Welcome back to Endless Possibilities - 2018 Edition! As I'm sure you're aware by now, I have changed the design of my blog! What do you think? The last time I updated the design was January of 2014 - four years ago. Crazy, right? I figured it was time for a redesign again, and I must say I'm happy with how it turned out. :)
But enough about that for now. I'm kicking off the year with a book-related post, just as I did last January. Let's talk about my book goals for 2018, and how I hope to change my reading habits slightly along with these goals.
Goodreads Reading Challenge: 35 Books
2017 was the year I finally reached my three-time goal of reading 50 books in a year. I'd come close in '15 and '16 with 47 each, but last year was my year and I finally, finally made it happen. I am so proud of myself. That being said, trying to read 50 books in a year can be really stressful if you tend to get hung up on the numbers, as I do. Especially since I don't do much reading in November because of NaNoWriMo, December is doubly stressful because then I'm not only nearing the end of another month - I'm nearing the end of an entire year. I always felt like I had to rush in December, and I'd choose shorter books to help me power through to the end, and it always kind of felt less fun and more like cheating.
So with this in mind, when I realized I was actually going to make it to 50 last year and began looking forward to 2018 when I'd reset my reading goal, I decided to go for a lower and much more easily attainable number: 35 books. I did this mostly so I wouldn't feel as rushed throughout the year and so I could simply enjoy reading for pleasure again without getting hung up on numbers. I love reading, but I don't have the time for it as often anymore as I used to. I felt like, having reached my goal of 50 in 2017, it was time to give myself a breather and try for a lower number. 35 seemed like a good place to start. And if I make it easily, I can always up my goal later. For now, though, I just want to focus on making reading fun again.
2018 Personal Reading Goals
1) Read more nonfiction. I think this was mostly inspired by literally all of my coworkers (save for a few) being more into nonfiction than fiction, but I've also seen a lot of nonfiction books come through the drop at the library recently that have caught my eye more than they would have a few months ago, so I think my interests might be changing slightly as I'm getting older. Also since I'm not in school anymore I think it would be nice to learn more about topics that appeal to me.
2) Get into the habit of quitting books I'm not enjoying. This rarely happens, but when it does it makes reading feel more like a chore rather than a fun activity, and sometimes it will take me weeks or even months to finish a book because I simply don't want to. As many patrons at the library say, "Life is too short to read books that you're not enjoying." So starting this year, if a book is just not keeping my attention and/or I'm not having a good time reading it, I'm not going to force myself to finish it. I've actually created a "DNF" shelf on Goodreads to help me stick to this. Like I said, it rarely happens anyway.
3) Continue/finish series I've already started. Over the course of the past few years I've gotten into the habit of discovering and starting several new series every time I go to Barnes and Noble or my local bookstore or what have you, but it rarely follows that I continue those series that I start. There are some exceptions, of course, but for the most part I'll read book one of a set of books and leave it at that to move on to the latest and greatest thing. I want to start breaking out of that habit as well. Of course I'll still be starting some series this year, but along with that I want to continue ones I've already begun - maybe even finish a few, depending on how many books are part of the set.
4) Read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This is the one and only book my dad has ever talked about repeatedly over the years (as far as I can remember). My dad isn't much of a reader - as a matter of fact, I don't think he's picked up a book in eons. But any time he does reference or discuss a book with me, it is almost always The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. As I've grown older he's actually started to recommend that I read it. Because of this rare occurrence I want to take his recommendation and finally read the thing for myself. (Never mind the fact that it's a very popular science fiction novel.)
5) Reread favorite books/authors. I rarely reread books. I used to, when I was much younger. I can think of several books just off the top of my head that I would read over and over again as a kid and young teen. But as I got into upper high school and early college I began to stop rereading anything outside of the obvious Skulduggery Pleasant. There are many books on my shelf on Goodreads that I've read, raved about, given five stars, etc....but have never reread. I think there's something unique about reading a book for a second and third time; you pick up more than you did the first time through. You may even have a different experience with it depending on where you are in life. In 2018 I want to start rereading books I've loved in the past, rather than just let them collect dust on my real-life shelf.
New Releases I'm Most Looking Forward To In 2018
Love, Hate, and Other Filters (Jan)
Let's Talk About Love (Jan)
#PrettyBoy Must Die (Feb)
Warlock Holmes #3: My Grave Ritual (May)
Writing Goals
Last year I set out to rewrite my most-revisited novel, Follow the Raven. In November I did just that, hitting 52.2k words before the end of the year and thus completing 95% of my rewrite. In 2018 my goal is to begin the revision and editing process so that in the upcoming years I can hopefully begin looking into getting an agent and getting this novel on the road to publication. Camp NaNo in both April and July will be focused more on revising and editing than on writing anything new. The revision process will most likely take me the entire year to get through, but slow and steady wins the race, so I'm not concerned about speed with this part of the process. That said, I am very excited to start along a new road in this novel's progression!
And that's all she wrote this time, everyone. Thanks for sticking around with me as we move into a New Year! Be sure to check back frequently for new bookish and nerdy posts in the upcoming months. (I'll hopefully have something Sonic-related for you very soon!) See you next time! :D
