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Five weeks into the new year, I have so far managed to keep my biggest resolution. I think therefore that it is safe to make it public, fairly confident that I can keep it up.

52 books, 52 weeks. That's the resolution. To read one book a week (when able/interested, alternating fiction and non-fiction) for the entire year. The first five books that I have read this year:

i) Rebecca, by Daphne DuMaurier - A beautifully written novel with amazing descriptions; more engaging than Jane Eyre (it's closest literary comparison) but without the polish. A little abrupt and rough around the edges, but so well done you'll forgive it almost anything. The protagonists name is never mentioned, anywhere in the novel, which I find unique.

ii) The Little Girl Who Was Too Fond of Matches, by Gaetan Soucy - An incredible absurd trip, the childlike descriptions are crude and raw but very real; a very quick read for how quickly it grabs you, and the product of a genius (if somewhat disturbed) mind.

iii) Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell - A blend of psych and science, but never too intricately explained that a layperson can't understand it, Blink is about the decisions we make in what seems to be the blink of an eye, but are actually more complex than we think. I love psychology books because of the insight they give into the human mind, and I find myself applying what I read to my own life, and testing it out with myself as the unrepresentative case study.

iv) Girls in Pants, by Ann Brashares - The third book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, I loved it because I adore the series, and because Ann had the foresight to bring back Eric, and give my favorite character a Happy Ending. I am a fan of Happy Endings.

v) We Are All The Same, by Jim Wooten - Made me cry like I cannot even describe, but of beauty. So so moving, this is one of the most incredible books I have read in the past year, and I recommend it so highly to everyone. The last book I recommended this highly was A Sunday By The Pool in Kigali, by Gil Courtemanche and if you took my advice on that (and were pleased), I ask you to do the same for this book.

The pile awaiting me beside my bed: Chronicles of a Death Foretold (Marquez), A Short History of Progress (Wright), Islam, Challenge of Democracy (Fadl), News of a Kidnapping (Marquez), The Following Story (Nooteboom) and The Sun Also Rises (Hemingway)