My bookish goals for 2024...

 

I've decided that I'm not going to sign up for any reading challenges this year, and I'm not making long lists of the books I want to read either. While I really enjoy participating in reading challenges, and I love making lists, this year I want to allow room in my reading for sudden changes of mood, new books, rereads, books from off my own shelves, and library serendipity. 

I also want to read more nonfiction this year. 

And there are several series that I've recently started, and newer books by favorite authors that I've neglected, that I'd love to get caught up on this year. 

And even though I love splurging on books, I'm going to try and limit my book buying to ten books or fewer this year because my bookshelves are overflowing, and I haven't read all the ones I already own.

My last bookish goal has to do with my blog. Over the years I've put a lot of pressure on myself to publish a certain number of posts each week, and to review a certain number of books each month, and I need to step back from that. Because blogging should be fun, not stressful. So this year, I'm not going to worry about how many posts I write each week, or how many books I review. And if I need to take a break once in awhile, then that's what I'm going to do. 

I'm still working on my personal goals, but I want to try and cultivate a more positive mindset this year, embrace the good things in life and not be afraid of failure, remember to breathe and be in the moment, practice having an attitude of gratitude, and seek happiness. 

Good luck with your own goals...bookish and otherwise!

And happy reading!

A bookish new year...

I've been thinking about what I hope to accomplish over the next twelve months, and what new adventures I'd like to embark on in 2017--from writing a novel, to trying something new every week, to possibly getting another stamp in my passport. But while setting New Year's goals and resolutions can be a little intimidating, deciding what my 2017 bookish goals will be is easy. See, I already have a list of books I want to read this year; a list that seems to grow with every book review I read. It's full of classics and other, more contemporary, works that I've been meaning to read for years, along with some recent non-fiction books, new authors, old favorites, unfinished series, unread books on my TBR shelf, and more books than I want to admit recommended to me by Goodreads. So, I have plenty to read in 2017. The only problem is that I'm easily distracted by the myriad of books I find at the library or in bookstores. Which is why I decided to sign up for the Backlist Reader Challenge.

Hosted by Lark at The Bookwyrm's Hoard, "the Backlist Reader Challenge is a year-long challenge for all those older books that have been piling up on your TBR pile and list--not just the ones you own, but the ones you've been wanting to read for awhile now."  The great thing about this challenge is that I can set my own goal and choose whatever books I want to read from my own TBR list. Which makes it a perfect challenge for me; so, even though I originally wasn't going to sign up for any reading challenges this year, I just couldn't resist this one.

My tentative goal:  10 books -- 5 that have been sitting on my TBR shelf for more than a year, and 5 that have been on my To Read list even longer than that.  And what are those books?

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro

Dance Night by Dawn Powell

Less Than Angels by Barbara Pym

Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

Wash This Blood Clean From My Hands by Fred Vargas

Ghost Song by Sarah Rayne

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian

We Hear the Dead by Dianne K. Salerni

The Secret History by Donna Tartt 

The Radleys by Matt Haig

(With one alternate in case my mood changes:  An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd)

Happy Reading!

(And Happy New Year!!)

A bookish new year...

I originally intended on making no bookish goals this year; instead I dreamed of being a free-range reader, choosing my books solely according to whim and whimsy. No lists, no commitments, no book clubs, no challenges, nothing. Just free reading.

But then I saw the Reading England 2016 Challenge hosted by Behold the Stars, and it sounded like fun, and there are books that I want to read this year that I knew would fit this challenge perfectly; so, I found myself discarding my original plan and signing up without a second thought. It's a straight-forward challenge: read a different book for every county in England. Only there are 4 levels to choose from, so if you don't want to read 39 books you don't have to. I'm shooting for Level 2: 4-6 counties. I've already started reading my first book: A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett, which is set in London. It's one of my favorite children's books and a great first read of 2016.

Then, because I found myself in a book challenge kind of mood I signed up for the Reading New England Challenge hosted by Lory at Emerald City Books as well. For this challenge I'm hoping to complete the Six State Challenge: read at least one book that represents each New England state. I'm a little worried about finding a book set in Rhode Island, but the other states should be fairly easy. Between these two challenges I should be very well-traveled by the end of 2016.

Happy Reading!

(And Happy New Year!)

My bookish resolutions for 2015...

It's the first day of a new year ... a year that feels full of possibilities. What am I hoping for? Mostly little things. Like increasing my bird list to 150 species of birds (it currently stands at 139), and hopefully spotting my very first owl. I'd love another stamp in my passport (or maybe just a week spent at a beach instead). My friend is talking about starting a book club, which could be fun. I'm definitely planning on doing some more hiking this summer, and I'm determined to try something new (and hopefully fun) each and every month. I have a few bookish goals, too:

Read wide.

Read new.

Reread.

Complete a reading challenge, or two.

Get my TBR pile below 20.

And, most importantly, Have Fun!

What are your bookish goals for 2015?

Good luck with ALL your endeavors, 

and have a Happy New Year!

P.S. I turned in my last three library books yesterday...I've officially put the library on hold and plan to read from my own bookshelves the entire month of January.

Happy Reading!

My Bookish Resolutions for 2014...

"The difference between the person you are now and the person you will be in five years will be determined by the people you meet and the books you read." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

This quote got me thinking about the books I'd like to read, and the people I'd like to meet this year. I want to expand my horizons, try new things, risk failing, travel to new places, read new authors, participate in new reading challenges, dream bigger dreams, and have more fun. It's a new year, after all. Anything is possible.

I also want to keep blogging about books and life...at least two posts a week. I want to read more classics--I've already chosen 12 classics I hope to read in 2014. As for reading challenges, I signed up to participate in the What's in a Name Reading Challenge hosted by wormhole.carnelianvalley.com because it sounded like fun. I'm also going to try and read more non-fiction this year. And I hope to get my TBR pile, which currently stands at 28 unread books sitting on  my shelves collecting dust, down below 20. In addition to all of that, I want to make time to reread some of the books I love best. Whew! That's a lot of books! Wish me luck.

What about you? Made any bookish resolutions this year? Whatever your plans, goals, or dreams for 2014, I hope they all come true.

Have a Happy (and Bookish) New Year!

I did it!

Democracy in America:  703 pages read; 0 pages to go.

I set a goal last February to read de Tocqueville's massive tome this year--two pages a day--and yesterday I finally finished it! As you can probably tell, I'm glad to be done. I did learn a lot--especially from the first half of the book, but I have to admit, I found Volume II (basically the entire last half of the book) a bit of a slog. De Tocqueville spends 334 pages examining the affect of democracy and its "principles of equality" on various aspects of society, for both good and bad. Every little aspect of society!  I did not find it nearly as interesting or as insightful as Volume I (in which he delineates the beginnings of democracy here in America). My recommendation? Definitely read Volume I of Democracy in America, because it's important and worth your time, but don't bother with Volume II.

If you just want a taste of de Tocqueville's thoughts and observations, here are a few of my favorite quotes from Volume II:

"Society is endangered, not by the great profligacy of a few, but by laxity of morals amongst all."

"The authority of government has not only spread, as we have just seen, throughout the sphere of all existing powers, till that sphere can no longer contain it, but it goes further, and invades the domain heretofore reserved to private independence...it everywhere interferes in private concerns more than it did; it regulates more undertakings...and it gains a firmer footing everyday about, above, and around all private persons, to assist, to advise, and to coerce them."

"...life is passed in the midst of noise and excitement, and men are so engaged in acting that little time remains to them for thinking."

For more of de Tocqueville's quotes, check out my Halfway There  post.