What do you want to accomplish in the New Year? Will reading a book help you reach your goal, keep your resolution, or complete your project? Start the year off right by reading books that support your goals, resolutions, and projects — join the New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge!

Have you selected goals, resolutions, or projects for 2017 yet? What books have you started to help you reach your goals? Record your progress on your blog and use the link list below. Or, report your progress in the comments on this post so that we can all cheer you along.

I finished my first book for the New Year’s Resolution Reading Challenge a couple of days ago, but I haven’t had a chance to write a review of it yet.

The first in a series of books that we’re reading at Hibernator’s Library to understand what is going on in the US.

Resolution 1: Understand what’s going on in my country. I plan to read The Unwinding: An Inner History of the New America, by George Packer with others at The Hibernator’s Library. There’s an introductory post for reading The Unwinding together. The first discussion post will go up on January 23, so I have a little time to get this one started.

Resolution 2: End the disproportionate suspensions of black and brown youth from schools. Along with my in-person book club, I’ll be reading Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Monique W. Morris. I bought this one as an e-book so I can read it on my own schedule. I’ll start it late next week to get it finished in time for our book club meeting.

Resolution 3: Figure out how non-patriarchal, non-hierarchical groups work. I’m reading an e-copy of The Empowerment Manual: A Guide for Collaborative Groups by Starhawk for this one. I finished this a couple of days, review pending. At least one other person in the group I’m most involved in is also reading this book so I’m looking forward to talking about it with her.

Resolution 4: Use pictures to deepen my experiences and improve my communication. I read a whole lot of Blah, Blah, Blah: What to do When Words Don’t Work by Dan Roam yesterday — and even drew some pictures! My pupils were dilated from a trip to the doctor’s office so looking at screens was unpleasant. I took advantage of that to read this book in print and to start to apply the principles for detecting when words are obscuring (or, worse, misdirecting away from) the underlying idea.

I’m feeling good about my progress five days into the new year. How about you?