My New Year's resolution was to read more.

This joke tickles our funny bone with a clever bit of wordplay and a delightful subversion of expectations. When someone declares a New Year's resolution to "read more," our minds instantly conjure images of curling up with a good book or devouring articles. The humor comes from the punchline's literal, yet entirely unexpected, interpretation of "reading." It takes the grand ambition of self-improvement and shrinks it down to the most minimal, almost comically lazy, form of textual engagement: subtitles.

The real-world context here is, of course, the age-old tradition of New Year's resolutions. Every January 1st, millions of us bravely declare intentions to better ourselves, often with goals like exercising more, eating healthier, or, indeed, reading more. The joke playfully taps into the universal human struggle to actually stick to these lofty ambitions, offering a relatable, albeit cheeky, shortcut. It's a humorous nod to our collective desire for self-improvement, even if our execution sometimes involves finding the path of least resistance.