I Hereby Resolve To
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 answers. I'm so obsessed with lists so I love this feature!
1. Read 125 books.
For my Goodreads Reading Challenge, I decided to go with 125 books since I have consistently read over 100 books the last three years and felt like I should aim a little higher with the number I chose.
2. Read one non-fiction book per month.
I love certain kinds of non-fiction, but I don't read it as quickly as I buy it. I'd like to shoot for reading at least one non-fiction book per month so that I lighten that section of my TBR.
3. Finish seven series.
This may sound like a lofty goal, but I absolutely love reading series and can already think of seven that I will very likely finish early in the year. I'd love to finish more, but that's my goal for now.
4. Request no more than two review books per month.
Since I want a year with fewer reading obligations, I know that means requesting fewer books for review. I'd like to stick to requesting no more than two books per month - that's totally manageable!
5. Read at least five debuts novels.
Two of the best books I read in 2013 were debut novels. I want to continue to give debut authors time in my reading life and space on my shelves - you never know when you'll find a new favorite!
6. Participate in one reading challenge.
I already know which challenge I'm going to do, but I haven't posted about it just yet. My love for series had me dying to sign up for the Prequels & Sequels Challenge from the moment I heard about it!
7. Write one discussion post per month.
This shouldn't be too hard since I maintained this pace (if not more) for discussion post throughout 2013. I've already got a few posts in the works so this might be my favorite resolution to complete!
8. Leave 5 comments per week on other blogs.
This goal isn't meant to stress me out. Instead, I think that focusing on a small, specific number of comments per week will help me from feeling overwhelmed. And I can always leave more if I'm up to it!
9. Respond to comments that ask a question or provoke a discussion within one week.
As I've written before, replying to comments sometimes stresses me out. I don't want to stop doing it completely, but I think I'll focus first on replying to questions or thoughtful, discussable comments.
10. Start a new feature on my blog.
I'm not sure what that feature will be, but I think this ties in nicely to my desire to be more creative this year. Hopefully the perfect something will hit me and then this resolution will be checked!
Great list! I agree with you on the fact that commenting can be stressful. I think I mostly just get intimidated. It is on my list though, and hopefully I'll get better. I do want to be more active in the blogging community.
ReplyDeleteGOOD LUCK!
Good luck with your goals! I definitely need to limit the ARC intake, so I can enjoy more of the books that are waiting on my shelves.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you have some great goals in mind! Good luck! There are definitely some things I would like to do this year to keep blogging stress-free and enjoyable so I don't burn out again.
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I joined the prequel & sequel challenge as well -- I love that you earn points for every bit of progress you make, not just for finishing an entire series. And I really wish I could read 100+ books in a year, but I think I'd have to quit blogging to even have a chance since I'm kind of a slow reader :/ If I read one book per week this year, I will be really happy :)
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see what your new feature will be! WEE!
ReplyDeleteGO HANNAH GO!
I seriously need to get a handle on how many review books I request. Your goal sounds like a reasonable and manageable number--I might have to do the same thing. Good luck with all of your goals!
ReplyDeleteSetting an actual limit on the amount of ARC requests is a good idea. I always went with "don't request so much" but clearly that's not working out for me. lol Good luck with your goals!
ReplyDeleteLove your goals for commenting!
ReplyDeleteI love that you set a specific number of books you can request per month! I really think that would be a good thing for me to try to implement for myself as well, particularly considering I already have a ton of ARCs that require my attention. YOU CAN DO IT, HANNAH! I also love that you included debut novels in your resolutions list, because debuts can sometimes be SO GOOD. It's fun to discover new authors and to enjoy their first books lots!
ReplyDeleteAs for blogging, I love that you are making it a point to leave comments and respond to comments. I wish I were better at the responding to comments bit; it's something I hope to get better at this year. I do like that you're not putting pressure on yourself to do it either!
Requested 2 books a month? If only I had that kind of self-control. I'm the worst. I know I overdid it with romances last year, and I think I decided to stop requesting from a specific series I reviewed a lot last year but... I'm just trying to be mindful of release dates. I think that should help. :)
ReplyDeleteHere's to coming up with a fantastic new future and tapping into those creative juices! :)
I don't overly go looking for debut authors. Most of the debuts of authors I have already fallen in love with have been disappointing. Every author has to start somewhere. The debutathon will be back in June on Books of Amber and I hope to participate this year.
ReplyDeleteYou have a ton of great goals Hannah!! I love your non fiction goal... I read a ton of non fiction before I started blogging, especially biographys, memoirs and true life accounts but that kind of fizzled out once I started blogging. I want to get back into reading non fic because I LOVE it when I do!! And I totally agree about the review books... I'm just raising the red flag on them if I can. I have way, way too many. Just... no. I have a severe compulsion with Netgalley. I need to get caught up before I'll allow myself any more. AND DEBUTS! Ohemgee, I loved the debuts this year. I read 19? (I think it's 19..., I'm rather lazy to go doublecheck :P) I want to try and do it again! I hope you accomplish everything <3
ReplyDeleteGreat goals! Hurray for the series challenge :). I hope you enjoy it! I'm with you on slowing down my review books to leave time for the books that I really WANT to read. Oh, and all those unread books on my shelves. I know you're with me on this one ;) *hangs head in shame*
ReplyDeleteI probably should have limited myself to only 2 review books per month. It's hard because it's always thrilling to have free books arrive. But at this point I've committed myself to so many book tours over the next few months, it's hard to see when I'll have time to read whatever I really want.
ReplyDelete