This year, resolving to read more

As this is the last time I’m tasked to write a column for the year, it’s time to go into the familiar territory of the question we ask ourselves after every Christmas. What do we resolve to do better in the upcoming year.

I have questions for myself as I’m sure you do. Will this be the year I keep said resolution? Should this resolution be 10 times as important, since we’re starting a new decade as well?

A lot of resolutions go into the trash heap quickly, because it’s a lot easier to say you’ll do something on Dec. 26 than it is to do it on Jan. 17, after everybody’s forgotten and you’re only accountable to yourself.

But there are success stories. I had a friend who kept his resolution to stop drinking. I didn’t think he had any problems with alcohol, but I guess he had his reasons. This year, he’s going to try to eliminate fast food when he’s not traveling.

I thought of things that I could do better. I don’t think drinking is a problem, as a six-pack is more likely to expire in my fridge than it is to be consumed. I’m already at the gym every day. Maybe I could eat better, but there’s that freezer full of food I can’t let go to waste just yet.

So I walked around my residence looking for what I could resolve to do, and decided to tidy up a bit. A few things for the charity donation box, a few things to the trash can and most things back to their rightful spot. The thing I noticed most was that each book I picked up was started, but not finished.

Hey, “Pitch Perfect.” That’s the book about college a capella that drew my interest as a small movie with the up-and-coming Anna Kendrick. Since I first opened this book by Mickey Rapkin, I’ve since seen two additional movies in the series and finished a book by Kendrick (OK, it was an audiobook version). Maybe I can finish that in 2020.

Ah, “Bottom of the 33rd.” This is a book by Dan Berry about the longest baseball game in modern history. Barry chronicles a Pawtucket Red Sox and Rochester Red Wings game that ends 3-2 in 33 innings and profiles the 30 years that have transpired for its participants. I told a Red Sox fan I’d let him borrow the book when I was done, but he moved away in May. Let’s get that finished, too. I can already tell you Publisher David Stevens has read this paragraph and said to himself, “He’s STILL not done with that book?”

There’s my copy of “Got to Give the People What They Want.” This comes from former NBA great and Michigan Fab Five member Jalen Rose documenting his life in college and professional basketball. I left off at Part Four, Rose’s post-NBA career. I got the book at a dollar store, so I’ve gotten 75 cents back on my investment. It’s time to get that last quarter.

Research has shown that it takes six weeks for a new habit to take effect. That means if I dedicate two weeks worth of spare time to reading each, I’ll finish a simple resolution to finish what I start. After that, I’ll attack some books that have remained on the bookshelf.

My next resolution is to be more to the point. I resolve to read more.

Kevin Wilson is editor of the Eastern New Mexico News. He can be contacted at 575-763-3431, ext. 320, or by email:

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