New Year, New You?

I have never been one to make a New Year’s resolution.

The reasoning is pretty clear to me. No matter what the resolution might be, I have serious doubts I’d make it through a week, let alone a year. 

But that doesn’t mean I am against anyone else giving it their best shot. And while we’re already a couple of weeks into the new year, it shouldn’t stop anyone from giving any sort of self-improvement a try.

No matter what a person might be trying to make better about themselves or their surroundings, resources to get the task done are readily available from the Mercer County Library System.

Whether you’re looking for pointers on saving money, eating better, fixing up your home, or just about anything else, the MCLS collection is full of information to make it happen.

Looking to save money or get your finances in order? Mercer County Library offers many books on investing for those who are new to that world. Organizing your finances and making investments isn’t easy, so before you take that step be sure to check out what our catalog has to offer. 

Some suggestions for those who are new to investing include The Index Card: Why Personal Finance Doesn’t Have to be Complicated by Helaine Olen, as well as Investing for Dummies by Eric Tyson. These books, as well as hundreds of others, are available by searching the MCLS database. Also, take a look at Financial Ratings Series through the library’s website for additional information on how to invest and other financial literacy topics.

If you are thinking about changing your diet for the better, there are healthy eating cookbooks galore on our shelves as well as being available in electronic format. Books such as The Daniel Plan Cookbook: Healthy Eating for Life by Richard Warren and Eat Out, Eat Well: the Guide to Eating Healthy in any Restaurant by Hope Warshaw are two of the many books to get you eating better. And beyond those, there are vegan cookbooks, vegetarian cookbooks, and cookbooks to help you eat healthy to battle many diseases. 

When a new year rolls around who doesn’t want to get more exercise? Well, between the collection of DVDs and books that are offered from the library, there are plenty of places to start. The library system has hundreds of exercise videos such as Extreme Exercise Makeover! and Stretching for Seniors, as well as videos with yoga, tai chi, cardio, and any other kind of workout you could want to give a try. 

In addition to the huge choices in the DVD collection, there are also hundreds of books to help you shape how you want to exercise. The Encyclopedia of Exercise Anatomy by Hollis Lance Liebman or Just Move! A New Approach to Fitness After 50 by James P. Owen are great places to start.

Are you planning a trip later this year? Or are you thinking about taking a trip but not sure where to go? Well, the MCLS has thousands of books at your disposal to help narrow down the location and then plan that trip. In addition to guide books on nearly every travel destination in the United States and worldwide, there are also books to help you decide where to visit. Rediscovering Travel: A Guide for the Globally Curious by Seth Kugel and Travel Goals: Inspiring Experiences to Help Transform Your Life are two great places to start.

Are you finally going to take the plunge and binge-watch a series all your friends have been talking about? Well, the MCLS system DVD collection is the place to head first to try out a new series. Whether it is Yellowstone, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Schitt’s Creek, or Inspector Morse, you could spend a whole year trying out what is offered through the MCLS.

And don’t forget you can also check out any one of the thousands of movies available on DVD, Blu-Ray, or hoopla. Use the resources available so the next time someone says to you, ‘Have you ever seen The Godfather?’ You don’t have to tell them no.

After years of saying you want to remodel a room in your home, is this the year you finally take the plunge? You could check out a book like The Visual Handbook of Building and Remodeling. Or use one of the improvement specific books offered on remodeling a basement or an attic, or replacing a floor. 

If you are wondering how all of your creative friends make those impressive looking crafts and always wanted to try making one yourself, the MCLS offers books on crafting for all ages. From holiday crafts to pet crafts, there are books that will guide you and help you prove to yourself that you can be just as creative as those friends of yours.

And finally, are you feeling a little down or overwhelmed and looking for some motivation from an expert? The MCLS offers books and books on CD to help with motivation and improving your life skills. From the old classics like Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People to the recent You are a Badass series by Jen Sincero, there are plenty of titles to choose from. 

So, in the classic sense of do as I say and not as I do, take some time to make a resolution for yourself for 2022 and use the resources available from the MCLS system to make it happen!

- by Bob N, Hopewell