Wanna read more in 2014? Get your best books here

Happy new year! Hope your holidays were swell.

I set out to write a blog about resolutions, but when I went back to last year’s January blog, I realized I haven’t kept ANY of the seven I made last year! No joke, it was an epic resolution fail.

But I was a little nuts to expect I would get one or two– much less all — of those goals achieved in one busy year.

Sleep more?? Never. Write a screenplay and a New York Times essay? Stuff of fiction! Get more facials? Who has the time?

So this year I’ve decided to keep it simple.  No more lofty dreams. I’m going to try to drink a half-gallon of water a day, and read more.

I’ve been toting around one of my boys’ fancy water bottles  that keeps it icy cold,  and I admit drinking more H2O does fill me up. Often I eat because I’m bored or restless, and though I might want food, a drink of water is all I need.

So far so good on the agua. Now for the books.

I read a lot for work and I’m in two book clubs (don’t ask!) so that leaves me little time to read books I choose myself. But I also blame TV and the internet. (Every time I get sucked into reading Facebook crap for 20 minutes, I curse Mark Zuckerberg for providing another distraction I don’t need.)

I have no self-discipline at bedtime and often stay up waaaay too late surfing the web and/or cable channels when I could be enriching my mind with a book. If I’m cozy in bed reading, I’ll fall asleep earlier too so that’s a bonus.

Reading more makes a lot of sense, which is probably why it won’t last past, say,  January 24th. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

I also want to read to my kids more. When they were little, I loved reading time under the covers. But that’s when books were blissfully short and uncomplicated.

Now they’re into chapter books and you have to pay more attention to the characters and plot. You can’t pick up a chapter book after 4-5 days and get right back into the story, without rereading a few pages each time. Plus, my kids go to bed so late now, by the time they settle down to read I’m spent.

But I miss it.

They read plenty on their own, but for Aden, 10, and Eli, 8, I don’t have much time left before they’ll find reading with me annoying and babyish so I can’t squander this time, when they love reading together as much as I do.

We just started a new book by our favorite children’s author, Kate DiCamillo, called Flora and Ulysses. I highly recommend it for kids from ages 6 to 12. Aden, Eli, and I are all drawn in by DiCamillo’s unique storytelling, so we’re off to a good start.

A glance at some “Best Books of 2013” lists got me excited to keep my promise to myself. Last January, I wrote a post about books and devoured a bunch that were on my list. Fiction favorites include The Orphan Master’s Son, Yellow Birds, and the stellar, cheeky Where’d You Go Bernadette?  Pick those up if you haven’t already.

The New York Times put out its list here, including The Goldfinch, which is at the top of my must-reads.  The Huffington Post’s list had some interesting fiction here.  JK Rowling’s novel (under a pseudonym) The Cuckoo’s Calling  and Dave Eggers’, The Circle look like good ones.

And for bookworms who think last year’s best are so 5 minutes ago,  Flavorwire has a list of the most anticipated titles of 2014 right here.

So… reading and drinking water…  seems manageable. Also sounds like things I’d do in prison, but that’s beside the point.

What’s on your resolution list? What books are keeping you up late? Please share in the comments!