Monday Discussion: Reassess Those 2012 Reading Resolutions

We are getting down to the wire here.  There are only 5 weeks left in the year.  And with only 3 non-holiday Mondays after today which are already planned for the annual Monday Discussions wrapping up this year and looking forward to 2013, that means today is the time to look back at those reading resolutions we posted in January 2012.
What, you didn't think I would remember did you?

Here is the link to the Monday Discussion where I laid out my resolutions and many of you shared yours in the comments.

I will post each of my resolutions and let you know how I did.  Text in red is copied from the original post.

1. I did not actually read a romance from cover to cover last year. I speed read a few, but actually read...no, that didn't happen. Even worse, the romances I speed read were by authors I already knew about. Shame on me. But in my defense, I was finishing a book for the first half of the year and then catching up on everything in my life for the second half. So in 2012, I resolve to read the works of at least 2 new (to me) romance authors AND review them here on RA for All. That should be interesting and entertaining.

Okay, here I did great! I took your suggestions and read Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas back in the Spring.  Then, since I made Romance a priority this year, I signed up for a Booklist Romance webinar to learn about the newest trends.  From that class I found out that small town romance was a big new trend.  I am currently reading a book that was mentioned during that webinar-- A Wedding in Apple Grove.  I will have a review up soon. So here I am claiming full success.  I think I will do this every year from now on-- pick a genre and read "new to me" authors. It was very beneficial to me and our patrons.

2. I got very lazy about posting my reviews this year, and as a result, did not review every book I read and spent the entire month of December frantically trying to get the most important books written up. So in 2012, while I may not be able to review every book I read, I will be better about keeping up with the ones I am choosing to post about.

Okay, here I did not as good. I got very behind, but I am doing a better job catching up.  Last year I spent the entire last week of the year writing reviews.  This year, I resolved to catch up earlier and will be fine.  In fact, I should be caught up before December even begins. So here I at least made improvement, but I wouldn't call it a resolution completely kept.

And finally...

3. I will try to delve further into the backlist on a more regular basis this year. I had such a great experience finally getting to The Known World this year that it reminded me of all of the great books I have missed. I am going to resolve to seek out 4-6 titles from more than 5 years ago in 2012.

Here I will also claim victory, although it is a sneaky one.  Looking back I read 5 books that were from 5 years ago or later and am reading a 6th one now for book club (The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman).  Here are the books with links to the reviews:

• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
• Unless by Carol Shields
• Foundation by Isaac Asimov
• Crashing Through by Robert Kurson

So why is it sneaky how I kept this resolution? Well, if you click through you will see that of the 6 books I will finish this year that were published in 2007 or earlier, 5 were read for book club.  The 6th (Foundation) was read for a staff meeting. Now one of the great things about being in a book club is that you read things you normally wouldn't read.  And, as the year went on, I did see that I had enough older books as part of the assigned book club titles that I would not have to do much on my own here in order to make the resolution.  So, it is a technically resolution kept, but a shady victory at best.

Overall, I did okay; not great, but not terrible either.  Now it is your turn.  For today's Monday Discussion, reassess you reading resolutions made back in January and see how you did.  And, if you find you did poorly, there are still 5 weeks to turn it around.

For past Monday Discussions, click here.