Let’s Talk Bookish: The First Read of the Year

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Book Nook Bits has hosted since April 2022.

This was actually last week’s topic, but I didn’t have a chance to write it up then so I thought I’d do it now instead.

Let’s Talk Bookish January 10th:
What’s So Special About Your First Read of the Year?

  Prompts: What is/was your first read of 2025? Was it a deliberate selection? Or did you just pick up the nearest book? Do you typically make sure to finish all your current reads by the 31st? Do you mind if some of your reads spill over into the New Year? Are you particular about when you read certain books, or do you read whatever, whenever?

Because I read multiple books at once, I tend to pick up a few at the same time. At the time of writing this, I’m still on my first book(s) for 2025, which are –

Physical: Rise to the Sun
Ebook: Seven Mercies
Audiobook: Garth Marenghi’s Incarcerat

I picked these up as they’re the first ones that grabbed my interest from my reading challenges, and I think it’s a solid group to start the year on, especially as Seven Mercies and Incarcerat are both sequels to books I adored, and Rise to the Sun is by an author I equally adore! So it’s nice to start the year with books I’m very confident I’ll enjoy.

I do try my best to finish my main reads (physical, ebook, Audiobook) by or on 31st December. I love being able to end something before the New Year, and starting afresh after I’ve ‘seen the New Year in’ and gone to bed. In 2024, I finished off the three books within a day or so of each other, which was a really, really nice feeling.

For other books, I don’t mind so much if they cross over into the next year. But definitely when I’m reading books for challenges, they’re often year specific, so need to be read by 31st December or started on/after 1st Jan. The only books I’m particular about tend to be Christmas ones – I’m not against reading them outside the Christmas period, and sometimes I do, but I really do prefer keeping these for the end of October into November and December. They just help get me in the Christmas mood!

I think it’s important to note, too, if I did have a book that ‘spilled over’ from one year to the next, and that was the first book I finished in the New Year, then it would be my first read of the year. I know some people get a bit ‘funny’ about others counting these kind of books, but honestly – when it comes to reading and challenges, which are very personal and don’t impact anyone else, my philosophy is simply for people to do what’s best for them.

So, what about you – how do you feel about your first read of the year? Do you count your first read as whatever you finish first in the new year, or something you only started in the new year?