How’s Your New Year’s Resolution Holding Up?

Guest Opinion

By Karen Mulvahill | Jan. 17, 2026

New Year’s resolutions are broken so quickly that Jan. 9 has been dubbed Quitters’ Day and Jan. 17 Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day. No wonder, since most of our resolutions involve denying ourselves things that give us pleasure, such as eating, drinking, and lying on the sofa.

In the post-holiday-season gray days of January, all I want to do is curl up under a blanket, sleep, and eat. A pleasant accompaniment to my hibernation is a book. I propose supplanting one of your already shattered resolutions with a new one: Read more books. (When I refer to “reading” a book, I am including printed books, e-books, and audio books.)

Far from being a promise of self-denial, reading is a promise of self-enrichment. As such, it renders your couch-time guilt-free.

According to the latest data from the National Endowment for the Arts, less than half of American adults read even a single book a year (other than for work or school). And the fiction-reading rate fell to its lowest in history, with only 38 percent of American adults reading one fiction book. (I just fell off my couch!)

Let me start with fiction, my favorite genre. The American Psychiatric Association reports, “Our ability to infer and understand others’ thoughts and feelings, known as theory of mind (ToM), has important consequences across the life span, supporting empathy, pro-social behavior, and coordination in groups.”

Studies have shown that fiction readers have a better-developed theory of mind. By putting ourselves in the shoes of a variety of characters in books, we have greater understanding and empathy for people who may be different than we are. Could the decline in reading contribute to the current climate of misunderstanding and even hatred for others?

For a more self-centered view of the benefits of reading, there’s this: reading might actually help you live longer. Some studies have shown reduced mortality rates for readers. Perhaps because readers have learned more survival skills. Or their greater empathy has reduced the number of enemies who want to kill them.

Reading can be a cure for loneliness. The writer William Nicholson wrote, “We read to know we’re not alone.” Many of us can gain comfort from knowing that others have experienced the same difficulties as we have. And it’s inspiring to learn how they overcame or came to terms with life’s challenges. Further, one can join a community of readers through book clubs. And you might find yourself invited to more dinner parties as you become a more knowledgeable and interesting guest.

Exposure to books improves our language proficiency, both understanding and communicating. This skill is essential to success in all walks of life. Problem-solving and analytical skills are also sharpened by reading. Consider the famous “locked-room mysteries,” in which someone is murdered, but the crime took place in a room to which no one had access. (See Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue for what’s considered the original story of this type.) Only a patient and determined logic can unravel such a mystery.

It has been said that we learn from history. But what if we don’t read history? Or we read a sound-bite on a social media site and accept it as truth? When reading about historical subjects, one must be certain of the credibility of the writers. Does the writer hold a degree in that particular subject, or have they spent years reporting on it? Do other credible sources recommend this book?

In researching my own historical novel, I read many books about WWII and never found a major discrepancy in the facts reported by historians and journalists who were acknowledged experts in their fields. Read a thousand sound-bites on social media, and you are likely to find just as many different versions of reality.

If you have children, encourage them to read and read aloud to them. The benefits include increased vocabulary, comprehension, emotional growth, creativity, concentration, memory, empathy, critical thinking, and more. Who would knowingly deny their child these advantages?

For non-book-readers, consider a 2026 goal of one book a quarter. At an average book length of 300 pages, that’s less than four pages a day. For those who are already readers, consider increasing the number of books you read or branch out into different genres.

If you’d like a little topical guidance, I suggest putting yourself in the shoes of an immigrant in the novel American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins or the memoir Undocumented by Dan-el Padilla Peralta. In the learning from history category, read Fascism by Madeleine Albright.

For reading to children, or just to yourself, dip into the wonderful story by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince. Prop up your pillows, grab your blanket (and pets), and settle in for the guilt-free pleasure of reading.

Karen Mulvahill is a writer living in northern Michigan. Her new book, The Lost Woman, is now available.