I don’t remember if I made reading a resolution, but frankly? I don’t have to. I read.

My goal on Goodreads.com is to read 75 books this year. That’s ambitious, but far from impossible. Especially since I’ve already read six books already:

1. Wicked Autumn– G.M. Malliet
Cozy as cozy mysteries get, except that the amateur protagonist, a couple of chapters in, turns out not to be amateur. Solid mystery, cute characters.

2. Revenge of the Spellmans– Lisa Lutz
I’m an all-out fan of these books. They’re fast, funny, and I really like the way the protagonist has evolved. I have one more before I have to wait for the new book to hit the shelves.

3. The Fiddler on the Subway– Gene Weingarten
This is the best book I’ve read in a long time. The book is a collection of long-form narrative journalism pieces written for the Washington Post; two of the pieces earned the writer Pulitzers. Two Pulitzers. And rightly so. The title piece is a bit of stunt journalism, where the WP set up a famous violinist as a busker in the NYC subways to see how people reacted to him. They didn’t. But the best pieces are the ones about parents who’ve made the most careless errors of their lives, costing them their children, and about a far-flung community losing the fight for its own survival. There’s also one about non-voters, about one non-voter in particular, that ends up being a really humbling image of middle America. If you like to read non-fiction at all—or if you want to write it—you need to read this book. It’s a textbook.

4. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?– Mindy Kaling
I’m afraid this book suffers from the comparison the author can’t help but make herself. Tina Fey’s book is better. This is still enjoyable, but perhaps lighter and less purposeful.

5. Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife– Mary Roach
And this book suffers from comparison to Mary Roach’s other books, in my opinion. I liked it a lot, but I liked Stiff better. I want to read her newest book, which means I enjoy her style (she’s snarky), but maybe it’s the subject I didn’t quite warm to.

6. The End of the Wasp Season– Denise Mina
Really well-done and engaging Scottish suspense novel. About 100 pages in, I realized it was the second in a series, not the first. Ouch. I soldiered on, and am glad for it. I’ll definitely check out her other titles.