It’s the end of December, and thus: resolution time. Books are more fun than going to the gym, right? I have actually seen people reading books while on the treadmill, but I haven’t figured out how to do it. If you’ve got advice for how to make this work, I’ll gladly take it.

Ordinarily, I just march through the year with the conviction that I will read a bunch of stuff and that some of it will be pretty good. This has been an adequate system, but lately I’ve noticed that I’m reading a bunch of random junk I grab off the library shelves, and that more often than not, I’m left feeling kind of underwhelmed.

So, as with anything else, improvement requires intention. (Much easier to say this about books than about exercise or healthy eating.) I’ve committed to a couple of online book studies, and I’m going to force myself to read a couple of other things I’ve been avoiding.

First up, I’m going to methodically work through Charlotte Mason’s [amazon text=six-volume series&asin=1889209007] on education. This is part of a group discussion over at the Ambleside Online forums, so there will be some accountability to make me actually move through the series.

Also with some folks at AO, I’ll be reading bits and pieces of the [amazon text=Handbook of Nature Study&asin=0801493846]. You’ll be hearing more about this, as I learn more about using nature study as the basis of elementary science instruction. This is a resource originally intended for teachers, and contains some outdated information, but overall it’s a great beginning for people like me who are decidedly not naturalists. We’re starting with the night sky, in January, so I’m excited to get outside after dark and look up!

I’m going to make myself wade through [amazon text=Nourishing Traditions&asin=0967089735], since I’ve only read what other people think it says. I’m not committing to jump whole-heartedly into soaking all my flour and eating a lot of pâté, but there’s probably something worthwhile in here for our family.

I’m also going to wend my way back through [amazon text=Anna Karenina&asin=0143035002]. This (the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation) edition seems to evoke a lot of Big Feelings in people who read it. I felt that way when I first read it, in a decidedly average and outdated translation, so I’m going to read it again. Somehow. Probably slowly. This might take me all of 2014.

Finally, I’ve already mentioned the brilliance that is the Motherhood & Jane Austen Book Club, so I’ll be starting [amazon text=Pride and Prejudice&asin=0141040343] as soon as possible.

Hopefully, I haven’t bitten off more than I can chew. Feel free to tell me that I’m crazy, or an underachiever. You won’t be the first person to do so.

Happy Saturday!