Top Ten Tuesday is my favorite weekly meme by far and wide so, despite recent tweaks, I'm sticking with it. In case you haven't heard, TTT will no longer be hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. In fact, that blog is dissolving. You can read goodbye posts from the contributors that include links so you can follow them individually on their own blogs and social media accounts. Thank you, ladies, for all your hard work over the years! From now on, TTT will be handled by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Be sure to stop in and give her some love. To join in the TTT fun, just read up on the meme, make your own list, then have a good ole time hopping around the book blogosphere. It's a great way to find new blogs to follow, revisit old favorites, and of course, add to your TBR list mountain mountain chain. What's not to love?
This week's topic is: Top Ten Bookish Resolutions/Goals. I feel like I've already talked about this, so forgive the redundancy. I'm really not making any hard and fast bookish resolutions for the new year, but here's what I wouldn't mind accomplishing:
1. Read 200 Books. This has been my yearly goal for a number of years now. The closest I've come is 186 in 2011. I read 158 last year, so we'll see what happens in 2018.
2. Read more non-fiction. I've always been a fiction kind of girl, but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy an intriguing biography, a scintillating memoir, a fun pop-psych book, or an uplifting inspirational read now and then. I avoid anything too deep or too dry, but other than that, I'm fairly open ... Anyone have any great recommendations?
3. Comment More. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty good about commenting on other people's blogs. I know how much I enjoy it when people react to my posts, so I always try to return the favor. However, I'd like to do better about visiting ALL the blogs on my reader and commenting regularly so the authors know how much I enjoy their work.
4. Keep up on reviews. You guys, I totally suck at this. Totally. My bookish OCD makes me feel like I have to give every book I read its day in the sun, so I can't cheat with mini-reviews, skipping books, etc. I must review them all! Apparently, I am incapable of doing it in a timely manner, though, so yeah, I need to work on that this year.
5. Limit the amount of books I accept for review. This one is SO tough because I want to read all the things! It's hard to resist shiny new releases, hopeful debut authors, awesome-sounding ARCs, fun blog tours, etc. I've gotten pickier over the years about what I accept, but I need to be even pickier so I don't go stark raving mad from the guilt I feel over not being able to review everything.
6. Clean up my feed reader. My feed reader is crammed full of book blogs (as well as food blogs, diet blogs, organization blogs, writing blogs, etc.). It's overwhelming and guilt-inducing to see all those unread posts just sitting there. A lot of the blogs have fallen by the wayside over the years, or my interest in them has waned, so I need to ditch the dead weight and focus on those that are still dynamic and helpful.
7. Find new blogs to read. I love reading book blogs and am always looking for new ones to follow. I prefer those whose authors share my reading interests, have a clean, upbeat writing style, and comment/follow back. This is one of the reasons I love TTT—it helps me find new blogs to enjoy.
8. Actually complete a reading challenge. I get so excited for the new reading challenges that come out every year, but then I never finish them. I'm doing some fun ones in 2018, so hopefully I'll actually have some success this time around. Wish me luck!
9. Catch up on all the series in which I am woefully behind. Yeah.
10. Keep enjoying doing what I love. By limiting the number of blog tours in which I participate and being very up front with authors about the amount of time (years!) it will likely take me to review their books, I've minimized (but not erased) a lot of the pressure in my blogging life. This makes the "job" much more pleasurable. I want to keep that feeling going this year. More than anything else, I want to make sure this gig remains a pleasurable labor of love. When it starts to feel like a stressful slog, that's when I'll know it's time to give it up.
What do you think of my resolutions/goals? What are yours? I'd truly love to know. Leave a comment on this post and I'll gladly return the favor.
Happy TTT!
I'm the opposite; I'm hoping to read more fiction!
ReplyDeletehttps://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2018/01/bookish-resolutions.html
That's an easy one for me! I'm all about fiction :) I like historical fiction a lot, though, so that's *kind of* like reading non-fiction, right??
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Deb!
Of course, I think your goals are wonderful. Especially the last one - have fun with it! OK, do you really have to review 'all the books'? Seriously, Susan? LOL
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I started back with this meme again today. You need to stop by and tell me how much you love my goals. ;-)
I really do! It's this weird blogging OCD thing. I think because I took the time to read the book and take copious notes, now I HAVE to share my thoughts. No one else cares, but I DO!
DeleteI do love your goals and I told you so. Ha ha.
Wow! 200 is such an impressive goal. Best of luck reaching it! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I haven't managed to do it so far, but I think 2018 is my year :)
DeleteThanks for coming by!
Love your resolutions! 200 books is *so* many to me, I wish I had that amount of discipline.
ReplyDeleteI've set a goal to read more non-fiction as well. As for recommendations, Escape From Camp 14 is a gripping memoir from a man who escaped North Korea; March is a great trilogy of graphic novels from John Lewis about the Civil Rights Era; and you can't go wrong with any of James Baldwin's essays!
My TTT
Thanks so much for the suggestions! I'm definitely going to look into these.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Those are fantastic goals and I can totally relate to all of them. I have a GR friend who set her reading goal at 1. She has completed it already ;) That's one way to take the pressure off. The only thing I know I won't do is complete a challenge (I'm not signing up because I am a failure!) and finish up my series reads.
ReplyDeleteHa ha. Some days I put things like Take a Shower and Brush teeth on my To Do list so I can feel like I accomplished SOMEthing that day :)
DeleteFinishing series is an ongoing goal for me because I'm ALWAYS lost somewhere in the middle of at least 20 of them at one time. There's no way I'm ever going to catch up completely!
Well, I love how up front and honest you are about your chances for failure. I always have the best intentions but fail miserably. I’d love to read 150 books in one year though. Good luck with all your goals.
ReplyDeleteI know myself well enough to know I won't follow through on most of these. It's nice to dream, though :)
DeleteGreat goals! I really like the one about actually finishing a challenge. I feel you. I want to do that too. I would also like to read more non-fiction. I have a few books in mind. :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't finished a challenge in YEARS. I'm going to try harder this year to at least complete ONE.
DeleteIf you find some good NF reads, let me know.
Lots of great goals this year, good luck to you! #2 is probably my favorite, so if you need any recommendations in that area I would be glad to help :) Happy Reading!
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely through some non-fiction recs my way. I'm hoping to read some good ones this year.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
These are good goals! I like 7 and 9. I like reading books in a series but it's not always easy to keep up.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's definitely not! I should make a goal to finish a series before I start a new one. If only I had that much self-control!
DeleteEvery year I set the goal of reading more non-fiction than the previous year. It doesn't always work out, but I think that every year I read a few good non-fiction books. Here are a couple I enjoyed: Daring to Drive (Manal al-Sharif), Born a Crime (Trevor Noah), and Barking Up the Wrong Tree (Eric Barker)
ReplyDeleteMe too! I only read 10 non-fiction books last year, so I actually don't have to stretch too far in order to read more. Thanks for the suggestions. The Trevor Noah book sounds amazing as does DARING TO DRIVE. I've never heard of the other one, but I'll definitely look it up.
DeleteThanks for coming by!
haha I love your acknowledgement that the goals we set tend to be goals that we continue to set and not meet, that is definitely the case with a lot of my bookish, and non bookish, goals. yay for reading more non fiction! I tend to read sadder non fiction, and some of my favorites are When Breath Becomes Air and Juniper. Good luck with your resolutions!
ReplyDeleteYep. I've come to realize that every year I just make the same resolutions I did the year before. Some years I do better with them, some years I don't. At least I always try??
DeleteSadder non-fiction is okay! That's some of my favorite kind, actually, because I love a good survival story about someone coming from an appalling background or out of an impossible situation and accomplishing something amazing. I haven't read either of your two recommendations, so I'll definitely put them both on my TBR list.
Thanks for stopping by!
I definitely should clean up my feed reader. I haven't checked it in a couple of months because it's grown out of control and it scares me now!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with reading 200 books - I've done it for the past couple of years and it's exhausted me, so I've challenged myself to read less books this year, which is something I never thought I'd do.
They get out of control SO quickly. Occasionally, I just hit Clear All so that I don't feel so guilty about everything I haven't read!
DeleteI know I will probably never reach 200, so I don't stress about it much. I would like to get there one of these days, though!
Great goals!! I want to read more non fiction too. I always enjoy it but rarely reach for it. Good luck with these!
ReplyDeleteSame here. I'm always more drawn toward fiction, I don't know why. Good luck to both of us this year :)
DeleteGreat goals! I'm with you on reading more non-fiction and catching up on my favorite series. Good luck with ALL your goals this year. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'm going to need it :)
DeleteLimiting the outside reviews I do has made reading and blogging much more manageable. I only accept reviews from one company and they know the types of books I like.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds very liberating! I wish I had that kind of self-control, but I just don't. I want ALL the books, but really, the more I limit myself the more free I feel. I just need to keep working on being selective.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
You've got some great goals here. I'm hoping to finish up some series this year too. Good luck achieving all of these!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to both of us!
DeleteI know what you mean about blogging. Once it becomes a stressful slog it defeats the purpose. I like to read Biographies of famous people once in awhile. Ozzy Osbourne does a good job with his book. I Am Ozzy.
ReplyDeleteI am tired. I want to lose myself in a book.
Ozzy Osbourne would be interesting to read about. I like biographies about colorful people :)
DeleteI hope you get to lose yourself in a good book before bedtime. That's my favorite way to relax before I go to sleep.
Thanks for visiting!
Superb goals, Susan. I used to read all non-fiction until I got serious about my own writing. Then I felt I had to read fiction so I knew what was in the market place. Now I read more fiction than anything. Hope you complete your challenges. I struggle with them too.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with you goals. Thanks for visiting my blog.
It's definitely important to read fiction if you want to write fiction! Fiction is just more entertaining to me, but I do like a little variety in my reading :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Cheryl!
Good luck with these, Susan!
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and for the good wishes. I appreciate it!
DeleteI'm also hoping to comment on more blogs this year! I fell out of book blogging for a while in 2017 with school, but I'm slowly attempting to return from hiatus and comment more frequently on the blogs I love! I hope to read 100 books this year, too. 200 is awesome!! Best of luck with your resolutions this year, Susan!
ReplyDeleteclaire @ clairefy
Don't you hate it when school gets in the way of your fun? I'm glad you are back to book blogging. Good luck with your resolutions!
DeleteI would love to find a way to get better about actually reviewing the books in a timely manner... I get distracted with reading
ReplyDeleteMarissa
Reading List
That's my problem exactly! All I want to do is read. I like writing reviews, but they take TIME (that I could be using to read). *Sigh*
DeleteThanks for stopping by, Marissa!
Your goals are awesome, but they make me so very tired!! GOOD LUCK! And wow, I had to scroll forever to get to the bottom to comment. SWEET!
ReplyDeleteHa ha. They make me tired, too. Don't worry, I won't actually DO most of them :( It's good to think about what I would like to accomplish though!
DeleteA really good non fic is Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates by Brain Kilmeade and Don Yaeger. It isn't as long as your average non fic and its has a more novel writing style.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of this one, but I'll definitely look it up. I like non fiction that reads like fiction :)
DeleteGood luck on your goals!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm hoping to accomplish at least *some* of them this year :)
DeleteI love your goals! Good luck to you on all of them--you've got this! :) I agree, it's so HARD to keep up with reviews, and also so hard not to want to read aaall the shinies! ;)
ReplyDeleteRight? I'm so easily distracted! Then I spend January playing catch up on reviews so that I can move into the new year for real *Sigh*
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
This is our year for 200 books! We've got this I just know it! I need to get better at my blog visiting and on taking less review books. Both are so hard!
ReplyDeleteTotally! We can do this.
DeleteWow! 200 books, that is a lot of reading. I hope you make it this year! You have some really great goals. I really need to get back into commenting more on blogs. I didn't do a lot of blogging (or spend much time online at all really) last year, so I haven't commented on blogs in a while.
ReplyDeleteI am really bad at keeping up with reviews, I too need to try and keep up with them better.
I love your last goal, it is really important to keep doing what you love.
Great goals and I wish you the best of luck with them. You've got this! :D
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting!