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| Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts At Midnight host the 2016 Discussion Challenge. |
I’m very goal-oriented. I like to pick a
goal, figure out what it takes to reach it, and organize everything so I can
get there. I’m also neurotic. Having a task to concentrate on keeps me from
pointlessly spinning my mental wheels. That’s why I’m a big fan of New Year’s
resolutions. I don’t always accomplish them, but they force me to focus.
So, of course I made some 2017 resolutions
for my reading and blogging. I thought I’d share them with you. (You guys can
peer-pressure me into following through on them.)
2017 Reading Resolutions
1.
Read at least 100 books.
I was able to do this in 2016, so hopefully it’ll be possible to repeat it in
2017.
2.
Read more nonfiction. I’ve
been meaning to do this for years. Some of my favorite books are nonfiction,
but I don’t read enough of it. I want to make it a priority in 2017.
3.
Stay eclectic. I’m
hopelessly attracted to certain subjects (religion, nature, isolation, history,
travel, violent death), but I don’t want to get stuck in a reading bubble. How
will I find new subjects to obsess about if I stay in my odd little comfort
zone?
4.
Maybe reread Harry Potter. Cursed Child left a horrible taste in my mouth. I
need to get back to the originals. I always feel bad about rereading a series I’ve
already read a dozen times. There are so many other books in the world. I love
Harry Potter, though!
5.
Keep trying to find diversity.
Can you believe that way back in 2013, one of my New Year’s resolutions was to “find
diverse books”? That’s the year I realized that most children’s book characters
are clones of each other. Main characters are starting to become less clone-like,
but I don’t think I’ll ever stop looking for diversity.
2017 Blogging Resolutions
1.
Promote small presses. I’d
like to start doing Small Press Spotlights where I read a few books from a
small publisher and write a post about them. There are two problems with this.
First, I can’t afford to pay full price for books, and it’s hard to find small
press books at libraries or used bookstores. Second, I feel awkward emailing presses and asking for review copies. If I want Small Press Spotlights to
happen, I’ll have to dig deep and get creative.
2.
Promote older posts.
There are nearly 600 posts on this blog. The majority of them get no traffic. I
might start tweeting some links to older posts.
3.
Blogging from A to Z. I
want to do the Blogging From A To Z challenge in April. I’ve watched other
bloggers do this challenge for years, but I’ve never been brave enough to try
it. It involves a lot of blogging.
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| This may or may not be my graphic for the challenge. |
4.
Discussion library?
Discussions are the most popular posts on my blog. It would make sense for me
to organize them in a user-friendly way. Right now, they’re not even tagged
under “discussion.” That would be way too logical. I need to put them all in
one place.
Those
are my New Year’s resolutions. Did you make any?
It sounds like you have a lot of great goals for the coming year, and I'm sure you're going to do amazing at completing them!
ReplyDeleteMaybe reread Harry Potter?! Harry Potter is never a maybe!!
Yeah, it’s no longer a “maybe.” I’m going to reread them, even if my TBR books have to sit on my shelf for a few extra weeks.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
If you have an ereader or if you like reading on your computer, an easy way to get free ebook copies is to join Goodreads groups where Indie authors offer free copies if you give them your email address. I got a ton of free books that way. You can also get free ebooks on Smashwords and ebook bike. It's harder if you are looking for free paperbacks and I never had the nerve to ask for them! I think your goals are good. I'll be cheering you on through next year. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I’ll check out the Goodreads groups.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I am hoping to do a resolutions post sometime in January. I think you have a lot of great ones and hope you accomplish them all!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I’m looking forward to your post.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
What a wonderful list. My non-bookish resolution is to compost. I know that's weird but I've always wanted to try it, I'm always buying dirt and fertilizer for my plants... so why am I not composting. I actually plan to make one of those small storage bin composts today. As for bookish resolution, I LOVE LOVE LOVE your small press resolution. I think it's a great idea but I understand about the price. I bought a book last month that was actually a large publisher that has a smaller imprint division and for only being 200 pages, that book cost me $16! Hopefully you can find some deals on books. Maybe add a bunch to your amazon wishlist and see if any either go on sale.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your resolutions!
Good luck with composting! My parents gave me an Amazon gift card for Christmas, so that should help with the book buying. Books from small presses are really expensive.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
This is an excellent list of resolutions! 100 books is a solid, even number. I want to read more nonfiction this coming year too. Blogging A to Z sounds fun. =) Best of luck with everything, AJ!
ReplyDeleteAlyssa @ The Eater of Books!
You have such a great set of resolutions here! I like that they are all attainable and exciting! I have tried to read some non-fiction as well, but I should really make a point of actually doing it! I hope that you do the A-Z challenge. I have never done it and I think that it looks like a lot of fun. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I have some drafts of posts for the A-Z Challenge, but it’s hard to come up with topics and find time to write about them. Blogging every day for a month is hard.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I've been doing some re-reading via audiobook, which is PERFECT because I listen only at times I wouldn't be reading anyways (driving or walking the dog) and I'm getting to enjoy an old favorite in a new way! I've never been into audiobooks but this is really working for me. I'm with you: I love nonfiction, but the one bother is that it's more difficult to write about in the blog, at least for me. I try, but I usually feel like those are my least successful reviews. That A-Z challenge looks intense, but I'm excited to read it if you do it!
ReplyDeleteYeah, nonfiction is harder for me to write about, too. I can’t really review real life, so sometimes I’m not sure what to say about the books. I’ve been considering getting an audiobook for when I’m on the treadmill.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Oh, I love the Blogging From A to Z Challenge! It's always tough, but so much fun and so rewarding! I've participated the past two years and I'm excited about the upcoming round! I totally encourage you to go for it! Happy reading and good look with your awesome resolutions!
ReplyDeleteI’m looking forward to reading your posts!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Wonderful goals. I haven't made any official resolutions, but I would like to read 80+ books this year, which is what I did this year. I am reading more nonfiction than before and would like to keep going.
ReplyDeleteI have not read the Harry Potter Series. I keep saying that I will try again, but haven't felt the urge to really give it a go yet.
Best of luck in 2017! I look forward to your updates.
Thanks! Good luck with your goals.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Ah, these resolutions are great! I'm still trying to figure out whether I want to set specific blogging resolutions or to just leave them broad. I'd definitely love your idea of a discussion library!
ReplyDeleteErika @ Books and Stars
I like goals because they help me stay focused. I totally understand why some people would want to be more spontaneous, though.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Yes, tagging your discussions would definitely be helpful. I always find discussion posts to be the most fun to read and it seems like lots of people agree!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Yeah, my discussions get more views than any other posts. If people like to read them, I should probably make them easier to read.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I'm going to be starting the year with a bunch of MG/YA nonfiction as a Cybils judge. So I'll be upping my NF diet as well. "Keep trying to find diversity" is pretty much what I'm always telling myself too. And I'll be re-reading Chamber of Secrets with my daughter, since she got the illustrated version from me for Christmas. Sounds like you have a good reading/blogging year lined up. It should be interesting to see what it's like to not be a student while doing all that!
ReplyDeleteI want to find a good job this year, so I’ll hopefully be trading “student” for “gainfully employed adult.” Still, it’ll be interesting to see what happens to my reading.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I am usually so bad at resolutions but I have been improving. I can get very focused on a goal but I just don't do well with the whole New Year's thing. I want to reduce my Goodreads goal this year to take some of the pressure off but I might start trying to eat a bit better. I still need to read the Harry Potter series.
ReplyDeleteI need to do better with eating, too. Nachos are a “sometimes” food. :)
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Good resolutions, good luck. Mine is to read at least 80 books and to add a £1 into a jar every time I read a book and also do the A to Z challenge for authors and tiles and read my 2017 net galley books on time
ReplyDeleteThanks! Good luck with your goals!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
If you want an interesting non-fiction that I found super enjoyable, try Things to Make and Do in the Fourth Dimension. It’s about math, but not the difficult stuff - just the little math things that you come across every day and not notice it, like how to cut pizza and impossible shapes. It was so much fun to read!
ReplyDeleteCaroline @ Just Another Bookish Blog
Great goals! Some of mine are to read at least 50 books, read more nonfiction, read more fantasy, and read the list of ten books I put together. I need to do more with my blog as well, but I didn't make a ton of goals regarding that. Maybe I'll come up with some. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I am currently rereading the Harry Potter series. I should be starting The Goblet of Fire this month.
ReplyDeleteI really hope you can do all of these! It sometimes feels a bit weird promoting old blog posts, but they are there and also part of your blog, so I can see why! I've started to do it lately, and I hope I can continue to keep promoting some of my older ones. I hope you manage to read 100 books again -- congrats on finishing that last year! I've also been trying to read some smaller books but you're right - it's hard.
ReplyDelete