Go Getter & Goal Setter

Go Getter & Goal Setter

• Jan 8, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/Top Ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists!

I posted my resolutions for 2013 last Tuesday (four reading resolutions and four blogging resolutions), so I apologize if a few things on my list today seem redundant if you're a regular reader here. I did try to mix it up a little - and I focused only on my reading-related goals (instead of including goals for blogging).

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013

1. Read 100 books this year.

I read 127 books in 2011 and 142 in 2012, but I'm still only going to shoot for 100 books so that I don't try to compete with myself to keep reading more. It often sends me into a bad spiral of not spending enough time enjoying what I'm actually reading and not wanting to pick up thicker books because they'll take me longer to read. 

2. Read one classic per month for a total of at least twelve classics.

Because everyone needs more classics in their life - and I genuinely like reading them. I'm hoping that I'll make them more of a priority this year and not keep forgetting about all the ones sitting on my shelves. I'm looking at you, Penguin Clothbound Classics...

3. Re-read two books per month for (hopefully) a total of twenty-four re-reads.

I adore re-reading. There is something so comforting about returning to a favorite book and getting to discover the joy of it all over again. I got so caught in reading the "latest and greatest" last year that I didn't spend nearly as much time on re-reading as I would have liked. Thus, it's a goal for 2013.

4. Take notes while reading and after finishing a book  - and don't start a new book until the notes are written.

This is one of my worst habits, especially because I blog about what I read. If I didn't write on here about books, I'd never take notes while I read (aside from writing down quotes). As it is, I really need to be better about taking notes so that I can remember what I liked and disliked. I know it will help me improve my blog!

5. Try to listen to more audiobooks this year. 

I'm not tying this goal to a specific number because I honestly don't know exactly how many audiobooks I could reasonably listen to in a year. I didn't really jump on the whole audiobook boat until the middle of last year, and I'm quickly falling in love with the experience. So, I just want to continue that practice into 2013.

6. Don't buy a book unless I'll read it immediately (exceptions made for gift card purchases related to birthdays and might be made for Kindle daily deals).
I often buy books that I just have to own right away and let them sit on my shelves or Kindle for months. I have seriously purchased so many books - that I had to have - that I still haven't. In 2013, all that has to change. I can't keep this up. I'm challenging myself to not purchase anything that I don't intend to start immediately. No more Kindle one-click binges where I end up with five or six new books. This will possibly be the most difficult change for me to make this year, but I think it's necessary and will be a good thing in the long run.

7. Read books I already own - and get TBR pile below 50 books.
This is modified from my resolution last year because I needed to be specific and have a measurable goal. I completely updated Goodreads over the weekend, I discovered that I own and have not read about 120 books. Ideally, I'd love to get that number below 50 books, but I think that's a good number to aim for right now. I don't think it will be too hard if I'm focused and purposeful about my reading this year.

8. Finish three series this year.

I think April at Good Books and Good Wine had this as a resolution, and I honestly think it's a great goal. It probably won't be too hard for me to complete - I should be finishing the Matched series by Ally Condie soon. And I can think of one or two others that I could easily finish within the year.

9. Participate in one read-along.

Last year, I participated in the Charles Dickens Bleak House read-along that was hosted by Unputdownables. I really loved doing it, and it helped me stay on track and finish the book. I also loved the feeling of discussing a book with other people - like being in a virtual book club. I may actually beat this goal within the first few months of the year. I'm joining some lovely ladies in a read/re-read of Kristin Cashore's Seven Kingdoms series (Graceling, Fire and Bitterblue). And I'm reading Les Miserables with my cousin... so that's basically two read-alongs!

10. Complete one reading challenge.

I still haven't decided on a reading challenge yet, but I would like to join one this year. It seems like a really fun experience, especially if you join the right one for you. So, I'm still on the search. Let me know if you have any suggestions!