Monday, January 1, 2018

Welcome to 2018!

The beginning of a new year always feels like a fresh beginning to me. Like waking up to newly fallen snow.  365 days of unlimited possibilities, unmarred by disappointments or mistakes, just waiting to be filled. Anything can happen! I think that's why so many people feel inspired to set New Year's Resolutions. Because on the first day of a new year it's easy to imagine we can do anything, be anything. And that optimistic can-do attitude is what I want to hold onto this year. I want to let go of fear and be open to every opportunity that comes my way. To say YES to life (paraphrasing Shonda Rhimes). I want to be more positive and adventurous and dare to dream big. To truly be me. Most of all, I want to learn to let the little things go and focus on what's truly important:  faith, family, friends, and on creating more joy in my life.

As for my blogging and reading goals, I'm not setting any this year. No reading challenges. No TO-READ lists of classics, no keeping up with Goodreads, and no stack of TBRs beside my bed. I don't need the pressure, however self-imposed it may be. I want 2018 to be a year of happy reading with no stress. And no guilt. This year I intend to read just for me. I might even spend an entire month rereading my favorite books. (There's certainly  plenty of them to choose from sitting on my own shelves.) And if that means I don't write as many reviews this year, or publish as many posts, so be it.

What new year's resolutions and reading goals are you setting this year?
Happy reading...and blogging...in 2018!

31 comments:

  1. Hi Lark, Great post and I get what you mean about a new year bringing new possibilities. We make resolutions but its easy to forget those resolutions a week after we start. I don't want that to happen this year. There will be rough patches but if we stick each day to one or two important resolutions we have made by the end of the year we will marvel at how our life changed for the better.

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    1. Good luck with all your goals this year, Kathy! I hope you have a very happy 2018. :)

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  2. Happy New Year! And here's to a year of happy reading ahead!

    My only serious resolution is to try & limit how many books I add to my TBR list, though I'll try again this year to read diversely.

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    1. Good luck with that resolution; limiting your book-buying is a hard one! And I hope you have a very Happy New Year, too. :D

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  3. Yea to the reading resolution of having none! I can't do fixed in cement goals either, I need the flexibility to change my mind!

    I am doing the 2018 Back to the Classics Challenge, however. The loose categories work for me as a guide but allow for switches of titles along the way. And I just committed to reading Les Mis.

    I also have a vague plan of reducing the amount of books in my house. Books on the shelf doesn't bother me, but piles do. The piles are what I am working on!

    Happy New Year Lark!

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    1. Back to the Classics is a good challenge, especially if you already want to read books in those categories. I just need a break from challenges. Good luck with all your book piles! And happy new year!!

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  4. There really is something about the start of the new year. you've described the feeling perfectly! I think your goal to have no goals is a great one. I hope you have a wonderful New Year, Lark!

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  5. Here's to stress-free reading, although I will never give up the GoodReads habit. That's really my book log.

    Happy 2018!

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    1. Goodreads is here to stay for me, too. :) Happy New Year, Jane!

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  6. Happy New Year! I love your attitude towards the new year and I agree, it does always feel like so many opportunities are available and the point is to keep that feeling of possibility with us. Wishing you a fabulous 2018!

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    1. Thank you so much, Iliana! I hope you have a fabulous 2018, too. :)

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  7. I love that picture you chose for this post. Beautiful! Sounds like a great way to go into the year. I never set any reading goals but the Goodreads one.

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    1. I'm not even setting that one this year. ;)

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  8. I want to be stress free...I have detailed challenge lists with a ton of books on it, but they are a guide to what I want to read so I'll just do my best on each one! That's the plan anyway...

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    1. As long as they don't end up stressing you out like they always seem to do me! :D

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  9. Oh, that photo is gorgeous!

    Good books at a satisfying pace--best way to approach the new year. There are times I cocoon myself in books and right now that seems appropriate. It's cold outside, and I'm all about entertaining myself quiet solitude.

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    1. I always want to hibernate every winter with a warm blanket, comfortable chair and a stack of yummy reads. :)

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  10. I LOVE your goal of maintaining all year that optimism, determination, and spirit of adventure that so many of us feel at the New Year. I think I'll take that as a mantra of sorts: to stay optimistic and embrace the freedom to do and try new things. I also like your idea of not setting any reading or blogging goals. Stress-free reading sounds great! In a way, I'm trying to find a way to do that while still challenging myself to keep blogging.

    I wish you a wonderful 2018, full of joyful reading and enthusiastic exploration of whatever else feeds your spirit!

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    1. Thanks so much for your good wishes; I really appreciate them! And stress-free everything is going to be my mantra in 2018, especially when it comes to reading...and blogging. :D

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  11. That's a great approach to take when it comes to blogging and life! I put too much pressure on myself in lots of different realms. I need to take a cue from you and lay off a little :)

    Happy New Year, Lark!

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    1. I put too much pressure on myself, too, and I really want to change that. Life is not joyful when I'm full of stress. So out with old habits of worry and stress, and in with a brighter, happier outlook...I hope! :)

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  12. I love that you will be completely pressure free this year. Enjoy it! (I know you will!)

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  13. All the best for 2018, and with a lot of great books and great blogging! :-)

    Kind regards,

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    1. Thanks, Bettina. You're the best! (And thanks for starting my reading year off right with A Gentleman in Moscow!) :D

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  14. I am with you 100% and am doing the same. Let 2018 be the year of reading for our own pleasure.

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  15. Happy New Year, Lark! And I love that pic! :)

    I've not participated in any reading challenges for a few years and I'm not going to do those this year, too. They are fun but now I mostly read books on whim and I think it's also fun choosing what books to read depending on your current mood. :)

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    1. That's how I want to read this year...on a whim, or what I'm in the mood for. Reading challenges can be fun, but they can also be a bookish burden. :)

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  16. Love, love, love this post! You are spot on with your resolutions this year :) I'm so with you on all of them. Happy New Year, Lark!! Sorry its taken me so long to comment on this, but I'm starting to feel better and started to catch up on my blog reading :) Hope you are having an awesome week!

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