I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “balance is key” at some point in your life. In my experience, this phrase is applied to exercise, work, diets and not much else. However, back in December when I started looking for new books for my 2024 “to be read” list, I realized how unbalanced it was, and that finding balance can also be applied to what I read. 

My TBR list was being overpowered by realistic fiction and creative nonfiction, locking me into my comfort zone. While I love my comfort zone as much as the next person, I also want to explore genres that I rarely read or have never picked up before.

As December ended, I finished reading a book in a genre I often find myself avoiding — fantasy. J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” wasn’t a book I was ever very interested in, but I decided it was worth a try to at least start reading. For years, I’ve subconsciously ruled out reading fantasy, science fiction and nearly anything else lacking a storyline that might take place in reality. I know what I like, so of course I stick to that. I honestly wasn’t expecting to find much appreciation in a book about wizards, goblins and elves, but I was (thankfully) proven wrong.

As someone who always wants to improve her writing, I think it’s vital for me to explore as many genres of books with as many different writing styles as possible, but even if I weren’t looking to other writer’s work for inspiration, I can still find plenty of reasons to read a variety of genres. For example, reading memoirs can inspire me to reflect on my own life and try new things, fantasy books allow me to momentarily escape everyday life and be more imaginative, and dystopian novels can be eye-opening with their relevance relating to the real world.

All that being said, in this new year, one of my resolutions is quite a simple one — to read new books from a variety of genres.

For 2024, I’ve curated a TBR list that I hope will be as successful in encouraging me to expand the variety of my reading as “The Hobbit” was. Here are the top 10 I’m hoping to read in the new year:

1. “A Court of Thorns and Roses” by Sarah J. Maas (fantasy)
2. “Upstream” by Mary Oliver (essay collection)
3. “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” by Ottessa Moshfegh (psychological/literary fiction)
4. “Year of the Monkey” by Patti Smith (memoir)
5. “And Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou (poetry)
6. “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” by Ocean Vuong (realistic fiction)
7. “Kindred” by Octavia E. Butler (science fiction)
8. “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde (classic fiction)
9. “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie (mystery)
10. “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury (dystopian)

As much as I love reading realistic fiction above any other genre, there are times when I feel like I’ve read the same book at least three times, just with a different title. Rather than repeating this pattern, I want to move beyond what I already know I like to read. Not only am I hoping that having a more diverse TBR list will keep the experience of reading more exciting, but I also know that it will help me keep up with my reading next year. 

When I see that list of books, I’m reminded of how beneficial and enjoyable reading is in the moments when I haven’t picked up a book in a few weeks. Having a physical TBR list that allows me to cross off titles with a pen is also just very satisfying, so there’s one more good reason to think about reading more in 2024.

And if you need any recommendations, I’ve got a few — “The Year of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion, “Normal People” by Sally Rooney, “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coehlo, and if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands, “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara.