June is almost upon us and it’s time to evaluate how far we’ve come in the reading goals we set in January. No matter what the outcome is, it’s a great idea to introduce some fresh goals and resolutions related to reading for the second half of the year, because that will give you a newfound rigour to keep reading great literature. Here is a list of ideas for potential bookish resolutions you may want to have for the second half of 2022.
Bookish Resolutions For The Second Half of The Year 2022:
Have at least one 24-hours Readathon
Readathons, or reading marathons, involve reading a bunch of books on the same day. In the 24 hours readathon, you essentially read as much as you can within the stipulated time frame of one day. So this can be a day you devote entirely to reading, keeping everything else at bay. If you’re someone who makes a lot of excuses to get out of reading, or doesn’t get enough time, doing this on a weekend can be a great way to get back into reading.
Read a book from every state in your country
While devouring the literature from around the world, very often, one’s own country gets forgotten. So whether you’re from the US, UK, India, Venezuela, Africa or anywhere else in the world, resolve to read more indigenous literature. Ideally, this could be literature in translation. But even if you don’t want to do that, you can read literature written in English from various parts, regions, states and cities of your country.
Re-read a favourite book
Very often, when we read a book and love it, we think we’ll read it at a later date and then totally forget about it. In the frenzy to read more and explore more literature, we forget the evergreen pieces of literary wonder that have touched us. A great reading goal for the second half of the year is to re-read a book particularly close to your heart. You’ll be surprised at the amount you learn and gain from a book the second time around.
Participate in a book club that reads books from an unexplored genre
Reading alone is insightful, yes, but reading together is fun! For a change, you can join a book club, a reading community, a buddy reading session or even a library this time around. If you don’t want to do this in person, social media websites like discord and Instagram are always available. Plus, you could choose a genre you have never explored before, maybe magical realism or the like. You’re sure to have a gala time, plus a change of reading scene.
Pick a book with a character of the same name as you
Do you know what makes a book all the more exciting? A character having the same name as you. So, to begin the second half of 2022 on a high, maybe you could read a book that features a namesake. I guarantee you will like the book more than if the character did not share your name. You can also do this with the name of a loved one because this will make you feel good every time you pick the book up.
Read a book from a genre you’ve always hated
Genre shaming is real. Whether you look down upon romance books for being cheesy, classics for being pretentious or fantasy for being unrealistic, you’re preventing yourself from having a chance at a potentially wonderful book. If you’ve noticed yourself doing that a lot, perhaps it might be nice to challenge yourself to read a book with great book reviews in the genre. You could also ask for recommendations from people who like the genre.
Finish reading a book longer than 500 pages
This time around, you could try challenging yourself not with the number of books but the number of pages. From Don Quixote to Game of Thrones, and from War and Peace to the Ibis trilogy, every genre has its gigantic beasts. If it’s been a while since you’ve stuck with a book for days and weeks because it refuses to get over, this might be a good resolution. After all, the longer you read a book, the more time you think of it, and the greater impact it has.
Read an intimidating classic
Reading classics is hard. That 1000 page War and Peace book that your uncle gifted? Probably not the best comfort read. But it is these books that are informative and profound – they’re classics for a reason! Maybe your resolution could be to pick up a book you know you will love but can’t gather the courage to. Perhaps Anna Karenina, Hard Times, David Copperfield? Or even Pride and Prejudice or Little Women?
Finally, pick up that one book you’ve always had but never read
Come on. Everyone has one book like that. A book that has been on your shelf since god knows when but for some reason you’ve always put reading it off. Or that one book that always makes it to your potential TBR for the month but never makes it into the actual one. Give that book a chance – chances are, it’s been a part of your bookish destiny for so long that it has a definite, life-altering purpose. Or it could suck. But hey, at least you will know!
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