I used to be an avid reader, easily getting through a book a week. Harry Potter, Children of the Red King, Percy Jackson, Series of Unfortunate Events, the backlog of Dan Brown books - I'd read them all.
However, that all started to decline at the start of my degree. Between discovering Breaking Bad and pretending to study my course material, reading for pleasure completely dropped off the radar. I purchased a Kindle in the belief I would read more, but it turned out to be a fallacy.
Video games such as Fallout 4 and Skyrim then consumed days of my life during my Masters, and books were once again pushed to the side. The Kindle, carried around with me everywhere, still ends up gathering dust; taken out only to charge and then put back, unused.
I am determined to change this, and there is no better time to start that change than Read a New Book Month.
I, along with the rest of the reporters here at Voice, have committed to reading a new book this month, and writing a review of what we thought. Depending on the success of this, we might start to make this a new monthly thing. It could perfectly kick off the new year.
We invite you to join us on this month of new discovery. If you have an ever growing backlog of books you haven't yet had the impetus to start, now will be the time to get on it. Why not post a review of your book after you've finished it - use the tag 'newbook'?
So what will you be reading? A new release? A classic you've never had time for? Something you've been recommended, or a book you were purchased and never gave the time of day? Whatever it is, drop us a comment to let us know, and I look forward to reading your review!
Photo: Sarah Sammis
I personally have never read George Orwell's 1984, much to my shame, so will be using this as an excuse to finally rectify that.