What to do this weekend: Read a book 📖

Welcome readers. The New Year is a great time to set new goals.

This year, I want to spend less time staring at screens. We want to replace binge-streaming and doom-scrolling with the thrill, insight, and escapism of great literature.

With that in mind, I reached out to local experts for their insights on how to hone their reading comprehension skills.

Below, Houston-connected authors share their reading goals for 2023. We hope these articles have inspired you to set your own reading resolutions!

Keep a running list of recommended, titles you want to read

In 2023, I would like to leave a list of books recommended by people in my notebook. I wish I had more discipline in reading my books because great books are forgotten or not easily found by just browsing online. A friend told me if it was published 10 years before him or 100 years ago. Those are usually the books I enjoy the most.

I plan to check the websites of small publishers that publish translated books, such as Europa, Archipelago, and New Directions. Olgo Tokarczuk’s “Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” was one of the best novels I read last year and I’m excited to read more contemporary Mexican literature. Yuri Herrera’s “Signs Before the End of the World” is one of my favorite recently discovered novels of his, and Fernanda Melchor’s “Hurricane Season” is on my “read” list.

I love reading on the couch before and after dinner, and I hope to clear that time more regularly.

Rene Steinke, author of Friendswood

make time

I always try to read as many books as possible, but life gets in the way. Here are his three tips for reading lots of books. Nothing special, just a document on your computer. But seeing the list grow is amazingly motivating. Second, the list includes books I haven’t finished reading (DNF). Life is too short to read bad books! I have countless audiobooks, and I listen to a lot while running errands or cooking dinner. And three – and most importantly – I only read books that really feel the spark – books that have something in the plot or topic that call out to me and capture my curiosity. The best way to do that is to trust your compass and find a book that resonates with you.

Catherine Center, author of The Bodyguard and upcoming novel Hello Stranger

read what you like

The only quote I can offer is the reading determination to read unapologetically for fun. Reading shouldn’t be difficult if it’s not for school or work. If he’s 50 he should read YA. If you really like tea spills and gossipy biographies, read them. Read what you love, whether it’s romance, mystery, science fiction, or old school science. just enjoy. And my other big rule is if a book doesn’t bring you joy, put it down. There is always another one on the shelf. You won’t enter heaven early because you’ve struggled to read a book that you think you should love because other people love it.

Attika Rock, author of Bluebird, Bluebird and Pleasantville

Book lovers, what books do you recommend? Think about all the books you have ever read. Which is your favorite and why? Whether it’s old or new, fiction or non-fiction, a tough canon classic or a graphic novel or a children’s book, which title leaves a lasting impression. Did you? Share your suggestions with us here. I can include them in future articles.

More for Houston Book Lovers

Houston event

If the books aren’t in your cards this weekend, consider these Houston events.

• Houston Marathon: More than 27,000 runners converge in downtown Houston for the Chevron Houston Marathon and Aramco Houston Half Marathon on Sunday. At We Are Houston 5K on Saturday, he has 6,000 registrants.
• MLK Day Parade: A parade and celebrations will be held on Monday to mark Martin Luther King Jr.’s 93rd birthday. King was only 39 years old when he was assassinated in 1968 while helping sanitation workers go on strike for better wages and workplace safety in Memphis, Tennessee. Houston’s 45th Annual “Original” MLK Day His parade begins at 10am at the intersection of Smith and Lamar streets in downtown Houston. Mayor Sylvester Turner will serve as his grand marshal for the 2023 Parade. See here for the parade route.
• Chinese New Year 2023: Asian Americans in the Houston area celebrate the Year of the Rabbit at the end of this month with colorful decorations, performances and a Lunar New Year to wish them good luck for the coming year. Welcome the Year of the Rabbit with these Houston celebrations.

Ichimi

Some Houston and Texas developments to look forward to.

• Universal Parks & Resorts has announced plans to introduce a new concept for families with young children in Frisco, Texas, about 35 miles from Dallas. Here’s what to expect at a Frisco destination and what people are saying about it.
• The City of Houston will unveil the Aliyev Neighborhood Center and Park on Saturday. This is a new mixed-use facility located just off Bellaire Boulevard and Kirkwood in southwest Houston that serves the recreation center it replaced and also serves as a public library and a seniors center. , and women’s, infant, and children’s clinics. Click here for facility photos.
• An art exhibition and book will be published to mark the 100th anniversary of the Texas State Parks System. For this book, 30 Texas artists were commissioned to create paintings of state parks. An exhibition of the artwork will be held at the Houston Museum of Natural Science in late May.

like what you see?

This is the Things to Do newsletter, a preview of local events curated by the KPRC 2 digital team and delivered to your inbox each week. To subscribe, visit click2houston.com/newsletters.

Thank you for using KPRC 2. — Brianna Zamora Nipper

Briana Zamora-Nipper can be reached at bzamora@kprc.com.