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Franzen Comes Alive

Book Beginnings: A New Year of Reading

January 1, 2016 ·

cover of springtime by michelle de KretserIt’s time to wipe the book slate clean and reset the count! That’s right – it’s New Year’s Day. Or, The Day Everyone Posts This Song.

Welcome to my new blog! My one resolution in 2016 is to post content to it two-three times a week. What better day to launch a blog than the start of a new year???

I have settled on my first read of 2016: Springtime by Michelle de Kretser. It’s published by Catapult, a fabulous indie press that had a stellar start in 2015 with Cries For Help, Various by Padgett Powell and Mrs. Engels by Gavin McCrea (one of my 100 Damn Good Books of 2015).

Catapult has an amazing line-up for 2016 already, including Margaret the First by Danielle Dutton, which I loved, and Springtime, which claims to be a ghost story. I’m excited, because I LOVE ghost stories!

On top of it being the first day of the year, it’s also the first day of the Read Harder Challenge, which is a fun way to find great reads. And if you’re looking to block off a little reading time soon, registration for the 24 in 48 Readathon is open.

I’m ready for another fabulous year of reading! I hope you’re all in your jammies enjoying a good book today, and that you have the most wonderful reading year ever.

Keep your books out and your blood in!

Filed Under: Things & StuffTagged: books, catapult, indie press, read harder challenge, reading

Comments

  1. Jenny says

    January 1, 2016 at 3:13 pm

    Happy new year (of reading!) I’m always thinking I should post more often to my blog but I’m always worried it will be redundant to my reviews in GoodReads. An ongoing balance.

    My first read of 2016 is Dear Thief by Samantha Harvey. It was unknown to me until it was listed on the Tournament of Books long list and I decided it sounded interesting enough to try. Good so far!

    • Liberty Hardy says

      January 1, 2016 at 3:19 pm

      Oooh, yes, very good!

  2. Melissa W says

    January 1, 2016 at 3:17 pm

    Yay new blog!! ๐Ÿ™‚

    • Liberty Hardy says

      January 1, 2016 at 3:19 pm

      Thanks, kittenhips.

  3. Patricia says

    January 1, 2016 at 3:34 pm

    I am starting the year off with Two Across by Jeff Bartsch. I saw it at the library and thought it sounded good ( Spelling Bees and crossword puzzles, misfit youth, coming of age, love?)

  4. Laura says

    January 1, 2016 at 3:56 pm

    Lunar Chronicles series is going to kick off my year of reading. If it’s a good day (and if the series lives up to the hype), i’ll binge read straight through the series.

  5. Jenn says

    January 1, 2016 at 4:46 pm

    Yay blog! I have Sorcerer To The Crown lined up for the breaks when I’m not driving today. Hubs and I are taking the kiddos to DC for the first time. My 6 year old’s dearest wish is to see the Library of Congress! These at ether types of wishes we nourish. Happy 2016 reading!

  6. Alison says

    January 1, 2016 at 5:04 pm

    Yay, I’m glad you decided to start this! One of my favorite things last year was discovering the All the Books! podcast ๐Ÿ™‚

    I have to ask, and I know you probably get this question a lot, but hopefully it’s less annoying coming from a fellow bookworm – hoooooooowwww do you manage to read (as it says on your About page) 300+ books a year?? I mean, along with all the work you do for Book Riot plus you have a day job at a bookstore, too, yes? I haven’t been working for a while and so I have nothing whatever taking up my days and yet I still don’t even crack 100 in a year. TELL ME YOUR SECRETS, O LITERARY WIZARD!

    Also, your cats are cute.

    • Liberty Hardy says

      January 1, 2016 at 5:36 pm

      I wish I had a magic answer for you. I spend 95% of my time reading. I left the store back in March, and work all my jobs from home now. All my jobs are reading-related, so that helps!

      Sorry I don’t have a better explanation. But keep reading! Any amount of reading is awesome. ๐Ÿ™‚

      • Alison says

        January 1, 2016 at 6:37 pm

        Ahh, that’s true, though – since you read *for work* that obviously helps…duh ๐Ÿ˜›

        Probably if I didn’t play Animal Crossing, I’d be reading more, haha.

        Anyway, super looking forward to your blogging!

  7. Jessica says

    January 1, 2016 at 6:21 pm

    Can I just take a moment to say, hi! Love your podcast, love your Instagram and I can’t tell you how many books you have recommended to me that I just loved. (Ok, sorry for the geek out.). Starting 2016 with Hammer Head by Nina Maclaughlin. Loving it already

    • Liberty Hardy says

      January 1, 2016 at 6:25 pm

      Thank you, that’s wonderful! Hope I help you find more awesome books in 2016. \m/\m/

  8. Suzze T. says

    January 1, 2016 at 6:25 pm

    Does my first book of the year count if I read 80% of it in 2015? I plan on finishing A Little Life today. I have been reading it slowly so as not to diminish its impact on my soul. I am also doing a book challenge this year. I read about 5 or 6 of them, and picked one that seemed like it could include a lot of the overflow of unread books on my shelves. It ended up being the Extreme Book Nerd Challenge by the Idaho Falls Public Library. Because it is based in Idaho (I live in Michigan) it asks me to read an Idaho author, so I finally will read Gilead, which I have been meaning to read for ages and ages! I am also signed up for 24in48, and look forward to it! I think I made it through 5 books last time.

    • Suzze T. says

      January 1, 2016 at 6:27 pm

      Hmmm, is the blog clock set ahead by 5 hours? Are we in the future?

  9. anmiryam says

    January 1, 2016 at 8:55 pm

    I’m going to start the new year with Antonia Hodgson’s Devil in the Marshalsea so I can move onto her upcoming The last Confession of Thomas Hawkins. Then….too many choices, though I’ve also got a copy of Margaret the First at the ready. Loved Mrs. Engels and the folks at Catapult.

  10. Kari G says

    January 2, 2016 at 1:43 am

    Hey Liberty! I follow your All the Books! podcast and hurrah, now a blog as well. ๐Ÿ™‚ I’m starting the year with Eye of the Crow by Shane Peacock, something I chose in my ‘blind date with a book’ from my local library. Interesting to think what SH must have been like as a boy. Keep up the lovely work, and thanks for the recommendation to the Read Harder challenge, too!

  11. Madeline says

    January 2, 2016 at 2:24 am

    Thank you for enabling book addicts everywhere! My first read this year is Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I adored Fangirl, so this is a real treat.

  12. Lea says

    January 2, 2016 at 3:00 am

    Awesome! Starting out the year with my book club’s December pick – Eighty Day by Matthew Goodman

  13. Shannon @ River City Reading says

    January 2, 2016 at 4:26 pm

    Bloggggggg!!!
    Hi. I’m reading Han Kang’s The Vegetarian, which is perfectly creepy in that “WHAT IS HAPPENING?” way and Hamilton because how else would I start the year than picking up a giant biography?

    • Liberty Hardy says

      January 2, 2016 at 4:29 pm

      The Vegetarian is SO great. Also, I like to imagine Ron Chernow is just kicking back at home, making it rain. ๐Ÿ˜€

  14. Erika says

    January 4, 2016 at 4:02 pm

    Yay! Happy you are doing a blog! Love listening to you on the All the Books podcast and following your instagram! Thanks for so many awesome recommendations! I am starting the new year with Vengeance Road because of your review on the podcast! It’s sooo good…and dat cover! Happy reading as you always say! ๐Ÿ™‚

  15. Charlotte says

    January 4, 2016 at 9:48 pm

    THIS IS VERY EXCITING

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