Books in 2019

  As the new year has appeared to all of us without permission, a lot of people are making and reaffirming their goals they have set for themselves. For some, this is starting a diet, exercising more, or spending less time on their phones. For me, I am reaffirming my goal that I set in April of last year, this goal being to read more.

  Every person can make this goal, and the results can be very self fulfilling. I would never usually recommend anyone without any need for change to go out of their way to create a goal for themselves they feel they do not need, as you should not make a goal for yourself that you will not keep, but reading is a goal that all of us can make that we can do every day.

  If you do feel like this could be a good goal for you to set for yourself, you can always make this goal later in the year, or whenever you so please. Your goals you set should not be dedicated exclusively to the beginning of the year. You should feel alright setting goals for yourself whenever you feel the need for a change. Regardless, if you do choose to start this goal, a great way to start is to make a Goodreads account.

  Goodreads helps you organize the books you want to read in one category while organizing what you have read in a different category. If you and your friends decide that you would like to make this goal together, you can follow each other and help to track each other’s progress. This is not required but could be helpful if you find competition or validation from others helpful.

  The other tip for you if you would like to read more is to find what you like to read. Do not force yourself to read things that you think are boring. Reading can come in different forms and ways, not just with giant clumps of text. A great example of this are comic books. You are still technically reading, but there are a ton of pictures that are really pleasing to the eyes. You could also read books on your phone, there are some cool services you can use to read online, and your eyes will be much more ceptable if you are not used to reading real books. I would also say audiobooks could count if you really felt like reading but you have no motivation to do so.

  A goal of mine, which I feel should be your goal, is reading a lot of books. You do not necessarily have to have the goal to read as many as I would like to, but you should go out of your way to try to read at least something for fun, it can be really enjoyable and helpful.

  If you do not know what you would like to read, I have composed my suggestions below in list form so that they are easy to digest. Just a fair warning though, I read mostly classic lit, so a lot of these books are over 10 years old. Old books can be fun though.

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: This book is incredibly slow but it is incredibly worth reading. Do not attempt if your attention span is short, or try to make tiny goals when reading this book so you can get through it, I promise finishing it is so worth it, it is so complex and well-written.
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt: This book appeals to the senses, even if there is no way to relate to their pretentious classics college aesthetic you can at least appreciate it. Donna Tartt is an incredible writer and one of her novels named The Goldfinch is being released as a movie this year with Ansel Elgort, which should be really quite good. I have not read the Goldfinch but I ordered it online recently and hope to give it a chance as well.
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood: Margaret Atwood is so so talented and this novel literally brought me to tears. It is a bit depressing at times, but Atwood is so good at world building and making you feel. This book is a bit long and I listened to it in audiobook form but it was very good, I have been trying to find a cheap copy of this book to write in.
• Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut: If you do not like reading traditionally, read some Vonnegut. I do not care which one, they are all amazing pieces of work. Vonnegut creates amazing stories with short chapters that keep you stuck in the pages, as well as his witty and dark humor showing through. He was so talented, Kurt Vonnegut is my favorite author of all time. Slaughterhouse is his most popular novel, so you could start there or you could read Mother Night which is my favorite. A cool thing about Kurt Vonnegut is that there is consistency of characters throughout his books, so they all have different characters and stories but he will sneak characters from his other books into his stories. It is a lot of fun, and his books are short and easy to read.
• Paper Girls by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang: These are really really good comic books that are reminiscent of Stranger Things. If you are interested in comic books this is a really cool place to start. If you are looking for other comics to read the High School library has every book in the Scott Pilgrim Vs The World Series by Brian Lee O’Malley which is so incredible. Brian Lee O’Malley also is responsible for a comic series named Snotgirl which is also super.