These past few weeks I have been tidying my bookshelves. I have been ruthless. The result: almost a metre of free shelf. Woo hoo! A whole metre. That’s unheard of in my house. There is one small problem. My To Be Read piles – just the physical books – total more than 3 metres. I measured them. And that’s just the fiction.
I need to do something about that – or buy a bigger house with room for more bookshelves.
So, book resolutions for the coming year start with:
Buy all my new books in electronic format.
There’s plenty of room on my e-reader. Of course, that means I can’t pat them. Or browse them in quite the same way as I can a bookshelf. I suspect this resolution will be broken the first time I walk past a bookshop and go, ‘Oh … look …’
So I’m adding a resolution that every third book I read in 2024 must be in physical format. From my TBR pile. That should make it smaller. Although, there’s that bookshop again….
One resolution I know I’ll keep: Read more books.
That’s a no-brainer really.
Read more new authors.
That’s an easy one too. There are so many wonderful new authors being published.
Re-read an old favourite.
So, so easy. I love a good familiar comfort read. However this year I promise myself that it won’t be Outback Ghost by Rachel Johns, which I seem to read every couple of years because I really like it. My chances of keeping this one? Fifty-fifty.
My book-related resolutions are also about writing. One is the same every year: I will always write the best book I possibly can, because that’s what my wonderful, supportive readers deserve.
This year, I also resolve to write another Wagtail Ridge book. The town and the people in it are such a happy place for me to spend my writing days that this won’t be any hardship at all.
Happy 2024 everyone.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Janet Gover
Janet Gover grew up in outback Australia, surrounded by wide open spaces, horses … and many, many books.
When her cat lets her actually sit in her chair, she writes stories of strong women, rural communities and falling in love. Her novel Little Girl Lost won the Epic Romantic Novel of the Year Award presented by the Romantic Novelists’ Association in the UK, and she has won or been shortlisted for awards in Australia and the USA.
As Juliet Bell, in collaboration with Alison May, she rewrites misunderstood classic fiction, with an emphasis on heroes who are not so heroic.
Her favourite food is tomato. She spends too much time playing silly computer games, and is an enthusiastic, if not always successful, cook.
Janet loves to hear from readers—so do drop her a line.
Don’t miss Janet’s next book The Lawson Legacy
Beloved key characters from The Lawson Sisters return in a standalone rural romance about motherhood, family traditions and having the courage to chart a new future. A new novel from award-winning romance author Janet Gover.
Kayla Lawson believes nothing is good unless it’s perfect. This search for perfection has made her a successful high-end wedding planner. But all that comes crashing down when Kayla discovers she’s pregnant. She retreats to the sanctuary of Willowbrook Stud to consider this imperfect future as a single mother.
Connor Knight has never known perfection. A kid from the wrong side of the tracks and a motorcycle gang member, he’s no stranger to trouble with the law. But he’s trying to leave that past behind. By giving a run-down pub in Scone a new lease on life, he’s hoping to rebuild his own.
At Willowbrook, Kayla is reunited with her childhood best friend. Jen and her two kids have come to stay while her husband is awaiting trial for a crime he didn’t commit. While struggling to decide her future, Kayla is suddenly exposed to what motherhood really looks like.
When she meets Connor there’s instant chemistry between them that can’t be denied. But with her plans in tatters around her, is there any way to make the pieces fit? Or are the obstacles in front of them insurmountable?