My goal this year is to not let the length of a book play into my decision of what to read.

I’ve read 100+ books in each of the past three years, but I have 20+ unread books at least 700 pages long. I often find myself reaching for a book and wondering if I could instead read 2 or 3 books in the time it’s take to read one long book.

In the past two year, the 700+ page books I’ve read have consistently been my favorites of the year.

I’m three days into my first 700+ of the year, The Tunnel by William Gass,_ and it’s a beautiful, dense beast. It’s been on my shelf for three years, and I’m so glad I finally started it.

In addition to this approach, I each year pick an author and read as much of their work as possible, aiming for completion. Last year was Roald Dahl, and this year will be either China Miéville (four left unread) or David Foster Wallace (three unread). Next year will be Theodore Dreiser, the most famous author from my hometown.

I also read each issue of Poetry Magazine and McSweeney’s.