New Year’s Eve will no doubt bring festivities, friends, and perhaps a few—ahem—questionable choices into the lives of many Salt Lake residents. While partying the night away, discussions of New Year’s resolutions will likely occur, and no one wants to be left repeating the same resolution they fail to accomplish year after year. Whether it’s a desire to exercise more, eat less, or quit smoking, Jan. 1 gives us the chance to announce our intentions with fervor and proceed to do nothing about it.

Now that you’re feeling guilty about past New Year’s resolution failures, why not make this year's resolution one you can keep, and resolve to read more books? Being well-read not only makes you an interesting conversationalist, but will continue to impress friends and acquaintances when you have answers before they can Google the question on their smart phones. Interested, but not sure where to start?

The King’s English Bookshop is hosting a New Year’s Day sale that will be sure to get you jump-started on your new resolution.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 1, The King’s English is offering 25% off purchases.

In order to spark your literary libido, The King’s English’s Margaret Brennan Neville offers her highlights of 2011’s best literature:

Cat’s Table, by Michael Ondaatje (author of The English Patient). The novel details the events of a young boy’s voyage to England and the relationships he develops with the characters he meets on-board. The tale weaves between events occurring on the ship, and events occurring during the narrator’s adult years.

Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President, by Candice Millard. Brennan Neville found this non-fiction account of the assassination of James A. Garfield “fascinating and relevant in terms of mental illness and modern medicine.” With that title, how could you not be intrigued?

The Keeper of Lost Causes, by Jussi Adler-Olsen. If you can’t get enough of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, this novel by Denmark’s top crime writer will surely engage and entertain you.

    In case the above titles don’t tickle your fancy, the staff at The King’s English will happily assess your interests and point you in the right direction. Brennan Neville encourages readers to “try something you haven’t tried before and exercise your brain, not your butt” in the New Year!

    The King’s English is located at 1511 South 1500 East in Salt Lake City.