top ten bookish goals for 2014

Tuesday, January 7, 2014 |
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, where we all get to exercise our OCD tendencies and come up with bookish lists.  If you’d like to play along, check out this post.

top ten tuesday

Each time the the New Year rolls around the internet is inundated with lists of resolutions.  Last year I tried to only set goals I thought I could meet.  Basically, I wanted a 'to do list' with easy-to-check-off items.  I did okay (i'm mailing myself those books from my parents' house TODAY).  2013 didn't see any huge changes in my reading or blogging habits, and I don't have any plans for world domination in 2014.  BUT.  Little changes and blog maintenance (and so on) are on the docket.  It should be an interesting year...

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2014

1. Buy bookshelves – As mentioned above, I just sent an insane number of books to my apartment in the DC area.  My parents are happy because that means they aren't storing my crazy book hoard under the stairs anymore... but I need more shelf space.  January and February are going to be about trips to IKEA and rearranging the furniture.

2. Read long-awaited titles in January – Like many of you, I have great intentions when it comes to book acquisition.  I see a recommendation on a blog I trust and hare off immediately to an online retailer to purchase a copy.  Surely if I own a print copy I'll read it right away!  Right, no.  This January I'm participating in Long-Awaited Reads Month, and I hope to get to a few of the books that have been languishing on the shelf for far too long.

3. Focus on middle grade books in March – For two years running now I've been focusing on middle grade books in March.  Barring major injury or dismemberment, this year won't be any different (wow, that got violent quick!).

4. Be a regular at book club – I have a super fun group of reading friends at my local book club, so it's really a shame that I've been such a slacker about attending the monthly meet-ups and other events.  Granted I had a broken ankle as an excuse in November and December, but the New Year is a whole new ball game.  I'll step it up in 2014!

5. Finish series I've already started – True story: I am not good at finishing series.  Modus operandi: I read the first book, like it, even review it... and then I buy book two and it sits on my shelf for ages.  Not sustainable and not that enjoyable, either, now that I think of it.  

6. Improve my NetGalley review percentage – NetGalley is a great resource for bloggers, professional reviewers, librarians and booksellers.  AND IT IS ALSO ADDICTIVE.  I need to review the books I've requested in the past before I look at new ones.  In short, I want to be a better NetGalley user and improve the tool for myself and others.

7. Attend book events – My sister is planning to attend Book Expo America with me in May!  This calls for champagne!  No really, it does.  We're going to paint the town red and get way too excited about books.  Not necessarily in that order.  Other things I'd like to do: go to author signings and attend the Annapolis Book Festival and the National Book Festival.

8. Keep my library fines to a minimum – I love my local library (what up, Arlington County?!), but I'd like to be more conscious of my wallet and due dates in 2014.  I can't afford to let a $100+ library fine happen again.  Eeek!

9. Write/schedule reviews and posts ahead of time – I've never been the most organized blogger on the block.  If I go on vacation, the blog goes mostly silent.  I'd like to work on that this year, and have a couple of posts held in reserve for those weeks when posting seems like a chore.  It would also be wonderful to be more active, but I don't want to get ahead of myself.

10. Think about Wordpress or a new layout/design – I love the look of my blog, but functionality is slowly diminishing.  I keep wondering if I just need to work on the coding to update it all, or migrate it to another platform.  Food for thought in the New Year!

What are your bookish goals for 2014?

12 comments:

Kristen said...

I love that you put library fines on your resolution list. That kind of cracked me up. My husband always says that I rack up fines to donate to the library on purpose (I don't but I never care about having to pay them!).

Top Ten Goals

Melissa (Avid Reader) said...

In the past two years I've made it a priority to attend as many bookish events in my area and attend my book club every month. It has been so rewarding! I hope it is for you too.

Cheryl said...

Great goals. Number 2 is on my list. I also want to read more middle grade fiction this year, just not sure how to work it in yet.

So far, I've been able to write up reviews immediately following the finish of a book, so hopefully I can continue. If I wait, I can sometime forget the details.

Good luck with your goals.

Liviania said...

Oh man, number 2. I buy so many books with good intentions.

Tanya Patrice said...

I've got some of these same goals so good luck to both of us :-)

Ula said...

I think NG made everyone's list, glad I'm not the only one slagging.
I wish I were part of a book club, sounds fun! But they really aren't a thing here.
Happy reading!

Anonymous said...

Good luck to you with your goals! It seems like these are realistic and well within your grasp now that crazy Cybils reading time has passed.

Esme said...

I hope your broken ankle is healed. $100 library fine-at least it went to the library-think of all the books they can purchase.

Tales of Whimsy said...

I SO need to join a book club and some day start my own.

Cecelia said...

Kristen: Yep, I think of library fines as 'reading taxes,' and I usually don't mind paying them... but $100+ is kind of steep, even for me!

Esme: Thank you! The ankle is almost healed - just 2 more weeks in a boot!

Juju: I hope you find a good one! It's great to simply sit and chat with like-minded (or like-activitied?) friends.

Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings said...

I'm continuing to pretend that the books at my parents' place are theirs to keep no matter what they say. I can't imagine trying to find space for all my old books there D:

Oo, March Middle Grade Madness :D That sounds fun!

My library is awesome since they email me when a book is coming due, it's so nice not to have to worry about keeping track of due dates!

Anonymous said...

Well being a librarian makes it easier to keep track of when my books are due. ^_^

My goals this year include figuring out twitter, continuing to expand my working knowledge of other blogs and bloggers, and to try and attend more publishing events in the city.

Oh, and read, read, read!

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