Happy New Year, everyone! 2020 was a very challenging year, but I’m proud of myself for learning to find peace in being alone and for celebrating one year at my dream job. While I have no idea what 2021 holds, I know I’ll be finding comfort between the pages of books.
I haven’t made too many personal resolutions for this year beyond the usual “eat better and exercise more regularly” kind, but I did make some reading and blogging resolutions!
Reading Resolutions
- Read at least 50 books this year. I somehow read 64 books in 2020 but I’m not entirely sure I can keep up that momentum in the new year. 50 books should give me enough buffer room for when life inevitably gets in the way of reading.
- Read 15 backlist titles. There are so many new releases that I’m excited about, but I also have so many older books on my TBR that I really need to read. Hopefully the Beat the Backlist challenge will motivate me to hit this goal.
- Borrow library books instead of purchasing new titles. Libraries are such an important pillar of the community and I want to continue supporting them whenever I can! Plus, my bookshelves are very full right now…
- If I do purchase books, they will be from local, independent bookstores. The pandemic was really hard on indies and they need our support! There are so many Toronto bookstores that I haven’t visited yet, and I really want them to still be there after all of the lockdowns are over.
- I will DNF a book if I’m not enjoying it — even if it’s a book that’s universally-beloved or popular in the book blogging world. My to-read list is incredibly long, so there’s no point in forcing myself to finish a book that I’m not enjoying.
Blogging Resolutions
- I will create a separate “hub” for all of my blogging content. I frequently jot down ideas and start to draft posts on my phone, but my Notes app is so chaotic. I started using Notion thanks to May at Forever and Everly (her setup is so cute!) so hopefully this keeps things more organized.
- I will start drafting reviews shortly after finishing the book. I’m definitely guilty of finishing a book and starting another right away, and by the time I go to write the review, I have no idea what to write. Even something as simple as writing a pros/cons list or writing down favourite quotes while I read would make the review process easier!
- I will visit other blogs more often. There are a lot of blogs that I genuinely adore, and I need to do a better job of leaving genuine comments and showing my appreciation for them.
- I will not compare myself to other bloggers, whether that’s in terms of ARCs or follower counts. I’m very thankful for everyone who reads here, and I’ll do my best to continually show that while sharing my love of reading. As long as I do both, I consider that a success!
- I will post what I’m interested in, not just what’s trending/popular. Backlist titles and reviews don’t perform as well, but they’re what I read and enjoy writing so it would feel inauthentic to remove those pieces.
- I will try to generate more discussion posts and personal posts – I want to get to know you all better and also share more about myself!
- I will be more available, whether it’s on this blog, Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, or via email. I’m aiming for a 24-hour response time across all platforms, so we’ll see how that goes!
Here’s hoping that I can stick with these!
Do you have any blogging or bookish resolutions for this year?
Great set of resolutions. Mine is to read 50 books – same as last year 😂
That’s a great goal! I set mine to the same number as last year too, it’s so much easier than having to come up with a new number haha
Borrowing more library books is a great goal. My local library allows us to request one book per month that they don’t currently have. So I’ve even gotten my hands on books that they originally didn’t have in their collection thanks to that perk!
Lydia recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: My Hopes for 2021
I love that – I didn’t even know it was an option at libraries!
erin recently posted…2021 Bookish Resolutions
I want to buy only from physical bookshops this year, I don’t buy many books from Amazon anyway (aside from audiobooks) but I’d like to try and cut it to nothing this year. I’d also like to try and get to 50 books this year, though I always start with my goal lower than I’ll think I’ll read so that it’s less pressurised.
Jo recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday #298
I love both of these resolutions – physical bookstores can always use more support!
These are great goals! I am also trying to use the local library more often. I’ve been going through my TBR list to see what books are available via their online catalog and have found a bunch. I’m excited to get started. 🙂
I’m so glad they had a lot of books that you wanted to read! I hope you enjoy all of them 🙂
If I didn’t take notes while reading, I’d never remember the details of the books I read. Writing a brief review on Goodreads as soon as I finish a book has also been SUPER helpful when it comes to writing a longer review later.
Good luck with all your goals! Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
That’s such a good idea – I’ll definitely have to try writing a brief review when I’ve finished with a book!
Great resolutions! I would like to read 70 books this year and read all my physical tbr! I also try and write my reviews as soon as I finish otherwise I’ll have completely forgotten what happens, especially if its a book in a series!
Those sound like excellent goals! Happy reading, and good luck with your resolutions!