I had a birthday last month, and I am now 29. In sitcoms, the characters who say they’re 29 are usually really 65, but I promise you, I am only having one 29th year and this is it. Happy birthday to me.

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            As always, I sat down and made a list of New Year’s resolutions, and here are the book-related ones:

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SELL MY WORK TO A REAL PUBLISHER. Well, this is kind of cheating, because I had already had a little book review accepted by the local newspaper. And they printed it two weeks later, and even (the flattery!) spelled my name right. So this resolution is really to do more of that. It’s good practice. Plus it makes me feel famous, and we all need a little of that.

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 READ MORE NONFICTION: I love novels, but I’m getting old and now I want to know facts about things. Bring on the biographies! And the history books! And the Collected Letters of Mark Twain, all eight volumes!

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TRAIN HENRY TO STOP RIPPING UP BOOKS HE DOESN’T LIKE:  And stop chewing on the ones he does like. Although, really, I can understand that, because I have certainly come across books I have loved so much I would like to consume them.

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STOP EATING WHILE READING: I read a magazine article recently that suggested that most people eat while distracted – watching TV, talking on the phone, driving (!), etc. Their point was that if you do that you’re likely to eat more, but an associated hazard is the crumbs and grease spots you’re likely to drip on your books. I think this might be good advice.

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BE MORE GENEROUS WITH BOOKS: Since I have a hard time finding them, I tend to keep my books locked away in a dark closet once I’m done reading them. However, I need to get over that and start swapping, loaning, and giving them away. At the very least, I could use the good karma.

 

 

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