The beginning of a new year is traditionally a time to look forward and make plans, goals and resolutions. If 2020 taught us anything, however, it’s that we only have so much control. Any number of things from personal to global can interrupt or even derail our plans. It’s tempting to simply throw our hands in the air and decide to let the chips fall where they may. However, I still believe that a certain amount of planning can be a good thing. Just hold those plans lightly.
While I made the decision to skip the traditional goals and resolutions this year, I still created a reading list for 2021 – a syllabus for an intentional life, if you will.
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2021 Reading List
Last year was my first formal syllabus and you can take a look it it here:
Did I complete it? No. Hey, 2020 was a weird year right? But I finished several on it and did manage to read 26 books total during the year.
I have bigger reading goals for the year and I’m hopeful. But you never know…
As I looked over last year’s list I decided that I’ll try to read a few of those I didn’t get to but I’ll let a few go. For the most part I want a fresh start this year.
Here is my reading list for 2021:
Daily Readings…
Each day as part of my morning routine I read a little bit from 2-4 books. This was the part I stuck to last year and I enjoyed starting my day with reading. Here are my choices for this year:
Wishcraft: How to Get What You Really Want by Barbara Sher
I first heard Barbara Sher speak on a public access channel while we were on vacation back in the mid-90s. I was intrigued and some years later ran across her book, Wishcraft. It was and still is available in its entirety online, for free.
This was recommended by a YouTuber I watch and it sounded intriguing. I bought a copy some time ago. I’m going to give it a go. If it doesn’t resonate with me I’ll choose a different book with a spiritual emphasis.
Dorothy Parker – Complete Poems
My plan last year was to read Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. After a couple of months, I was getting a bit tired of ol’ Walt and pulled out my copy of 101 Famous Poems. I read over half of it and then moved on to Dorothy Parker. This year I’d like to finish Parker’s poems but will also read from other poetry books I have.
Classic…
My “big” read of the year will be The Brothers Karamazov. I’ve never read it. In fact, I’ve not read any Dostoevsky. My son read this as a teenager but would like to revisit it this year. We plan to both read it and discuss it as we go.
Home…
Back in the 90s I discovered Alexandra Stoddard and have been a huge fan ever since. She’s been a big influence on my desire to “create a beautiful life”. I have most of her books and this year I plan to revisit a few of them:
Living a Beautiful Life
Creating a Beautiful Home
Gracious Living in a New World
And as many others as I have time for.
Memoir…
I read Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming and it was wonderful. It only seems fitting that I read Barack’s book, too:
Self Improvement…
I’m in a Facebook group that is working through this book together. Ask me in December if it worked – ha!
Humor…
My sole “resolution” this year is to laugh every day. I’ve been watching at least one episode of a British comedy each night (currently – One Foot in the Grave). I’m also going to read at least one humorous book.
In keeping with my love of British humor I plan to read some P.G. Wodehouse. I have a volume with a collection of his books and stories…somewhere. I have a rough idea of which shelf it’s on but since my books are double stacked on our library shelves, it’s not readily visible. I’ll try to remember to update this blog post when I find it.
Other…
I’m making an effort this year to read books I already own but have never read. I have LOTS to choose from. I’m going to try to keep up with posting them on Goodreads. I have also thought about listing my current reads on the sidebar of the blog. Would anyone be interested in me doing that?
I’d love to hear what’s on your reading list for this year. Leave me a comment!
Book List Links For Purchase…
Dorothy Parker – Complete Poems
Gracious Living in a New World
I would love for you to list the books you read on a sidebar of your blog with a thumbs up or thumbs down
That’s a good idea!
Good luck getting to all the books on your reading list this year.
I don’t have one. I have a reading goal of 104 books, but that’s it. There are a couple of books I spacifically need to read for reviews, but beyond that I’m just going to read what I feel like reading. I did have a list for last year, and I’d still like to read the ones I didn’t get to from it, but my focus this year is on self care and enjoying the things I love doing, so I’ve kept my goals to a minimum and not bothered specifying which books I plan to read, only that reading is one of my self care activities.