Top Three 2018 Bookish Resolutions
This is a new feature hosted by Fantasy Buddy Reads over at Goodreads. Blog posts aren’t required to participate, but I thought it would be fun to compose one, anyway. :)
Since I achieved many of my goals last year [read only the best books first because life is too short to push through ones you’re not enjoying / finish more of my incomplete series / become more active in the Goodreads bookish community], in 2018 I would like to not only maintain the good habits I got myself into with these goals, but add a few new ones to the mix.
Resolution #1: To become the book challenge master!
Having made great strides with my Incomplete Series Challenge in 2017, I’d like to round that one out by getting under 10 open series within the next few months. Then my focus will switch to my Overflowing Bookshelf Challenge where I will finally attempt to make a dent in the books I valued enough to spend money on. I’ve started a Tracker for this and set some goals, but haven’t made any real strides yet. Hopefully that will change!
Resolution #2: Write more reviews!
2017 started out with a bang, where I was on top of reviews and scheduling, but things got busy and I found myself composing reviews in my head, but never committing them to paper. I also frankly got tired of hearing myself talk about books and felt like I didn’t have anything compelling or interesting to say about them (a lot of this is me being a little too self-critical and needing to redefine my reviewing “voice”). I think I’ve narrowed down all of my problems to one issue: I haven’t been committed to getting my thoughts to paper in a timely manner after finishing the books. It’s very difficult to come up with a detailed, heartfelt review when it has been several months since you read the book. Considering I’m now busier than ever, we’ll see how this goes, but I have the best intentions…
Resolution #3: Read without distraction.
I used to take a few moments to sit and read at least once a day – usually right before bed. However, a couple of years ago I had an obnoxious dry eyes/eyestrain issue that prevented me from reading for at least a year until I got it under control. During that time, I relied heavily on audiobooks to keep me sane. The trouble is, I’m very out of the habit of making time to sit and just enjoy a book. Most of my reading comes in five minutes snatches, but I very seldom make it a priority to sit and just enjoy a book for any longer than that. And it seems that when I do sit down with the intention, I inevitably end up on my phone playing and inane farming app. This must stop! I resolved to leave my phone in the other room and set aside time to do the thing I enjoy the most.
What are your 2018 bookish resolutions? :-)
The Obsessive Bookseller 
Those sound like some real good resolutions and I heartily approve of #2 most strongly.
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Thanks! Here’s hoping I can prioritize the time. It would make me happier in the long run not to have all of those unreviewed books hanging over my head.
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Heck, at some point just write whether you liked them or not. Make it a 2 sentence review and blow through 5 or 10 some weekend. I’ve done that before in the past…
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Yeah the book review blitz thing kind of worked, although the formatting took forever so I’m going to have to come up with something easier. Maybe a once a month post where I update it as I read… hmmm. Thanks for the inspiration of an idea! You’re really good at helping me find those haha. I’m still tailoring my reading schedule to get it closer to the rotation method you use. I love it.
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Glad you can adjust it to work for you. That’s the best part of sharing ideas, seeing how others implement it, as those variations can give the original person even more ideas :-D
As for ideas, I think it comes from trying to balance reading and reviewing so much. More like a survival mechanism than anything :-)
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Yeah really, haha.
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Hi nikihawkes, thanks for sharing your resolutions! My kind of subject…forget weight management and giving up chocolate…let’s resolve to read more books, and better books too.
I am excited about your #3 resolution the most. I know personally I struggle to find solid, uninterrupted reading time too. Even though I’m young life and work keeps me busy, not to mention all the distracting things like Netflix and cellphones have to offer!
Keep up the good work!
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Yes exactly haha. Books are always the priority. And I’m glad I’m not alone. When I sat down to make this list, it struck me as ironic that my number one passion is the thing I make the least time for. Here’s to a good 2018! :)
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“I also frankly got tired of hearing myself talk about books and felt like I didn’t have anything compelling or interesting to say about them…” – I feel like this sometimes as well. I think this year, my answer to that will be to write shorter reviews. I tend to ramble a lot, and my reviews always seem to end up much longer than they really need to be!
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I think it stems partly from reading so many of the same type of books. After a while I feel like a broken record haha. My strategy is opposite of yours. I tend to try and pack as much information into as short a review as possible, so I’m going to try and unpack some of my statements a bit and see how that goes lol.
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Your first challenge speaks to me so much! Too much, haha. My physical TBR is absolutely overflowing, and I’m hoping to make some real progress this year.
As to #2, I love writing reviews but I also found myself getting tired of hearing myself go on. I ended up experimenting with review formats with lists of reasons to read a book (or not) or with mini-reviews, and that’s helped me renew my love of reviewing!
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Nice! Mixing up your review format sounds like fun. :) I’ve been playing around with a few, but nothing that really inspires me yet. Your lists idea has me thinking though… :)
And yes, if I can read at least a few dozen from my collection this year, it would be awesome!
Good luck with your bookish resolutions this year. :)
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