New Year's Resolution

Yes, I know. It's the end of February and New Year's was several weeks ago. And a post about a New Year's resolution on a blog about books doesn't make much sense. Well, in a few minutes it will. Sometime between finishing The Fellowship of the Ring and starting The Two Towers, I made a decision. I decided that from now on, I will read at least one book by J.R.R. Tolkien a year. Notice I said "at least one". I think it's safe to say that I'm likely to read more than one since I adore him so much. But I'm going to make a conscious effort to read at least one of his works. And then today I thought, why not expand that resolution and include other authors?

What follows is a list of authors or time periods that I will read one book of each year. Realistically, this is a serious time commitment that I am making. I have 7 different categories that I've settled upon. That equals at least 7 different novels. And while that may not seem like a lot, these are novels I'm talking about, not children's books. Some of them will take longer to read because of how they are written or how long they are. So what could seem like a small number of novels can quickly stretch over a year.

One (1) J.R.R. Tolkien novel
This is anything from The Lord of the Rings to one of the books in the 12 volume History of Middle-earth series to his translation of Beowulf. There are many novels to choose from by Tolkien, whether they were published in his lifetime or have been published posthumously.

One (1) Robin McKinley novel
McKinley is possibly my favorite author after Tolkien. The Blue Sword is one of my favorite books and both Deerskin and Sunshine could arguably be added to that list. I already reread her books quite often so she clearly belongs on this list.

One (1) Agatha Christie novel
I'm not quite sure what it is about Christie, but I love her books. Sometimes you just need a good mystery and she has so many to choose from. Plus, I find Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple to both be very adorable.

One (1) William Shakespeare play
Yes, this category is technically plays and not novels. However, I am quite fond of a few of his plays and I do want to read the rest. Therefore, I'm putting him on this list regardless of what format he wrote in.

One (1) Jane Austen or Bronte novel
I made this a combined category because I love Austen and I love Charlotte Bronte. However, I haven't read all of Austen's novels nor have I read everything by the Bronte sisters. Did you know there were 3 Bronte sisters and they were all authors? Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre are both Bronte novels. As all four women wrote in a similar style and about similar subjects, I figured they could be in a category together.

One (1) Victorian novel
My favorite time period for literature is Victorian. It was when the novel really became popular and it includes several great authors. Some of the most popular authors include Charles Dickens, William Thackeray, George Eliot, Thomas Hardy, Bram Stoker, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Elizabeth Gaskell. They all have novels I've been meaning to read and just haven't had the time to.

One (1) 20th Century American novel
I prefer English literature over American as a general rule. However, there are several American authors who have novels that I want to read. So this is much more of a specific category than the Victorian one. The authors I intend to read in this category include John Steinbeck, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, and Harper Lee.

So there is my New Year's resolution, although it's really more of a life resolution. But I'm excited for it and it's one of the few resolutions that I will actually keep.

Look, I even have books for all 7 categories!