When it comes to making New Year’s resolutions, I fluctuate each year. Back in the day I used to write down a long list, but in recent years it’s been a much less formal affair, aside from “stretch more,” which I swear has been a recurring yet somehow unattainable goal for the last seven years.
I mentioned in my Reading is Healing post earlier in the year that a goal for 2018 was to up the number of books I read to two per month, or 24 in a year. As we’re now just over half way through the year (seriously, where has it gone, and why did a single school year feel like eons when we were children?) I wanted to check in.
Most of my reads are books checked out from the library and while I’d love to photograph a tower of them, that’s just not feasible without incurring a hefty late fee, so a list will have to do instead. I use Instagram to track what I’m reading and, in the loosest sense, offer reviews, so if you want to know my thoughts on each book, just follow the links below.
January
‘Moranifesto’ by Caitlin Moran [mini review]
‘Lincoln In The Bardo’ by George Saunders [mini review]
February
‘Color: A Natural History of the Palette’ by Victoria Finlay [mini review]
‘The Power’ by Naomi Alderman [mini review]
‘Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine’ by Gail Honeyman [mini review]
March
‘The Mothers’ by Brit Bennet [mini review]
‘The Perfect Nanny’ by Leila Slimani [mini review]
‘Women Who Tri’ by Alicia DiFabio [mini review]
April
‘Little Fires Everywhere’ by Celeste Ng [mini review]
‘The Cows’ by Dawn O’Porter [mini review]
May
‘Everything I Never Told You’ by Celeste Ng [mini review]
‘Sing, Unburied, Sing’ by Jesmyn Ward [mini review]
June
‘Feel Free’ by Zadie Smith [mini review]
‘Fashion Curating: Critical Practice in the Museum and Beyond’ edited by Annamari Vanska & Hazel Clark [mini review]
‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge [mini review]
‘A Darker Shade of Magic’ by V.E. Schwab [mini review]
Busiest month: June
Total so far: 16/24. I’m comfortably ahead of my goal and wondering if I should try for three books a month (36 in total) but that might be a little ambitious. I’d rather feel joy about my reading habits than beat myself up over self-determined numbers.
Favourite book to-date: ‘Little Fires Everywhere’ because it was my introduction to Celeste Ng’s writing, an author I now feel I am hooked on for life. As far as non-fiction goes, there were some corkers but I actually think ‘Women Who Tri’ had the most lasting impact, as I read it when I needed it the most – just before my first triathlon.
Least favourite book to-date: ‘Lincoln In The Bardo’ was written in quite a challenging way, so personally I didn’t feel as connected to it as I did with some other titles on this list.
As usual, my TBR list is longer than I will ever be able to finish, but I’m always looking to add to it, so let me know what you’re reading at the moment, on here or via Instagram.