This is South Carolina’s most popular New Year’s resolution. Here’s tips if it’s yours, too
For many, the New Year is the time to turn a new page and start a new chapter in life.
South Carolinians are taking that literally.
The state’s most popular New Year’s resolution is to read more, according to a new study from Zippia, a job search website.
“As the world continues to bounce back from a pandemic and has spent so many years and months in front of screens, perhaps wanting to tap back into good old-fashioned reading is at the forefront of a lot of people’s minds,” Beaufort County Library Director Amanda Dickman said.
The study analyzed Google Trends data to find the most common resolution-related searches in January.
Five states shared South Carolina’s resolution, but the most popular resolution was to seek therapy, which was 12 states’ top resolution, according to the Zippia study.
Eight states had the second most popular resolution, to lose weight, according to the study.
A different, nationwide Statista survey didn’t have the Zippia study’s top resolution on their list. Instead, the data collection website ranked the following resolutions as their top five by surveying over 400 adults across the U.S.:
1. Exercise more
2. Eat healthier
3. Lose weight
4. Save more money
5. Spend more time with family and friends
Ways to read more in 2023
For those who share the state’s most popular resolution, here are some tips:
Join a book club
In addition to book recommendations, book clubs provide a community to share and discuss your ideas. Plus, having to adhere to a reading schedule might be a needed incentive.
With names like “Tea Talk and Tales” and “The Novel Choice Book Club” the Beaufort County Library system has in-person groups that span most genres.
Keep an eye out on The Pat Conroy Center for book club conventions and events.
For those who prefer partaking in book clubs from the comfort of their own reading nook, digital book clubs could be the answer. Book clubs like “Reese’s Book Club,” “Oprah’s Book Club,” “Between Two Books” or “Read with Jenna” could be a place to start.
Always have a book ready
Whether you’re relaxing on Burkes Beach or taking a needed break from work, make it easy to fill the time with literature by having a book on hand. Make an effort to pack your latest read in your beach bag or work bag.
Embrace reading without an actual book
For some people, nothing beats the smell of a book, the creamy pages in hand, earmarking a page to come back to.
For others, technology is more convenient than a physical book, and Apple, Spotify, Amazon and Beaufort County libraries have options for that too.
“Whether you like to read on a tablet or on your phone or whether you like it to be read to you in the form of an audio book or digital audio,” Dickman said, “libraries have that.”
Use apps to track your reading
If readers want something to keep them accountable, reading apps could be their solution.
Apps like Goodreads, The StoryGraph and Booksloth allow readers to track which books they and their friends want to read, are reading and have completed.
Other states
Zippia’s complete list of resolutions by state is:
Alabama — Weight loss
Alaska — Better Sleep
Arizona — Therapy
Arkansas — Read More
California — Dating
Colorado — Meet New People
Connecticut — Therapy
Delaware — Weight loss
District of Columbia — Dating
Florida — Therapy
Georgia — Read More
Hawaii — Dating
Idaho — Weight training
Illinois — Dating
Indiana — Weight loss
Iowa — Save Money
Kansas — Better Sleep
Kentucky — Weight loss
Louisiana — Therapy
Maine — Therapy
Maryland — Therapy
Massachusetts — Vacation
Michigan — Dating
Minnesota — Therapy
Mississippi — Save Money
Missouri — Therapy
Montana — Weight training
Nebraska — Weight training
Nevada — Dating
New Hampshire — Vacation
New Jersey — Therapy
New Mexico — Get A Raise
New York — Therapy
North Carolina — Read More
North Dakota — Save Money
Ohio — Weight loss
Oklahoma — Meet New People
Oregon—Better Sleep
Pennsylvania — Therapy
Rhode Island — Weight loss
South Carolina — Read More
South Dakota — Quit Drinking
Tennessee — Therapy
Texas — New Job
Utah — Dating
Vermont — Weight loss
Virginia — Read More
Washington — Better Sleep
West Virginia — Weight loss
Wisconsin — Vacation
