Top Ten Tuesday: My Bookish Resolutions

Thanks to the lovely bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish for hosting this weekly event.  This week's topic is Bookish Resolutions.

I am not really a resolution person.  Let's just say that the few times I have made a resolution in January I was back to my pre-New Year's state by February.  Besides, as a teacher it feels like my "new year" is in August, when I go back to school.   But, there are a few things with regard to reading and blogging that I want to do in 2011, so I'll give it the old college try.

1.  Stop requesting so many books on Goodreads: Since discovering Bookswap in May, I've gotten about 60 books.  For a cost of about $4.00 each that sounds like a good thing, right?  Problem is, I already have enough books in my reading room to last me three to four YEARS without buying or borrowing another book.  Seriously, the rush of getting books in my mailbox for so cheap is just too good to pass up.

2.  Read more quality middle-grade and young adult books:  I am almost done with a masters degree in reading, and if I am going to work as a reading specialist as I hope, I need to stay current with what is out there for kids in all age ranges, not just the primary and intermediate grades I teach now.  Besides, my children's and YA blog Second Childhood Reviews is feeling neglected.

3.  Read all of the longer books on my shelf:  Last year I did the 100+ book challenge (here is my post about it), and as a result I avoided some of the longer books on my shelves.  I've already made headway on this goal.  I just finished Stephen King's Under the Dome this weekend, in all of its 1074 page glory.

4.  Get around to some authors I'm ashamed I've never read:  OK, I admit it, I have never read a Jonathan Franzen book, or Phillip Roth, or Dave Eggers, or Ian McEwan, or Salmon Rushdie, or Thomas Pynchon.  Shame, shame on me...I have books from at least three of these authors on my shelves waiting for me to get with the program.  The fact that all of these authors are men are not lost on me so...

5. Read more fiction by men who are not mystery or horror writers:  I'll admit a certain prejudice in my book buying and reading for female authors.  I mean, I read good female authors, like Atwood and Kingsolver and Allende, but nonetheless I should probably get some perspective from the other half of the population.

6.  Blog more about general literary topics:  In reading the many book blogs that I've found, I've come to realize that the ones I enjoy the most are the ones that do more than just review books.  They are the ones that take on interesting literary topics, and talk about reading in general.  I'll have to fit in more time for blogging, but that is doable.  My TV and XBox probably don't need quite so much of my attention.