Getting Ready for a New Year by Andy Scheer

I have a checklist for some tasks I need to accomplish by tomorrow – the year's final day. Some items have financial incentives; others come from a desire to start the new year right:

__ Update spreadsheet of writing income and expenses

__ Order tax preparation software

__ Prepare new project file folders

__ Inquire with publishers about decisions still pending

__ Sort stacks of old paperwork: file or recycle

__ Back up computer documents

__ Scan computer files

One late addition to my list resists categorization. I'd like to prepare a list for books to read next year. Besides again reading though the Bible, I hope to delve into the works of some classic and contemporary writers I've either never read or haven't visited in some time.

Besides the books I received as Christmas presents, there are two Agatha Christie short story collections I want to finish. And having recently read a mystery involving a lost Shakespeare manuscript, I'd like to explore the works of the bard.

Then there's that thriller writer whose book signing I attended this past fall. Before I tackle his latest novel, I want to get through the previous books in his series.

But I know not to schedule my reading too tightly. There are always those great books I've never considered – until I get a “you've got to read this” recommendation from a friend. I'm waiting for what you'll suggest.

New Year Reading Resolutions by Andy Scheer

What books should I read in the new year?

My resolution for the next fifty-two weeks includes not only some authors who are new to me, but also some genres toward which I don't gravitate.

I got the idea from author Bob Hostetler, with a boost from Stephen King.

Until recently I've avoiding anything by King, except for his wonderful craft book, On Writing. With apologies to Seatbelt Suspense author Brandilyn Collins, I'm just not cut out for scarey stories. But late this summer I opened King's 11/22/63 and read it straight through—twice.

Likewise I'd never read any of John Grisham's legal thrillers. But when Sports Illustrated printed an excerpt of a Grisham baseball novel, I knew I had to read Calico Joe. Now I'm thinking of searching my shelves for my mass paperback copy of The Testament.

Years ago at a writers conference Bob Hostetler described how each January he devises an annual reading plan—one that charts a course for fifty to seventy books that span a range of genres, forms, and authors.

I'm not ready to schedule my reading so specifically. I want to be open to serendipitous discoveries. But left to my own desires, I'd stick to familiar paths:

British Navy historicals (e.g.: Patrick O'Brian )

Ancient Rome detective stories (e.g.: Lindsey Davis)

amateur detectives (Aaron Elkins et. al.)

action stories by Clive Cussler and his co-writers

nonfiction travel accounts (e.g.: Paul Thereoux)

World War II histories

I'm not sure I'm ready for a romance novel. And I'll pass on political rants. Otherwise, I'm open to suggestions. If you've recently read something you just can't stop talking about, tell me too.