The reading list that works
3 great reads
The reading list that works is the one that gets you excited to read.
I periodically realize that my To Be Read list isn’t doing its job when it gets too cluttered with books I’m not excited about. I have one specific question that helps me know what books should stay and which should go.
“Do I have a plan to read this?”
I’ve found that this question is the dividing line between keeping a book on my current “want to read” fiction list and sliding it over to my “maybe I’ll read this someday” fiction list (or deleting it from my list(s) altogether).
For me, a “yes, I have a plan to read this” means one of four things:
I have that title on hold with my library, so in a very concrete sense, I plan to read it soon.
It’s physically on my shelf to read in the near future.
It’s a book on my list for a specific month’s reading theme.
It’s a title in a genre I return to often – for example, I have a lot of women’s fiction on my TBR list that I may or may not get to in the near future, because it’s a genre I read often, one where I want to have plenty of options at the ready.
Speaking of books to put on your list: Here are three great reads that show up in s2 of Reading Like an Adult. (Check out the new season for more ideas on structuring your reading life in a way that works for you.)
The Switch by Beth O’Leary — The Switch alternates perspectives between a grandmother and a granddaughter who decide to switch places for a couple of months, with one heading out to the countryside and the other living it up in London. It’s cozy yet thoughtful, with hilarious adventures and great character development. I especially loved the character of Eileen. HIGHLY recommended for reading as an audiobook.
My Reading Life: A Book Journal by Anne Bogel — I’ve never kept a book journal before, but I’m already calling 2022 my “Reading Journal Year.” One of my reading goals is to slow down and give myself more time and space to reflect, and I’m excited to see how recording my favorite moments in my journal expands and deepens my reading life.
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery — I’m hoping that the “slowing down” goal will also mean giving myself time to reread childhood favorites. Written by the same author who wrote Anne of Green Gables, the Emily trilogy was an early inspiration to me as a writer, and I fondly remember reading the first book over and over, longing to create characters as real as Montgomery’s.