In 2014, I Want: More & Less.

In 2014, I Want: More & Less.

• Jan 2, 2014

In the past two years, I've written down some specific tasks at the beginning of the year that I wanted to tackle in my reading and blogging life. When I reflect and recap at the end of the year, there are always areas where I'm successful and then there are things that I just completely bomb. I thought about doing the same for 2014, but I decided to make a change to reflect what I want my mindset to be like this year. 

Instead of focusing on the "shoulds" and "should nots," I want to think in terms of more and less. What do I want more of and less of in my life in 2014? Since next week's Top Ten Tuesday list is about resolutions, I will still write down ten small, specific and manageable goals for this year. But here's what I really want when it comes to my reading and blogging life:

{More}

+ Re-Reading

I absolutely love re-reading! There's something about returning to an old favorite or even a recent find that's just comforting and worthwhile to me. I always discover new things to love about a book's characters, story, or the writing... and sometimes I learn new things about myself! So, I want to try to spend more time re-reading this year. It doesn't matter how many books - I just want to give myself the freedom to re-read.

+ Discussions

This was a goal I set for myself in 2013, and it's something I want to continue in the new year. Some of my very favorite posts to write were discussion posts, and I want to keep incorporating those into my blog. Whether it's bookish thoughts or personal reflections, it's always fun to write things that let you see me and my brain a little bit better. Those are my favorite posts to read on other blogs, so I want more of them this year.

+ Variety

I spent a few hours the other day replying to blog comments, and I noticed that several people mentioned that they always found new books (things they hadn't heard of or likely wouldn't have gotten on their radar) through my blog. It made me so happy to read that because I've always hoped that would be true of my blog. I love books across ages and from so many genres, and I've never wanted blogging to alter that part about me as a reader. So, I want to continue to have lots of variety in my book choices in 2014!

+ Planning

I don't have a big blog schedule, post every day of the week or schedule things far in advance. I like planning and organization so I'm not completely all over the place, but I am often writing posts the night before I want to publish them. Towards the end of 2013, there were several times where I was able to schedule out a week or two of posts in advance - and I loved it! I hope to do that more often in 2014, too. While I don't want to pressure myself to do it, I would love to have more of a plan when it comes to posting, replying to comments, reading other blogs and leaving some comment love!

+ Creativity

I'm definitely not the most creative blogger, but I'd like to challenge myself to think outside the box and find new ways to show my originality on my blog. Some of my favorite blogs are the ones where the person behind the screen comes to life through their posts and their ideas. You all know the kind of blogs I'm talking about! I don't know what that means for me exactly, but I want to take the time to think about it.

{Less}

- Obligation

For some reason, I really struggle with my feelings on NetGalley and review books in general. I think NetGalley is a wonderful tool that I obviously utilize for my blog, but it also bums me out that I have gotten so focused on reading books by a certain time. I haven't even gotten that many, but it still feels like too much. I own so many books that I was legitimately excited to buy - so why am I not reading those? I want less obligation in the new year, and I know that means making changes to things like reading books for review.

- Shopping

As always, I don't want to buy quite so many books in 2014. I always stay within my budget every month, but I still feel like I'm spending too much on this area. I think I feel that way because I'm not reading them at the same rate that I'm buying them. If I was going through them quicker, I think I'd feel less guilt about getting them in the first place. I don't want to try and set a limit on the number of books I buy, but I want to think long and hard about every bookish purchasing decision I make.

- Pressure 

It's easy to get caught up in what you "should" do when blogging. From commenting to posting, I put a ton of pressure on myself to have it all together. While I want to strive to make my blog better, I don't want to get caught up in that performance trap of feeling like I can never get caught up. I did better in 2013 - letting myself close the computer whenever I wasn't feeling it, for example - so I'd like to continue that moving forward. Blogging is supposed to be fun, and there's no reason to stress myself out about it.

- Guilt 

To be honest, this is tied into the two goals above. When it comes to shopping, I feel really guilty about how many books I own that I haven't read. The only way I know how to work on that is to a) read more of what I own and b) stop bringing in so many new books. And when it comes to pressure, I feel guilty about not commenting enough or replying to comments quickly. I used to love replying to comments, but I find it really draining lately. I don't know that very many people really come back to look at it, so I always wonder if I'm wasting my time. As far as leaving comments, don't even get me started. I absolutely love doing it, but I also feel like I can never find the time. Either way, I want to stop feeling so guilty about it.

- Hype

There were a lot of books that I read this year because I heard other people talking about them. Nobody pushes books better than a group of book bloggers on a mission! While the hype and excitement surrounding certain titles definitely helped me find a few new favorites, I still spent a lot of time reading things that weren't really right for me. I want to spend less time reading the titles that are hyped and more time discovering for myself what books catch my eye. Will they still sometimes be the "big" books? Sure. But I want to focus less on what everyone else says to read and more on what I truly want to read.