I’ve stopped collecting books for the person I imagine I might become someday. No one can read everything anymore—not with thousands of new books appearing every day and old books never truly disappearing. So I’m changing the way I build my library: only the books I want to read now, or very soon. No more guilt-inducing digital hoards. Just books that are actually mine because I’ve read them.
Writers spend months — sometimes years — alone in a room inventing characters, places, and entire worlds. It can start to feel like writing is a solitary act. But the truth is, a story isn’t finished when the writer types the last sentence. It comes alive when someone reads it. When a reader laughs, gasps, misses their bus stop, or stays up far too late turning pages — that’s when the story truly becomes real.
It’s January, which means the internet is once again filled with people vowing to become Better Versions of Themselves.
More exercise.
Fewer carbs.
A spiritual awakening achieved through color-coded planners.
As an author, I feel it is my civic duty to offer an alternative set of New Year’s resolutions—specifically for readers. These are resolutions you can feel good about and abandon guilt-free by February.
Readers aren’t toddlers in need of hand-holding—they’re highly skilled story-decoders who’ve been reading between the lines since grade school. They don’t need your theme underlined, highlighted, and surrounded by interpretive dance. In fact, the moment you over-explain, you kill the magic. Trust them to catch the subtext, feel the tension, and assemble the clues. Not only will your story be stronger for it—your readers will love you for letting them play along.
