give up on a book because I don\u2019t like\/can\u2019t identify with the central character. What kind of a pathetic excuse is that? (Do you have to like Raskolnikov to appreciate Crime and Punishment<\/em>? Unpleasant characters are all too human and so much more interesting in their complexity)<\/p>\n

\"Click<\/p>\n

I will give away books I don\u2019t intend to reread once I have read them to my local library or to a community book drive or charity<\/p>\n

I will reread something I loved as a child \/adolescent so that I can enjoy it all over again and rediscover my original joy at discovering it<\/p>\n

I will leave a book in a public place for someone to find as a surprise ( to find out more about this, go to www.bookcrossing.com)<\/p>\n

If I never read fiction, I will give it a go (yes, I am talking to you guys : I keep hearing men say they don\u2019t read novels.<\/p>\n

If I only read fiction, I\u2019ll try some non-fiction for a change (now this is one one I often hear from women)<\/p>\n

I will read something written by an Australian author (no sense of duty there, but because there\u2019s such great local talent to discover. 2012 saw a bumper crop.)<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t get hung up on technology (really, it does not matter what the delivery system is, whether it\u2019s a tablet or on paper, it\u2019s the writing that counts.)<\/p>\n

What are your Reading Resolutions for 2013?<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I like making resolutions. Lots of them, so that if I fail at most of them, I still have a few achievable ones in reserve. It\u2019s part of being an over achieving list-aholic. While everyone else probably wants to try and read more books it is the perverse nature of my job that makes me think it might be a good idea for me to try and read fewer books, more discerningly, bingeing less, savouring more. I doubt it will happen, but it\u2019s an aspiration. Here are a few other ideas. Let me know how you go. New Year\u2019s Reading Resolutions I will read one classic (and no that\u2019s not the same as vintage clothing, which is anything that is more than ten years old. I mean something by one of the greats you\u2019ve been avoiding since school or university. For me the challenge will be Proust) I will read one poem every month (not the kind you find in a greeting card. If you want to read a poem who writes about real life, try Les Murray, or the American Billy Collins, who writes about trying to give up smoking.) I will wake up fifteen minutes earlier so I…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1161,3922,3924],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29446"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57014,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29446\/revisions\/57014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.booktopia.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}