We changed the calendar on our refrigerator last night before turning in. For many it seems January 1 is the day for New Year’s Resolutions (and from the viewer response, it appears a number of you are including “read more” among those resolutions!). Personally, I’m not one for resolutions but I thought I might share some thoughts I’ve had about the blog in the coming year.

1. I hope my son and I can do another conversation on our blogs. No guarantees here but we’ll see what comes out of our Tuesday nights at Chubby’s!

2. The question of how new technologies will impact reading, discourse, learning and the world of higher ed is one I hope to continue exploring. I think we are in a new Gutenberg revolution and I’m alternately intrigued and disturbed as I think about how this might affect literacy and thoughtful engagement with the books we read (or even the prevalence of reading).

3. I’m also intrigued by the intersection of reading, which is often a solitary activity, and social media and its potential to create new forms of learning communities, ranging from virtual book groups to online engagement among those sharing a professional interest.

4. I will be reading more books in the area of higher education because of a project I am working on related to my work in campus ministry.  Look for topical posts in this area as well as reviews of individual books, and a cumulative review post at some time in the first part of the year.

5. GoodReads and my shelving choices also make it possible to identify other categories where I’ve read a number of books on the same general theme. I’ll probably figure out a few other cumulative review posts–perhaps on biographies, American history, sports, books on Christianity and culture, mysteries or sci-fi. And I’ll probably save some for future years!

6. The posts “on life” are the least planned part of this whole thing. They arise out of something I’ve read, some personal life experience, or something that is happening in the world that I feel I have something I want to say about it. This is totally unpredictable.

7. I will continue to post writing on reading in general. I assume that many of those who consistently view or follow this blog love reading and are as interested as I am on how books may not only enrich our interior lives but how we might be enabled to live well through the books we read.

8. There will be those reviews! Generally those aren’t the most popular posts and not all the reviews will be of interest to all who follow me. I review a number of books that represent “a thoughtful approach to Christian faith” that reflects the university world I work in and my own passion for a seamless connection between our love for God, for his world, and our closer and more distant “neighbors”. Even if you don’t share my beliefs, I hope you will find some books that touch on interests that are common to us. I’ll be reading other things as well–history, biography, and fiction (some literary, sci-fi, and mystery especially), and a good baseball book here and there and an occasional science work.

9. At some point in the year look for a Teddy Roosevelt marathon! I have a couple volumes of Edmund Morris’s biography of Roosevelt on the stack and received The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin for Christmas. I’ve always loved reading about Roosevelt and love anything I’ve read by Doris Kearns Goodwin so this will be a marathon I look forward to!

I’d love to hear your thoughts on reading this year, and on anything you’d like to see me explore in the blog. I’m still learning about this stuff and those who view and comment are my best teachers!