I used to do Top Ten Tuesday off and on a while back. It was hosted up until today at The Broke and the Bookish and they did a really good job. However, they are stepping back from that blog and going on to different things. One of the blog members, Jana, at That Artsy Reader Girl, will be the new host. So, this seemed an appropriate time for me to jump back in. And today's topic is 'Bookish Resolutions/Goals'.
I will admit that I am not a big 'goal setter' for my reading. I tried that in the past and it felt like pressure and a lot of work. I will often say 'I plan to read...' or 'My goal is to read...', but I don't formally set goals or join challenges or aim for a certain number of books read - stuff like that. However, I've come up with 10 'sorta resolutions/goals', in the spirit of the topic. Here's 'kay's 2018 bookish resolutions/goals':
1. Read a bit outside of my 'go-to' crime/thriller/suspense books. No pressure, just try something else now and then - like my recent read of LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE.
2. Keep up with the current book of several mystery series that I love - i.e. Louise Penny, Linda Castillo, Elly Griffiths, Jane Casey, Nicci French, Anne Hillerman, Donis Casey and a few others that I won't list.
3. Attend Malice Domestic 30 - a mystery book convention that is held annually. Since I'm already registered for this, it's a goal likely to be met. Ha!
4. Continue to use books on audio as a great incentive for my daily walks. I do this mostly at my local rec center and you can see in this picture of the walking/running track, it's a very nice facility. Not too hot in the summer - not too cold in the winter.
5. Continue to moderate/lead the mystery book group that I started 10 years ago at the branch library that was my workplace at the time. I do this as a volunteer now and love it. And also attend another book group at the same branch as my interest in the book and circumstances allow. I'm scheduled to moderate a discussion of Noah Hawley's BEFORE THE FALL with that group today. (Update - Austin Public Library locations are closed today because of winter weather. Sigh.)
6. Read one book a month from my new Classics Club List. I tweaked this to suit my own interests and selected books that fit the crime/thriller/mystery/horror/Gothic books that I love. Also, share a bit about the author when writing my thoughts on that month's read. I like making sure that the authors I've enjoyed are not forgotten.
7. Continue to be adventurous in my crime/mystery reading. This genre is made up of so many types of books. It's more than the books that one sees on the 'best seller' lists. I also love venturing out to unique locations for my mystery reading. I'd like to read a few books set in Iceland this year.
8. Make a point to contact the authors of books I've really loved reading this year and share with them my joy in their creation. I've done this in the past and made some friends. An author's books are like their children in some ways. We all love to hear people praise our children. Many will respond and be so happy that you've contacted them.
9. Try to read a few non-fiction books in 2018. This one is tough for me. However, some of the books that I recommend to others most are non-fiction - like BEING MORTAL by Atul Gawande. Great book, by the way. Everyone should read it.
10. Last but certainly not least - HAVE FUN WITH MY READING!!! Have fun with my blog and my book groups and talking about books with others. This is not a job. It is a very satisfying and necessary hobby for me. My wish for everyone who has made it this far in the post - HAVE FUN WITH YOUR READING!!
We've only just had our first mystery convention here in Sydney, Australia, but it was small and a little too serious for me. I wished it was more fun. but I'll still go this year. I always keep trying to read out of the mystery/thriller genre too, but I must admit I enjoy is so much, it doesn't always happen. I enjoyed this list!
ReplyDeleteHow nice that you got to go to the first mystery convention. Hope it will 'lighten' up a bit.
DeleteGreat resolutions, Kay! I especially love #8. Maybe I'll sent just a quick "thank you" note to authors of books I really enjoy. A good book is a gift, after all. :)
ReplyDeleteI love doing that and, like I said, I've made some friends that way. Not all respond personally, but many do.
DeleteGreat list! I especially loved the idea of contacting the authors of books you've really loved. That must really make their day and is such a lovely thing of you to do.
ReplyDeleteMy TTT
Thanks, Louise! Not all authors respond, but many do and are very pleasant to chat with.
DeleteGood luck with your goals! I know how tough it is to stay current with series. That will be a fun goal to work on. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jennifer! Yes, I've had to force myself to realize that I cannot read all the series I'd like to. And stay completely caught up. I only have a few that I try to stay completely current on.
DeleteI am in awe of the indoor track at your rec center!! Good luck with your resolutions, Kay.
ReplyDeleteIt's great, isn't it? And I just toodle around and around and around - listening to great books!
DeleteAudios keep me sane at time. I love #8 and should adapt it too.
ReplyDeleteMe too - keeping me sane. You've met a lot of authors and so you know what I mean about their 'children'. :-)
DeleteThese are great resolutions, Kay. If you need a recommendation for the nonfiction choices, I really enjoyed Morningstar by Ann Hood and Dear Fahrenheit 451 by Annie Spence.
ReplyDeleteI'm going to try to set a goal for classic reading, as well, but I think I'll aim for a more realistic (for me!) goal of one every quarter.
Love that indoor track! Stay warm!
Thanks, Les! I'll keep both of those in mind. I think quarterly is perfect. If mine were not so many rereads, I might not go for one a month.
DeleteYour goal list really resonates with me, and I too would struggle with #9. I don't read that much nonfiction either. I prefer to escape in stories of series and stand alone novels.
ReplyDeleteYes, you and I are of the same mind, Catherine. However, I need to branch out now and then.
DeleteGood luck with all these goals!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/01/16/top-ten-tuesday-142/
Thanks so much!
DeleteGreat goals! I love that you're challenging yourself to read outside your norm a little bit. :D Thanks for stopping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteYes, my go-to books are crime/mystery/thrillers. It's good to step out a bit now and then - but no pressure. LOL
DeleteReading more classics and non-fiction is on my list too. Great goals. I hope you accomplish all of your goals this year :)
ReplyDeleteThis week I have posted my top ten bookish pet peeves. My TTT: http://flippingthruthepages.com/2018/01/top-ten-bookish-pet-peeves/
I loved your bookish peeves. I share many of them.
DeleteI do like branching out into other genres sometimes too, because you just never know what books you'll find that you end up loving!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
That is completely true. And it's good for us - but no pressure. LOL
DeleteYeah, I'm behind with most of the series/authors you mentioned. It's SO hard to keep up! It's a pleasure, though, to check in with favorite authors/series. I'm purposely reading the Gamache series slowly because I love it so much :)
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT, Kay!
I hear you there, Susan. I think Louise Penny's books are best experienced slowly. They are deep. Or that's been my take on them.
DeleteI love your goals! I'm one of those people who gets stuck on a genre and reads it until I get sick and move onto something new. But I can always come back to a good mystery!
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday, thanks!
I've done that at times - read and read and read in a genre and then moved on. As you say, one can always read a good mystery.
DeleteGreat goals, Kay! I hope you have a great at the Malice Domestic 30 convention. That sounds like so much fun. I especially like your #10. It's important for all of us not to lose sight of having fun with our reading and blogging. Good luck with your goals! Have a great week!
ReplyDeleteI think #10 may be the most important goal of all - for me, anyway!
DeleteLots of great goals you have here, good luck with them. Non-fiction is kinda my thing, so I always have tons of recommendations. I have started to read some cozy mysteries, because they are quick reads when I need to 're-set' my brain after a particularly thorough non-fiction go-round. what is your preferred type of mystery/thriller?
ReplyDeleteSarah, I like all kinds of mystery/thriller type books. The mystery group I mentioned has read across the spectrum of the genre - everything from cozies to police procedurals to traditional to Gothics and more. In the last few years, I've read a lot of the psychological thrillers, but I also like the traditional ones - like Agatha Christie and current favorite, Louise Penny. My posts will always lean toward that genre, so you can get lots of recommendations here too.
DeleteBEING MORTAL is so good. I gave it to my parents and want my siblings to read it. Good luck with your goals and thank you for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think everyone should read BEING MORTAL. It's such a good book to begin the process of talking about and thinking about end-of-life issues.
DeleteExcellent goals, especially no. 10! I think it's good that you intend to reach out to authors you've enjoyed. I tend to think of 5-star reviews as 'fan mail' and regularly tweet a link to the author. One of my bookish regrets is that I never told Reginald Hill how much pleasure his books gave me over the years, before I began reviewing. Have a great reading year whether you achieve your goals or not!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's really interesting about Reginald Hill. That's part of my aim in attending Malice this year - Margaret Maron is scheduled to attend and I loved her Deborah Knott series for years and years. She has completed it (and I have corresponded with her by email), but I want to meet her and tell her that face-to-face if I can.
DeleteIt's so important to have fun with our reading! :-) Good luck with your goals.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. When it comes down to it, that's the main thing we all have in common - we are readers!
DeleteGreat goals! I especially love the last one, as having fun is definitely what it's all about :)
ReplyDeleteIt is indeed!
DeleteThese are awesome goals! I think its really cool how you lead a book group at your library. I should attempt to reach out to the book club at my library.
ReplyDeleteI led two of them when I was still working at the library. The manager asked me to do that when our assistant manager had health problems. I had never even been in a book group, much less led one. However, I loved it and have continue with the mystery group long after I was no longer employed there.
DeleteGreat list! I love #8! I need to do that more often! Good luck with your goals! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I've had fun reaching out to authors.
DeleteAmbitious. I have managed to do some of the same without realizing it. I have enjoyed being in touch with some authors, as you mentioned. Made some friends, got on some social media book clubs and got some books I never knew about. Wish I had more time to "play with my books" as I call it. lol
ReplyDeleteYes, I enjoy all the 'playing'. LOL
DeleteLots of fun goals! I really want to read Before The Fall! And how cool that you get to attend a Mystery Book Convention! That would be so awesome. Sounds like you will have a lot of fun this year with your goals.
ReplyDeleteI'm really looking forward to the mystery convention, Darlene. It was fun last year and I'm sure will be this year as well.
DeleteAwesome goals, Kay. I'm trying to step outside my regular genres too. I had never heard of Malice Domestic. Will have to add that to my list of places to go. Sounds fun. Good luck with all your goals. Thanks for visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty full immersion into mysteries and authors for a few days. Lots of fun!
DeleteMalice Domestic sounds so fun, I've heard of that one and it sounds like it would be a blast if you're a mystery lover. I'd like to do more bookish cons and events in general. And reading outside my preferred genres is another goal I'd like t do better at.
ReplyDeleteGreat list- good luck with these!
http://gregsbookhaven.blogspot.com/
I do enjoy going to author events. Don't get to go as often as I'd like. Thanks!
DeleteLooks like a great list of goals for the year. Good luck achieving them all and having fun while you do it.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week. - Katie
I plan to have a great 2018! Thanks!
DeleteThose are great goals, Kay. I've to say I don't really have any reading goal but if I've to name one, that'd be reading more books from my TBR pile!
ReplyDeleteI hear you there, Melody. That is probably the #1 goal for all of us. LOL
DeleteA mystery convention sounds like so much fun! You and my writing partner would get along welll, she loves Louise Penny and mysteries so much.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would say that anyone who loves LP and mysteries - they could be my friend. Others too, of course. LOL
DeleteI love the idea of contacting the author of a book you like. I’ve never done that. Well, one time. Back when we wrote actual letters. And he wrote back.
ReplyDeleteI've only done it by email, but most have answered back. Usually they have a way to contact them on their websites. Well, and I've talked face-to-face with authors at conferences and book events. :-)
DeleteGood luck with your goals! Malice Domestic sounds amazing! I enjoyed your posts about it last time. I'm also trying to up my audio book listening. I've really been enjoying them lately. I like the one about keeping up with specific authors I tend to get caught up in newer books and neglect some of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, you would really like Malice. Lots of the cozy authors that you mention attend. Just saying...ha! I'll be writing posts about my experience this year too.
DeleteGood luck with your goals. I'm going to try to connect w/ authors of books I read, by remembering to use the @ on twitter.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good thought too, Pat. Of course, I'm not on twitter, but for those who are, it's a great way to be quickly in touch.
DeleteThese are such great goals! I want to read more nonfiction this year, too. Louise Penny's Gamache series is a favorite of mine - I've read all of them except the most recent one.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading the newest one right now. So good - different and creepy - but good.
DeleteWonderful post, wonderful goals and ideas, even for the rest of us! I love mysteries/suspense very much, but do branch out often.
ReplyDeleteI want to have fun blogging so that means not setting any strict goals. This is a hobby, not my work.
I'm not one for the classics, but I don't force myself to read whatever is not enjoyable for me. A couple of years ago I used to feel badly if everyone raved about a book or a genre and I couldn't get into it. Now I've finally realized to be my own person, even if my choices aren't popular...
Ooh, a convention, what fun! Be sure to take lots of notes or pics when you go to share with your readers :)
I agree that each of us has to find the books that work for us. It's good to branch out, but finding our niche is also comforting. I went to this convention last year and had such a good time. Plan to do the same this year. I'll write a series of posts about it after I get back. People seemed to like that a lot. LOL
DeleteI love your goals, especially having fun! I may join challenges and do readalongs, etc. but most of all I just want to enjoy my reading. I like your goals and think you'll be able to do a great job this year. Can you believe all the craziness with the weather? We had to cancel our book group night as well and will meet until next month.
ReplyDeleteIt was 11 degrees at my house this morning. Way too cold! Hey, that book group has postponed the discussion I was leading until the 30th. It will be at 1:30 at the Spicewood Library - just FYI. LOL
DeleteI need to pick up more nonfiction too, so let's home we both pick up some amazing ones this year!
ReplyDeleteI agree. Here's hoping!
DeleteI totally fell off the wagon in my Classics Club Challenge. I hope to get back to it one day!
ReplyDeleteYes, we have so many plans and then all the news books and...distraction. LOL
DeleteI don't do bookish goals either. It sounds too much like work, and my reading has never been work.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a fitness center like that, with a walking track like that, I might actually go to it. I'm slightly envious now!
It's a very nice one and I get a discount as a 'senior' person. (I'm not really that senior, but if you are 55 or older, you get the discount.) Ha!
Delete#10 is one we so often lose track of when we start setting goals. Yours sound like you'll have fun doing them!
ReplyDeleteI agree. So many of us tend to end up treating blogging/reading like a job, with all the stress involved. I like remembering that it's a pursuit that we likely originally meant to be relaxing. LOL
DeleteKay, I really like your resolutions. I like doing the same. I often join reading challenges. like the Nonfiction Challenge, to help me accomplish my resolutions. Yours goals are quite admirable. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Margot!
DeleteThese are such great goals! I'm trying to read outside of my comfort zone of mysteries and thrillers as well. I am also trying to read more nonfiction as well. But the best one is just having fun with your reading. I couldn't agree more!!
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that's a goal we all need!
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