Miss Havisham, from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, should try some online dating! And maybe start shopping for a new wardrobe... —Rebecca Kluberdanz, Kingsbridge

Spider-Man should have resolved to make it to class on time. Instead, he dropped out of college because he missed too many classes fighting the Hobgoblin. —Benjamin Sapadin, Morris Park

Cutting back on the hotdogs might have done Ignatius J. Reilly some good! He could have done with a resolution to be a little less judgmental too — although without his strange opinions, A Confederacy of Dunces might not be so entertaining to read. —Nancy Aravecz, Jefferson Market

Arthur, the protagonist of NYC author Nick Comilla’s Candyass, might benefit from taking a little break from following his libido. —Michael Messina, Grand Concourse

I wish Anakin had resolved to be more patient in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Woodring Stover. —Joseph Pascullo, Grand Central

Hester Prynne, protagonist of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter should have made a resolution to move out of town. —Susan Aufrichtig, Terence Cardinal Cooke-Cathedral

Matilda needs to invest in an e-reader so she doesn’t have to take all those books home — and for easy hiding from her parents. —Rachael Wettenstein, Grand Concourse

Anna Karenina, Emma Bovary, and Lily Bart could have resolved to join the ranks of women who were, even in their days, seeking out financial independence through work outside the home. They could have signed up for typewriting courses, learned nursing or medicine, or worked retail. They might not have ended up quite as dead quite as fast had they been working retail. —Anne Barreca, Battery Park City

Jay Gatsby (of The Great Gatsby fame) should resolve to move on, stop staring at that green light, and find love elsewhere. —Emily Merlino, Yorkville

Wallace Wallace should just accept it: Sometimes a little white lie will save you a LOT of trouble! But No More Dead Dogs would not have been so hilarious and wacky without his desire to always tell the truth! —Kate Fais, Bloomingdale

The unnamed priest from Grahame Greene’s 1940 magnum opus The Power and the Glory, who risks his life constantly to serve the spiritual needs of his flock, is constantly wracked with so much guilt and self-loathing that it just breaks the reader’s heart. Dude, cut yourself a little slack! —Isaiah Pittman, Inwood

Stop drinking, seek mental help, care a little more for others… there aren’t many resolutions that WOULDN'T benefit the cretinous Fred Exley in A Fan’s Notes: A Fictional Memoir. —Seth Pompi, Ottendorfer

"Next year, I’m not volunteering for anything. Middle Earth can go pound sand." -Frodo Baggins. —Joshua Soule, Spuyten Duyvil

I wish Willem and Jude from A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara would have vowed that, when they bought their country place, all houseguests must take a taxi from the train station. —Maura Muller, Volunteer Office

Archie Goodwin might suggest Nero Wolfe’s resolution be to go on a diet and get a bit more exercise, to which Nero will snort and ring Fritz for another beer. While one might wish Nero would get out a bit more, I think he’d really hurt Fritz’s feelings if he cut back on the food.  The first Nero Wolfe mystery by Rex Stout, published in 1934, is Fer De Lance. —Leslie Bernstein, Mott Haven

"Don’t ever write anything you don’t like yourself and if you do like it, don’t take anyone’s advice about changing it. They just don’t know." - Raymond Chandler intro to The Big Sleep. —Gregory Huchko, Yorkville

---

Have trouble reading standard print? Many of these titles are available in formats for patrons with print disabilities.

Staff picks are chosen by NYPL staff members and are not intended to be comprehensive lists. We'd love to hear your ideas too, so leave a comment and tell us what you’d recommend. And check out our Staff Picks browse tool for more recommendations!