Thanks to Facebook’s On This Day, today I was reminded of my 2014 New Year’s Reading Resolutions. Boy Howdy, did I do a lousy job with those. Of the 12 specific resolutions, I still need to accomplish at least 5 (there’s room for interpretation on a couple of them)—I still want to accomplish 4 of them. Maybe this reminder will help?*
* Yeah, I’m not counting on that, either. But it’s nice to dream.
So, I’m reticent to get into calling my shots, as it were, too much anymore—there’s a project from 2020 still hanging over my head, too. And a few others, too, I’m sure—I just don’t want to go spelunking through the archives to find more personal failures (minor, to be sure, but technically failures).
So, here’s what I’m going to shoot for around here in the next 12 months.
Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own (a perennial project, but I made some strides last year)—one of the Book Challenges this year should be a fun way to help.
I’m going to finish my Classic Spenser series and maybe find another Classic to do a project read-through. We’ll see about that. (I added this one after scheduling this post, but you know what? I’ve been kicking myself for ages for dropping this…)
Be pickier in the Book Tours I participate in—I’ve already started this (Damp Pebbles Blog Tours ceasing operations helped, too—no slight intended to the Tour Organizers I still enjoy working with, but Emma was better at getting me to take risks). I still like Tours, they expose me to things I wouldn’t normally read—and I’m going to keep doing them. But I’m going to be pickier about them.
Similarly, I’m doing fewer Book Challenges. I like the ones I’ve picked out—but they’re concrete things, no more of these “Read as Many of X as You Can” challenges. They don’t move the needle one bit for me as far as picking books—I read as many as I’m going to anyway, just with a count. But Challenges with specific targets can be fun. I’ll talk about those in a minute.
Get better at proofreading—apparently, there’s a need.
Try to interview more authors (maybe others, too?), and get better at that, too.
There are a few other ideas, but they’re harder to explain than to just do. You’ll know them if you see them.
2022 Book Challenges
12 Books
Perhaps you’ve seen this on everyone’s timeline this last week or so—12 months to read 12 books recommended by 12 friends. This looked like a great way to read something out of my wheelhouse—and so far, it should be. Only 1 of the 9 recommended so far is something that I’d have really considered. I still need 3 more recommendations—so hit the comments, folks!
2022 “Support Book Bloggers” Challenge
This just looks like fun, mostly things I should be doing anyway. Go check it out.
2022 While I was Reading
I’ve done this one for the last few years—and Ramona’s done a great job of stretching me. And will continue to do so—this year’s categories are more challenging than I’m used to (I have to figure out authors’ astrological signs?).
Your TBR Reduction Book Challenge
I dig the way this one is organized—if nothing else, my TBR should go down by 12. 🙂
I’ll also undoubtedly do the 20 Books of Summer Challenge…that’s been pretty fun.
That’s everything I have planned, I can’t wait to see what unplanned things happen around here. Hope you’re around to join in the fun!
(Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)
If you were to ask if I supported public libraries, I’d reflexively say, “yeah, of course.” What book nerd doesn’t? I reflexively vote yes on various bonds for them when they come up*, I use them all the time—and don’t remember a time when I didn’t (Literally. I’m pretty sure Carter was in office and I would have struggled with a Dick and Jane tome), when I have the opportunity, I can spend an hour or so just wandering around one soaking in the atmosphere. But it’s not something I really thought about—and I didn’t realize how deep my attachment to “my” library was until a couple of weeks ago.
