Happy New Year, everyone!
Have you ever seen those reading lists “52 Categories of Books to Read this Year”? They are populated with categories like “Read a book that takes place in China” and “Read a book published in the 1800s”, and then the idea is to tick one category off each week of the year. They are fun to look at, but maybe a little too restrictive to follow. And a book a week is an ambitious pace.
However, I do like the idea of adding a little more structure regarding the books I read. My book choices are pretty random right now. I also like the idea of tying book choices to what’s going on on the calendar. So I have developed the following list and I really hope some of you will join me so we can have some good discussions.
January – Read a book published the year of your birth.
Why? It’s the start of a new year, so celebrate that by taking a stroll down memory lane. Wikipedia seems to be a good source of lists of books published by year. For example, here’s my birth year, 1966.
(I will not be reading Valley of the Dolls.)
February – Read a book chosen for you by a loved one
Why? In honor of Valentines Day. You don’t have to have a sweetheart choose it, just someone you love (and who, hopefully, has good taste in books!)
March – Read a book written by an Irish author
Why? Happy St. Patrick’s Day! To help you in your search, here’s one list of Irish authors.
April – Read a book, fiction or nonfiction, that has won the Pulitzer Prize
Why? The latest winners will be announced this month, on April 15.
Link to past fiction winners
Link to past general nonfiction winners
May – Read a science fiction book
Why? Star Wars fans claim May 4 as their day, as in, “May the 4th be with you.” Cute, huh? Let’s recognize that by reading some Sci Fi. This is totally not my genre so I would love some recommendations!
June – Read a book, fiction or nonfiction, about an historic event
Why? This June we celebrate the 100th anniversary of two very historic events – Congress proposed the 19th Amendment (giving women the right to vote in the US) and then sent it to the states to be ratified, and the Treaty of Versailles was signed bringing an end to WWI. If you need some ideas, here are some posts about books that fit the bill:
The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine
All the Light We Cannot See
Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania
The Boys in the Boat
11/22/63
Killing the Rising Sun: How America Vanquished World War II Japan
The Last Days of Night
Beneath a Scarlet Sky
July – Read (or re-read) a novel written by Ernest Hemingway
Why? July 21 is his birthday. I haven’t read one of his works since college so it will be interesting to see if I can appreciate them more now.
August – Read a biography of someone who was born in August
Why? Just because. Here’s a link to a very long list of famous people born in August. A lot of possibilities there!
September – Read a book that was once banned
Why? Banned Book Week is in September. Here’s a link to a good list of banned classics.
October – Read a book with a supernatural or paranormal theme
Why? Happy Halloween!
November – Read a book with a mode of transportation on the cover
Why? Thanksgiving weekend has some of the busiest travel days of the year.
December – Read a book that takes place during the holidays
Why? Some things are self-evident!
Please join me in achieving some very realistic reading goals in 2019. I’m excited about the list! I think it will force me out of my box a little while still providing a lot of flexibility regarding what to read the rest of the month.
What do you think?
Book Thoughts from Bed 
I love this and I look forward to participating. 🙂 Happy New Year!
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So glad you’ll be participating! Happy new year, Karen! Thanks for usually being the first to like my posts! 🙂
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Thank you for your reading ideas. I’ve found some great books via your blog. Now I just have to keep my husband from suggesting Valley of the Dolls in February (he thinks he’s funny). Happy New Year!
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Sounds like a great idea! If you create a list of what you will be reading specifically each month, I will try to join in when possible. Also, knowing what you are planning to read in advance will help me track it down or request it at our library before it is time to get started. Happy New Year!
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Love the concept and will be sharing it with my book group of 20 years. Since 2013 we’ve hit on reading some type of self-help book every January. These have included Drop Dead Healthy, The Happiness Project, and Daring Greatly. This year is 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson.
P.S. Years ago we did read Valley of the Dolls. It was memorable and a fun look into the birth year of many of our members!
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Self help is a great January category and I have heard good things about the Jordan Peterson book. He is a smart man. Let me know how your book club reacts to the list.
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Love challenges as does my largest book club! I will present it to them later this.month! 📚👍💕🍾🎉💕
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Excellent! Let me know how that goes!
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Intriguing! I like a challenge. It will be interesting to see what people pick. I am really worried that my husband will pick Grant for February and it is huge and heavy. Maybe I should ask my daughter instead! Happy New Year, Michelle.
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There is definitely risk in asking a husband. Mine has already mentioned a very dry political book for his choice for me. Should have asked my sister! Happy new year!
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Clever categories – looking forward to reading and hearing about others’ choices. Happy New Year!
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Yes, it will be interesting to see what books people choose. Happy new year, Mary!
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I am looking forward to this, Michelle! I just ordered The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The choices made me feel very old…:)
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I love this way of looking at book choices – thank you for the fun suggestions! I was born in 1956 and it was fascinating to see that some of my favorite science fiction authors published well-known classics that year. I never knew!
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