Every year, on January 1st (then or shortly after) you will always here someone proclaim: “I should really read more this year.”

It’s often, just like every other New Year’s resolution, a hollow promise. Well-intended and easily achievable (“read more” carries a very loose expectation), but by January 17th, otherwise known as Ditch Your Resolution Day, a cover has oftentimes barely been flicked, let alone a whole novel devoured. 17 days (with five of those being weekends or bank holidays) is ample time to read the smallest of novellas. So why do so many fail?

If we’re being truthful, “read more” is often a lifetime resolution, just rebroadcast at New Year’s. Another lifetime resolution, and one we are all caught up in, is the towering and ever-growing stack of books that you’ve bought or been given but have never touched – give or take the odd chapter. “You’ll get round to them one day,” you say, but where are they now? Probably crammed at the back of your bookcase, sunken to the bottom of a forgotten tote bag, or right there on your bedside table, staring at you mockingly each night as you tuck yourself in.

As previously recognised, “read more” is such a loose resolution, that stressing over the scope of such a challenge is not worth your time, and detrimental to your long-term goal. In the 12 days (at time of writing) of 2024, I’ve read the grand total of zero books – but I have started, and continue to read, three different titles. One is a non-fiction historical account of a nation in conflict, one a memoir of an admired film director, and the other Pegasus’ own Billy in the Wars. Instead, what I choose to quantify my resolution by, is the number of pages read and the consistency at which I spend time reading.

Not every, but most evenings, have been spent with these books for around 20 or 30 minutes. At my rate, I can comfortably conquer 15 pages of text, depending on the density of the description and/or the number of times I’m distracted by my phone – note to anyone with this New Year’s resolution, put your phone far away. By maintaining a daily read of just a few pages, I’m getting used to the practice and find solace in the gentle end it gives to my day. If you make your reading resolution something you’ll actively want to come back to and keep, then you’ll be “reading more” all year long.

So, with Ditch Your Resolution Day fast approaching, have you kept yours?

Was yours to “read more” to begin with or have I just spent this blog post rambling on about my reading habits to an audience of no-one?

Either way, thanks for reading – yes, it really is that easy.

Article written by David, PR & Social Media