2019 Commitment: READ WIDELY - Why does everyone keep saying that?

​Look, I'm a little late off the ground here, but it's still (sort of) that time of year where everyone makes some decisions about next year, which they then do or don’t follow through with!

And because I am obsessed with books, obviously my commitments have a lot to do with books.... and basically the topic of reading widely.
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​READ WIDELY!!!

So I have heard this said very frequently, with the first and foremost person that comes to mind being the excellent Australian YA author, Jay Kristoff, who said it on his book tours I’ve attended, and also on a podcast interview I listened to..... and it’s sort of just stuck in my mind.
 
But I'll admit that sometimes I find myself thinking.... why? Why should I read widely?

I totally get when people say you need to read everything you can within your genre! 
Of course you do! You need to understand the rules so you know how to break them.
 
But why read widely? Why go out of your way to consume books outside the genre you write in?
 
Well, honestly, I don’t really know. So I googled it. 
I found this website, and I guess it kind of answers it all.

Really it does make sense, to grow your understanding of writing, and improve your writing skills, you should be reading as much different types, styles and genres of writing as you can. Trying new things can only open your mind and make you think in a different way, and hopefully bring something new and fresh to your own work through influence or inspiration.
So there you go!
 

 My 2019 Commitment - To READ WIDELY!!

So therefore, my commitment for 2019, is to read more widely than I have been, and my aim is to read a non-YA book once every two months. Here are just a few of the books I want to try out, that are in genres I might not normally read:
 
 

• The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton - LITERARY FICTION: So this book is massive. And when I say massive I mean prehistoric hairy mammal MAMMOTH MASSIVE. It is super big. But I have been really interested in reading it ever since I first heard of it years ago, mainly because it is historical fiction set in a little West Coast town of New Zealand (NZ being one of my favourite places in the world) and the setting just FASCINATES me. I am not a big literary person though, so it will be very interesting to see what I think. Also.... it is a really big book. It may take me a whole month or more to read.

 

• The Alienist by Caleb Carr – ADULT CRIME FICTION: So yeah I watched the show. And now I have read the book!!!!!! This was my book for JAN/FEB, because the show had a bunch of elements I loved, but didn’t quite fully hit the spot for me and I felt like I wanted more. The book is super dark historical fiction serial killer stuff, and was written in a style I don't normally read. It was actually really really good though and such a fascinating look at the inside of people's minds and what makes them what they are. Basically the age old question, are monsters just born monsters (no!) or are they created through the context of their lives and their experiences (yes!). Very good stuff! Very interesting!

 

• Pestilence by Laura Thalassa - ADULT ROMANCE FICTION: A romance novel! Actually I am quite keen to give this one a read, I have heard good things, and I like the supernatural bent to the series (basically the four horsemen of the apocalypse are destroying the world.... and falling in love with sassy earth people at the same time!). I haven't read much straight romance, but I like the idea of it because I am all about the romance, so I'm interested to give this a go!

 

• The Jingbirok (Imjin War first hand account book originally published in 1647) by Ryu Seong-ryong : TRANSLATED NON-FICTION: So... I am kind of obsessed with Korea. Did I ever mention this yet? Yes, I love it. The history, the culture, the food, the country, and most of all, the television shows! Kdrama is my utter obsession and love. And yes, I write historical fiction set in Korea. One love story adventure, and another crime novel. Both are sort of YA, but maybe with a lot of cross over into adult fiction too maybe. Will they ever see the light of day? Who knows.  Anyway.... long story short.... I have another project in mind and this true account of the Imjin War, a hugely tumultuous, terrible and fascinating period in Korean history, will be very helpful to me. Also I never read non-fiction, so I am interested to give this ago. Oh... and it was originally written in 1647.... so it is kind of old.

 

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So those are the main ones I want to try but there are heaps more too. I am going to read a verse novel as well as a poetry book too. I am also interested in more translated fiction, so we will see if I get onto that. My husband is currently reading a Chinese scifi novel that I have my eye on but we will see. Oh, and also Jane Rawson's 'From the Wreck' novel! It is set where I live and sounds utterly fascinating, so I'd definitely like to read it!

So anyway, there you go. My 2019 commitment to read widely. Hopefully it will help improve my writing skills and get me seeing stories from a different angle! :)

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What about you? 

Do you have any 2019 commitments at all? (don't need to be reading related!)

I'd love to know! :)