KIM
I didn’t set many goals for 2020 and that turned out to be a good thing. With the year going totally off the rails for a lot of us, I found that my only goal was to survive! One of the things that helped me survive was books! My creative outlet was the blog and Instagram and it turns out that I had one of my most productive reading years yet! With 2021 around the corner, I’m hoping for a better year and I’m thinking about how books can help me with that. So that’s prompted me to jot down some bookish intentions.
ONE. Read 100 books. I am scared to type that out! I’ve never managed 100 books in a year. The most I’ve ever done is the 80-ish I managed this year. But I really want to try for this!
TWO. Be better at networking with bookish friends. The big one is challenge participants. I did better at replying to comments this year but I could do better at getting around and reading reviews, posting to our Goodreads group, and making stronger connections on #bookstagram. I don’t have a lot of time to read all the posts out there so I want to be more intentional about who I’m connecting with as well.
THREE. Keep a Reading Journal. I’ve got my basic reading stats tracked but I need more. I actually struggle with remembering details about the books I’ve read and so I’d like to keep a small reading journal. I’m hoping that this will help me make better book lists to share on the blog all year long too.
FOUR. Complete all three GXO Challenges. I got really, really close this year and only missed a couple of prompts. Next year, I plan to finish them all in their entirety.
FIVE. Quality over Quantity. Sometimes I crank out blog posts just to get something written. Sometimes what I write just feels regurgitated from past posts. I want to be more intentional about blog posts and really focus on quality posts that are both fun for me to write and fun to read and/or helpful to our readers.
SIX. Get Ahead and Stay Ahead. I’m hoping to be at least three weeks ahead on everything through 2021- reading, bookstagram, and blog posting. I am usually one step behind and it just makes everything feel like a chore. I’d like to put the fun back into it all this year.
Do you set any goals bookish or otherwise for the new year?
// Comments //
Bryan
No. 😉
Oh, wait, yes, I do. But I am happy if I can get to 35 or 40 books anymore. Even in years before this year, I don’t read as much as I want. But I applaud you for trying for 100 books.
Kimberly Lynne
@Bryan I am typically somewhere around the 40 mark so we’ll see how I do with this. It might be a total bust. Ha!
Laura Pond
I read 129 books in 2020 thanks to the pandemic shutdown. I will be participating in more challenges next year and have committed to reading 142 books among those challenges. I doubt that I will complete them but could not help but signing up for new challenges.
Kimberly Lynne
@Laura Pond I can never resist either.
Akilah
I am very excited about your first goal! I have read 100+ books twice since I’ve started intentionally tracking, and it’s a great feeling to reach that milestone. Ahhhh.
I feel you on the networking with bookish/bloggish friends. I think intentionality is key as you said.
MaryR
Congratulations on setting a goal of 100 books. It is a big goal but it is doable and it feels good to complete it. I have had a 100-book goal for about 10 years now and have made it most of the time. A few things that I have found helpful: (1) abandon books that aren’t working for you, if a books isn’t speaking to you right now and you keep trying to read it you aren’t finishing things because the one you aren’t loving blocks progress, if you are meant to read it it will turn up again. (2) audiobooks are your friend (3) a diversity of books on hand (or in your library reserve queue) – novels, poetry, memoir, history, YA, whatever you like, if you have multiple options on hand it is easy to pick up something that appeals at any moment you find you have a few minutes to read.
Good luck with your 2021 plans!
Bev Baird
These are all achievable, wonderful goals. May 2021 be your best reading year yet! I still am working on what mine will be.