Kathy Carlton Willis shines the light through her communications firm as writer, publicist, coach, editor, speaker, and more. She’s built a network of industry connections and is affiliated with Advanced Writers and Speakers Association as well CLASSeminars. Her columns and book reviews have appeared online and in print. Kathy is a contributing author for The Reason We Speak, It Happened By Design: A Series of God-Incidence Stories, and Groovy Chicks’ Road Trip to Peace. She is editor and writer for The Christian Pulse devotions. She’s enjoyed stocking empty church library bookshelves to equip readers with tall “to be read” stacks, and is always on the hunt for her next favorite read. Check out her professional blog at http://kcwcomm.blogspot.com and her Website at http://www.kathycarltonwillis.com/. KCWC offers a wide range of services at every price-point, with several new services added just this month, as Kathy’s husband Russ joins the firm to double the luminosity.

Right along with the weight-loss resolutions and the goals to improve your finances, have you made any specific reading objectives for 2011? Let’s discuss ways to make your reading more intentional this year. With a plan in place, you’re likely to read more books by year’s end. More books often equals expanded minds, reduced stress, and increased faith.

Make a List

Make three lists, and keep them up-to-date all year long.

List Number One: Make a list of all the titles and authors you want to read. When you hear of a good book or a friend tells you what they’re reading, add it to the list. You are more likely to read a variety of books if you have this list at the ready for your trips to the bookstore and library. You might even want to subdivide this list into titles and authors, depending on how detailed you are.

List Number Two: Keep track of your “to be read” (TBR) books. We all have a tall stack—many of us have one in every room. We’ll get more of these read if we develop a plan or create accountability. Some people post their TBR lists on their blogs or Facebook pages, or they create public goals or deadlines to motivate them to complete more books. What would drive you to get more books read?

List Number Three: This list is the most obvious. Create a record to document the titles you read, so that by the end of year you can quickly go back through the list and note all the important stats. From this list, you can select your Top 10 for the year. Count the number of books you read and set an even higher goal for the next year to grow your reading experience.

Check It Twice

Plan ahead to add more variety to your lists. We all get stuck in ruts. At year’s end we may look back and realize we stayed in our reading comfort zones, reading familiar authors and themes. This is the year to add some spice to your reading. Stretch yourself. Open up to new authors with new styles. Determine to pick up a certain number of new releases to stay current. But also decide how many of the old standards have eluded you—get them at the library and determine that 2011 is the year you will read the books that were all the buzz in years’ past. Check the best-seller lists to pick up ideas. Some of these titles have been on best-seller lists for years. There’s a reason for that! And other titles gain instant notoriety as soon as the book launches.

Find Out Who’s Naughty and Nice

Have you ever started reading a book and realized it wasn’t for you? Do you keep reading because you feel like you have to? Remind yourself that you aren’t reading for school. You don’t have to finish the assignment. So if the book doesn’t appeal to you, I give you permission to put it down unfinished. Yep, that’s right. Do not finish that book. Why waste time on mediocrity when you could be chapters deep in a new book that might possibly change your world, or at least take you to a new world?

Reading Assignment:

What one idea can you take from today’s article to help you grow as a reader this year? Don’t make this as a casual New Year’s resolution. I suggest you create an intentional goal, and by end of year you will see lots of titles crossed off your TBR list and added to your completed list. Well done!