If there’s anything I love as much as I love art it is reading. And then I love talking about books with others! Which is all to say that I thought I’d start a little project this first month of 2022—and I’d like to invite you in on it.

I’m keeping it simple. I’m committing to reading one book a month, and I’ve come up with a list of books for the next six months to start.  

I’d love it if you’d read that book that month too.

Then, at the end of each month I will write a short blog post about the book and maybe we could have a conversation about it in the comments section…and maybe there will be more than two of us!

Or at the very least, we’ll read some good books.

How do I know the books on my list are good? Well, I don’t know for sure, of course, because I haven’t read them. That’s always the risk with books, and I’d be shocked if you or I love every book on any list—that’s how book reading rolls, right? But generally, I either know the authors’ other work or I read book recommendations from reviewers and other readers, so I vouch for the list. It’s a good list.  

With that said, though, I imagine we have to share similar interests in books for this to work out. So let me tell you about myself as a reader. First, I do read my share of nonfiction and there is one nonfiction title on this list, but most of all I love Story, so I mostly read fiction.

I tend to read books that feature complex characters in interesting conflicts—and no matter if the story is a light romp or a deeper exploration of the human condition, it must be well written. But otherwise, I like stories in different forms too—from modern fairy tale to mysteries, rom-coms, fantasy, literary fiction…I’m open, but no matter the form, I do want my stories to be truthful even if i complete fantasy.

As for what you won’t find on my list. I abhor violence and I don’t much like crazy suspense as a plot convention.  Not to say I rule out everything leaning in that direction—realistic violence that isn’t gratuitous but necessary to the story might be okay. But overall, the older I get the less interested I am in heavy, tragic stories. There’s too much of that in the world as it is. I know it exists and it hurts my heart what people go through in this world. But I don’t want to read about it. I read for entertainment—and for enlightenment.

Anyway, I do hope that if you are a reader you will consider reading along with me—and if nothing else, check back at the end of the month to hear what I have to say about the books.

The first book on the list for January: Matt Haig’s The Humans.

About The Humans by Matt Haig

I enjoyed Haig’s The Midnight Library for its inventive plot and readability, and I wanted a book on the lighter side that starts off the year with a little optimism. SoThe Humans seems to fit perfectly.

Amazon reviewers seem to either love it or dislike it and I’m guessing that it won’t be a masterpiece, but it will be a fun read with another inventive plot, this time through the eyes of an alien functioning in Academia. And Haig will have something to say about what it means to be human. I like that.

Praised by The New York Times as a “novelist of great seriousness and talent,” author Matt Haig delivers an unlikely story about human nature and the joy found in the messiness of life on Earth. The Humans is a funny, compulsively readable tale that playfully and movingly explores the ultimate subject—ourselves.—Amazon site