Just like that, 2025 is upon us and we find ourselves surrounded by resolutions and good intentions for the year ahead. Whilst we are big believers in reading just for the love of it and with no outcomes in mind, it can be useful to set some intentions to help keep us on track toward our goals. Most of us here at Willoughby keep a note of the titles we read each year too, and it is lovely to be able to look back on a year of reading come December.
What reading resolutions have you set for the coming year? Will you be challenging yourself to dense non-fiction tomes? Tackling some classics? Or just nudging yourself gently out of your reading comfort zone with some emerging authors?
Here are the reading resolutions we've set for ourselves for 2025.
Alisha
I really loved challenging myself last year with a book a week. It really helped me to put my phone down and carve out time for me to read. This year, I think I’ll stick with the same challenge, but I’d also love to read more diversely. I want to find books from different parts of the world that I haven’t read about yet and from other people’s perspectives too!
I love learning about new places and cultures and lives in the stories I read, so I’m excited to see where in the world this takes me and what new things I learn!
Marianne
Last year I made the intention to read a book a week and I was three books shy of achieving it. That is, until I confessed to my colleagues that I didn't record the books that I particularly didn't like against my total.
So, for 2025, I will set the intention to read a book a week, and to record all of them whether or not I liked them. I want to continue to challenge myself to read beyond my comfort zone, and I'd like to include a few more non-fiction titles this year as well.
As usual I have a huge backlog of books that are waiting to be read, so I'll begin the year by finishing half-read books and ones that I've had lined up for a while. I cannot promise that I won't buy any more books in the meantime, but as book lovers know, buying books and actually reading them are two different pastimes altogether!
Olivia
2025 is the year of easy-breezy reading for me. I read some amazing books last year, but they often left me with a book hangover, as I was often struggling to find something that could compare. This year however, I intend to be a bit more random, follow my gut and read books that appeal in the moment and not put pressure on myself to pick things up just because I said I would!
I would also love to continue my exploration of translated fiction and world literature, as I read some fantastic ones last year, particularly some corkers translated from Italian. I would love to specifically read books from Africa and the diaspora, too.
I also run my football team's book club, so I'm excited and determined to explore titles or genres that I wouldn't ordinarily gravitate towards, including sci-fi, fantasy and crime. Our first book of the new year is This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone, so the resolution is working already!
Aishah
In 2025, I will be mainly focusing on reading the dozens of unread books on my shelves! I've added quite a few over the last couple of years to my life library and this is the year to finally tackle them! Novels, manga, graphic novels...there's a bit of everything.
It will also be the perfect opportunity to read more physical books, as I often read manga and web comics on my phone and I'm really keen to reduce my screen time before bed. I am hoping to read more intentionally and to set aside specific slots of time, especially at the weekends, so I'm looking forward to discovering some great new books!
Nicola
I was really happy to have picked up a good variety of books in 2024, so this is definitely something I hope to continue with over the coming year. I always enjoy a book where I can take the time to fully immerse myself in the story, so I aim to find books that have interesting, gripping plots, as well as characters to really root for.
As a relative newcomer to a regular reading habit, I am hoping to build on this and read even more in 2025! I really enjoyed discovering Claire Keegan last year and would absolutely love to find another author to enjoy just as much.
This year you'll most likely find me reading in my lovely garden shed, with a coffee and book in hand.