We’re not sure about you but 2020 was not an easy year for reading on our end. One of the great things about turning the calendar to a new year is to reset or start over.  With that in mind, the Penguin School & Library team are here with our reading resolutions for 2021.

Carmela Iaria

I want to make 2021 the year I bring picture books back into my 8-year-old’s life. She took a break, friends. This year, she tackled chapter books, moved into middle grade, and simply devoured graphic novels. I watched the beautiful, funny, charming picture books on her shelves collect dust. I’m not only going to pull them off her shelves in 2021, I’m going to read them TO HER again. It will be a year of reliving our favorite read-together moments, challenging our memories, and making brand-new ones.

Venessa Carson

I moved this year and left behind my beloved book club. In a COVID-world, our book club meetings turned into the 8 of us sitting 6 feet+ apart in one of our front yards to discuss the book. We brought our own snacks, wine, and discussion questions to keep everything separate – it was different for us but great! Now that I’m miles and miles away from them, there’s no reason we can’t keep our book club going virtually. My goal is to keep up with their reading and even think about forming a new book club where I live now. For me book clubs are a great way to make new friends, discover new writers, and get lost in hours of conversation that always start with the book but end in us just talking about our life and the world.

Trevor Ingerson

Reading was hard in 2020 and I don’t want reading to become something I begin to dread. For 2021, my reading resolution is to move on from books I’m not into at that moment. Noting against those books, sometimes a book just isn’t right at certain times/moods/pandemics. I can always come back to them and hope this will help develop some better reading habits in the new year!

Summer Ogata

My reading resolution is to “just start” books more often. I feel like sometimes my list of books I want to read is often so long that whenever I finish a book, it takes me an embarrassingly long time to decide which book I’m going to read next. And often, instead of spending 45 minutes reading the back of 17 different books, I could have just started one!

Rachel Wease

My resolution is to read more books by Indigenous authors in 2021. Full disclosure – I only read one novel by an Indigenous author in 2020 and that must change. So please help me stay accountable and send any suggestions you have my way!

Judith Huerta

YA has always been my safe space. Whenever I visit a bookstore looking for a new read, I immediately turn to the YA section without bothering to check any other genre. In 2020, I learned that to grow, I need to start pushing myself out of my comfort zone. So for 2021, my goal is to grow as a reader by dipping into other genres besides YA. Whether that’s middle grade, graphic novels, or adult, I’m ready to expand my book list.

Danielle Presley

Now that we’re working from home, I don’t have that set commute time to dedicate to reading in the morning and evening. As a result, I read less than half my usual list of titles in 2020. (but also, we were still in the middle of a pandemic so I’m trying not to be too hard on myself.) Instead of trying to force myself to read in free moments and stressing about it I want to try to get into audio books this year and do more listening while I’m working or doing things around the house in attempt to get me back in the groove of really enjoying a story again.