A New Years Resolution

I admit it - I'm one of those people. Those people, who buy books faster than they read them. They have entire bookshelves full of books that are only half read, or (gasp!) not read at all. It's been a point of shame for me (when I bother to think about it), but I'm done with this condition. Starting on January 1, 2013, I will read every book I have before purchasing or borrowing any other books, barring exceptions which I will detail below. This will probably take more than a year, but hopefully I'll be able to put a sizable dent in my library before the year is out. This blog will be about chronicling this journey. I will write a review/reflection on each book as I finish them.

I will start with the books I have borrowed in the order I have borrowed them. I borrowed White Noise by Don DeLillo from my friend Ashley around five or six years ago, and damn it, I'm gonna read it and them promptly give it back to her. After that is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, which I borrowed from my brother (I suspect without his knowledge) around four years ago. Then On Being A Christian and Theology for the Third Millennium, both by Hans Küng, which I borrowed from my Dad shortly after I borrowed Owen Meany. After that is The Adventure of the Ectoplasmic Man by Daniel Stashower, borrowed from my friend Wade about two years ago. Then The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell, borrowed from my friend Ryan also about two years ago. Finally, On a Pale Horse by Piers Anthony, borrowed from my friend Beth shortly after The Last Kingdom.

After I have finally worked my way through these books, I will begin working on all the books I own in alphabetical order by author. Not just those I haven't read, but also rereading those I have.

And now the exceptions I mentioned to the "no buying or borrowing anything new" rule:

1. If I decide that I desire a better edition of a book I already own. For example, I want to replace my current Sci-fi Book Club edition of Lord of the Rings with that really nice 50th anniversary edition that came out a few years ago. I will do so once I work my way through the alphabet to Tolkien.

2. If I own a part of a series and decide I want to continue that series, I will allow myself to purchase the rest of the series. For example, I own a box set of the first four Song of Ice and Fire books. If I get super into it, I'll let myself pick up and read A Dance with Dragons before moving on.

Some things are being left out for sure. Reference books and text books and the like. Some things will be left for the end, such as the Bible and the complete works of William Shakespeare. Those will be challenges unto themselves and may wind up meriting their own blogs. Once I have worked my way through all of my books, this blog will be finished. However, if I find I enjoy it, I may start a new blog. But that is at least a year down the road.

And so I will now go empty my bookshelves, putting my books away into boxes (in reverse alphabetical order) only to find their way back onto my shelves after I have "earned" them. This should be an interesting year (or two).