By Joyce Deming, information services librarian, Golden Library

Okay, let's be honest. How many of us make New Year's resolutions that don't last beyond the first week in January? After hearing Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl speak at a library conference last November, however, I was inspired to adopt her advice as one of my resolutions: Read at least one book a month outside of your comfort zone. After all, how hard can that be? There's no deprivation involved and no fancy gym equipment required, either!

Speaking of Nancy Pearl, if you haven't discovered her books, Book Lust, More Book Lust and Book Crush, go to the library and check them out. Each book contains short descriptions of more than a thousand titles arranged under such intriguing categories as Dewey Deconstructed, Men Channeling Women and Other People's Shoes. You will certainly find plenty of ideas for your own "out of comfort zone" reading.

One thing Nancy and I agree on is our dislike of horror fiction. She said, and I agree, that real life is scary enough. But we're talking outside the comfort zone here, so perhaps I'll start with the master, Stephen King. Nancy recommended Hearts in Atlantis, so I'll give it a try. I did read The Stand years ago because a friend bought the book for me and I felt obligated. Funny thing, once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. As scary as his books are, I have to give King credit for his skill at writing page turners.

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but if it hadn't been for Cliffs Notes, I would have never made it through high school English. So as part of my "out of comfort zone" resolution, I'm going to reread some of those classics that were foisted on me back then. If you'd like to revisit (or read for the first time) some "classics," check out Jane Mallison's Book Smart. Her subtitle, "Your Essential Reading List for Becoming a Literary Genius in 365 Days," may be exaggerated, but she has some great suggestions for books to read and reread. And some of them were even written in the last 50 years!

Another great book to try if you're looking for titles that have withstood the test of time is The Best American Novels of the Twentieth Century Still Readable Today by Eleanor Gehres. Arranged by decade and accompanied by concise, tempting descriptions, you're sure to find a few books to add to your "out of comfort zone" reading list.

If, like me, you'd like to include more poetry as part of your New Year's resolution, a good place to start is Garrison Keillor's books, Good Poemsand Good Poems for Hard Times. After all, if we can't trust Keillor to recommend a good poem, who can we trust? You can also receive a daily poem in your e-mail from Keillor and The Writer's Almanac. Subscribe to this service by going to http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org and clicking on Newsletters in the upper right-hand corner.

You can check out these books at any Jefferson County Public Library location. Talk to your librarian for more out of your comfort zone recommendations.