I read a great article yesterday about new year’s resolutions that struck a chord with me. It talked about the Christmas and New Year break can be a time for powerful reflection, on what has passed as well as what is to come, as you step away from the day-to-day routine. But it also said that 1st February is a much better time to start your resolutions if you really want to succeed at them. I was saying similar things when I posted the other day about New Year and how I prefer not to resolve to change things at the start of January – how can I possibly keep to a promise to, for example, eat a perfect diet when there is still Christmas chocolate lying around?
All of which is building up to giving myself an excuse for posting about my 2018 reading challenge when it’s already the second week of January. Ah, but my kids only went back to school on Monday. Anyway, who minds?
So, here it is, my 2018 reading challenge! Care to join me?
Click The 2018 Reading Challenge to download and print your own copy.
At the beginning of each month I will post my choice of book for the month and then share my review at the end of the month. I’d love for you to join in the conversation, so do look out for my posts. I’ve also set up a Facebook page for the challenge, so do join that too.
The first book in the challenge (the theme is a Young Adult novel) will I hope be a nice one to start with – The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy. It’s part science fiction/fantasy, part coming to terms with love and loss.
I have a particular passion for children’s literature, and we know that kids like reading about characters a little older than themselves. So, it shouldn’t surprise us that even younger teenagers are reading books that we might assume are more for 17-18 year olds. So, if you are a parent, knowing what is going on in these books can help you to engage with the culture your young people might be in (or encourage their reading if they have a preference for more digital distractions). And if you are not a parent, you might find this particular genre is not one that you usually pick, and, for me, that is what reading groups are all about.
I look forward to you joining in the conversation.
Julia's books 
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