Review of 2021 Bookish Goals

It's 2022! I've decided not to set any bookish goals for this year. I have enough else going on in my life right now! However, I did want to share how I did with my 2021 goals (which I intentionally made very squishy to keep it fun for me).

1. Read some books from my to-read list.
I drastically changed how I organize my books in Goodreads during 2021, so while I did successfully read four books from my original to-read list, that list is no more and my "might want to read" list has been cut down and I've added tags to it for the different reasons I'm interested in certain books.

2. Read some books published in 2021.
Yes — 20 of them! A number of my favorite authors had 2021 publications, and I also read several books that were newly released by people we interviewed on the podcast.

3. Read some books published in 2020.
Yep, I read nine of these.

4. Read some books from my "shelf of shame."
I read three that I recorded, though I usually take a book off this shelf when I start reading it so I may have forgotten some.

5. Continue with the Miss Marple series.
I got through several more books in the series, and I have five left to enjoy.

6. Read something my sister recommends.
So my sister didn't want to recommend me anything, and when I asked which of the books on her favorites list she thought I would like, she said I wouldn't. I persevered and picked one anyway, and she was correct — I did not like it very much! :D I may have to retire this goal until my sister finishes law school and starts reading for pleasure again, which I hope she does!

7. Read everything my bibliologist recommends.
I enjoyed my TBR subscription a lot! I read almost everything my bibliologist recommended, except that I have two books from the last quarter I haven't gotten to yet. But I plan to!

8. Read some books about race in America.
I read seven books that I think could fit into this category, some of which were stronger than others. How to Be an Antiracist was definitely the best of the bunch, but they each had something to offer.

9. Reread some books I've read before.
I read a number of childhood favorites to my older son before we started exploring some chapter book series that were new to both of us, and between my two book clubs I reread four books I'd read before. Now that I have a second kid, I also reread the excellent baby sleep resource Precious Little Sleep!

10. Participate in at least two TTT linkups each month.
Success! I actually managed to participate in three TTT linkups more months than not. And every month I also participated in the Quick Lit linkup and hosted the Best of the Bunch end-of-month linkup.

Did you make any bookish goals for 2021? How did you do?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Strangers from a Different Shore and Feminist, Queer, Crip
Five years ago I was reading: Death in the Clouds, Good-Bye to All That, and Dracula
Ten years ago I was reading: The Fault in Our Stars

Ten Bookish Goals for 2021

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

This week is about our resolutions for the year, bookish or otherwise. I typically set 10 bookish goals each year, and I debated on whether to abandon the practice this year. I like some things about having goals but sometimes they can stress me out, which is not what I want in my reading life. Eventually I decided I would make my goals less "SMART" by taking away exact numbers and would go easy on myself by listing out what I planned to do anyway rather than making any stretch goals this year. Here's what I expect to do this year. (See my previous post of how I did on my 2020 goals.)

1. Read some books from my to-read list.
I'm still working my way through my original to-read list, and I'd like to make at least a little progress this year on getting more titles read from that list. (Since I no longer have unread books on my shelves, this is kind of the equivalent for me.)

2. Read some books published in 2021.
I like having a goal that gives me permission to pick up at least some "new and shiny" publications when I hear about them.

3. Read some books published in 2020.
Every year there are books published that I regret not getting to, and though I read 18 books published in 2020, there are lots more on my list, so I want to make space to get to some of those!

4. Read some books from my "shelf of shame."
I'm slowly working my way through these few dozen "books I should have read by now," which I always enjoy because they tend to be ones that even casual readers know and recommend, so we can discuss them.

5. Continue with the Miss Marple series.
Will I finish the series this year? Probably, but if I don't that's OK too!

6. Read something my sister recommends.
I'm continuing this goal that I've had in recent years. My sister hasn't done a lot of personal reading since starting law school, but there are some books on her favorites list that I haven't read, so I'm going to see which one she thinks I should try.

7. Read everything my bibliologist recommends.
I'm very excited to have been gifted a TBR subscription for my birthday, and I already read and loved one suggestion, The Parker Inheritance. The other recent recs will take a while to get from the library, and then I'll get another set of three recommendations next quarter, which I plan to prioritize in my reading!

8. Read some books about race in America.
I've read a lot of books on this topic in the past decade and I have many more on my to-read list, so I want to make sure I continue learning about the experiences of Americans of color as well as the historical and present-day contributors to structural racism.

9. Reread some books I've read before.
It's well documented on this blog that I'm not a big rereader, but in the past few years I've ended up rereading some, mostly for book club but also by revisiting childhood classics. Now that my older son is up for having me read chapter books to him at bedtime, I plan to get through several rereads.

10. Participate in at least two TTT linkups each month.
I've done pretty well with this the past couple years, and I'd like to continue!

What are your 2021 goals or resolutions?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: The Seeress of Kell, The Next Evangelicalism, and There There
Five years ago I was reading: Lonesome Dove, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and Bhagavad-Gita
Ten years ago I was reading: Human Happiness

Review of 2020 Bookish Goals

It's 2021! It's time to look at my 2020 goals and see how I did.

1. Read at least three books published in 2020.
I actually read quite a lot of 2020 publications: 18! As is usually the case, many of the best books I read this past year were published in 2020.

2. Get roughly 1/3 of my 2020 reads from my TBR list.
So it turns out that when I set a goal of half my reads coming from my TBR list, I only managed about a third, and when my goal was a third I managed even less, haha. It was about 15%. The good news is that I cut my original TBR way down so there are only 41 books left on it.

3. Read 50% fiction and 50% nonfiction.
I only managed 38% nonfiction, which is slightly higher than normal. Nonfiction books can be hella long, though, so page-wise I might have been closer to 50/50.

4. Read at least five books on my "shelf of shame."
Success: I read eight! Side note: People seem really bothered by my shelf of shame, but I love it. It externalizes, in a cheeky way, a feeling I already had, and it gives me a finite list of the books I feel I "should" have read by now so I stop feeling like there are hundreds of books in that category and realize there are actually only 32 of them.

5. Read something my sister recommends.
This year my sister's pick was Girls with Sharp Sticks. My sister's got dark tastes, y'all. It wasn't my favorite of the ones she's recommended, but I enjoyed it!

6. Read some modern books on feminism.
I forgot this goal was about modern-day feminism and read two books from 1981 (Ain't I a Woman and Women, Race, & Class, which were both excellent) but I read some more modern ones as well. I definitely recommend Hood Feminism and I Bring the Voices of My People.

7. Read some books set in Portland.
This goal led me to Adib Khorram's excellent Darius books, as well as another of this year's favorite reads, Piecing Me Together.

8. Read a Louise Penny book.
I read the first two in the Chief Inspector Gamache series and concluded that they're not for me. Now I know!

9. Listen to some classics narrated by celebrities.
I listened to five! I particularly appreciated getting to hear Tim Curry read Sabriel.

10. Start the Miss Marple series.
Success! I read four of the books and plan to continue with them this year.

How did you do with your 2020 goals?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: The Seeress of Kell, The Next Evangelicalism, and There There
Five years ago I was reading: Lonesome Dove, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and The Quran
Ten years ago I was reading: Human Happiness

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2020

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

Just like last year, there isn't a weekly topic on bookish goals anymore and this week is one on anticipated 2020 publications, of which I have almost none (only A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor and Don't Overthink It), so I'm just using this week to share my goals instead! In case you missed it, I reviewed how I did on my 2019 goals.

1. Read at least three books published in 2020.
I'm keeping this goal from previous years because it gives me permission to pick up new releases even when I have a long TBR list. And I usually have at least a few favorites of the year that are published that year!

2. Get roughly 1/3 of my 2020 reads from my TBR list.
I decided to set this goal a bit more realistically this year, as my reading the past two years has been about 35% off my TBR even when I set my goal at 50%. I like having the push to clear out my original, capped TBR list, but don't want to stress myself out about it.

3. Read 50% fiction and 50% nonfiction.
Typically about 1/3 of my reading is nonfiction, but I have a ton of nonfiction on my TBR list, and I also find that I rate the nonfiction I read higher than the fiction on average. This year I'm going to try to up my nonfiction reading.

4. Read at least five books on my "shelf of shame."
I'm keeping this goal again this year because I keep having conversations with people who recommend books to me that are on my Goodreads shelf of shame and I keep having to say, "It's on my list! I haven't read it yet!" so I hope to knock more of those books off my list this year.

5. Read something my sister recommends.
Keeping this tradition again this year! My sister has recommended some great books to me and I like being able to talk books with her, since we both like reading but tend to have different tastes. I'm not sure how much reading she's doing for fun while in law school, but I'm sure there's at least something from her past reading that I haven't read yet.

6. Read some modern books on feminism.
Now that I have a podcast for Christian feminists, I want to stay well-versed in the conversations happening in present-day feminism, particularly from a diversity of voices. My first book of the year was I Bring the Voices of My People: A Womanist Vision for Racial Reconciliation by Dr. Chanequa Walker-Barnes (which was AMAZING) and I'm excited to read more.

7. Read some books set in Portland.
I feel like I keep stumbling across recommendations for books that happen to be set in Portland (where I live) and I'd love to make it a priority to pick some of them up. I don't know all the areas of the city as well as I would like so I also think reading a book might push me to check out new areas of the city (either in person or, at the very least, through some internet research).

8. Read a Louise Penny book.
Anne Bogel has been recommending these for years, and even though I know I love murder mysteries, I don't often make it a priority to read them, except for Agatha Christie and Tana French. I'm going to read Still Life this year, and if I like it, hopefully read a few more in the Inspector Gamache series.

9. Listen to some classics narrated by celebrities.
I keep hearing about classic books that I read 10+ years ago that have recently been released as audiobooks narrated by famous people. I am interested in Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston narrated by Ruby Dee, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery narrated by Rachel McAdams, and The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood narrated by Claire Danes. Unfortunately I don't have an Audible account and I think some of these may be Audible exclusives, so I will have to figure that out...

10. Start the Miss Marple series.
I've read all the Poirot books and all the Tommy and Tuppence books, so it's time to start the Miss Marple books in my quest to read Agatha Christie's complete works. I'm not going to attempt to get through all of this year (who knows, maybe I will) but I will at least start reading those books in publication order.

What are your bookish goals for 2020?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Cutting for Stone, Cold Comfort Farm, and Pachinko
Five years ago I was reading: The Great Gilly Hopkins and The Canterbury Tales
Ten years ago I was reading: Silas Marner

Review of 2019 Bookish Goals

It's 2020! It's time to look at my 2019 goals and see how I did. Then I will share my 2020 bookish goals in another post.

1. Read the whole Chronicles of Narnia series.
My friend and I decided to do these on audio, and we discussed them via email. She had a baby around book five so I finished the rest of the series on my own, but I hope we still get to discuss the final books at some point!

2. Reread the Malloreon series on audiobook.
I got a late start on this, but I made it through four of the five books and am in the middle of the final book now!

3. Read some of the unread books on our bookshelf.
I had five books on my shelves (which are separate from my husband's and son's shelves) that I hadn't read; I read four of them and am partway through the fifth. I acquired two new books in 2019, but they are reference books for future parenting stages, so I'm OK with keeping them unread for now.

4. Get roughly 50% of my 2019 reads from my TBR list and 50% from elsewhere.
Just like the previous year, this proved to be too high a target to hit but it pushed me in the right direction; 35 of my 101 books in 2019 were from my original TBR list. That list is now down to 122, so I should get it under 100 in the next year!

5. Read at least three books published in 2019.
Success! I read eight of them. Four made it on my top nonfiction of the year and one on my top fiction.

6. Read at least five books on my "shelf of shame."
I read eight of them! My favorite was Whistling Vivaldi.

7. Read Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers.
I finished this French version of the first Harry Potter book and was able to return it to its owner with a thank-you note. As planned, I followed up each chapter by listening to the corresponding episode of Harry Potter and the Sacred Text. It was a lot of fun to read it in French, and a good match for my language level.

8. Read a few books that are the first in a series.
I read four books that were the first in a series; of these, Binti was the only one for which I continued the rest of the series. I actually put a hold on the sequel to Daughter of Smoke and Bone while I was reading it, and then certain plot developments made me so irritated that I canceled my hold.

9. Get caught up with the Dublin Murder Squad.
I read The Trespasser and loved it! It was the first of the series that got a 5-star rating from me. Then I realized that The Witch Elm was a standalone and not part of the series, so I called this goal done and figured I can come back to that one another time if I feel like it.

10. Read something my sister recommends.
My sister managed to recommend something less creepy than her previous three years' picks: I listened to Sadie on audio at her recommendation and enjoyed it.

Bonus: Read the Tommy and Tuppence books.
This was a goal I added for myself partway through the year, since I finished up all the Poirot books the year before and saw there were only five in this series of Christie's, so I decided to tackle them this year.

How did you do with your 2019 goals?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Cutting for Stone, If You Come Softly, and Pachinko
Five years ago I was reading: The Great Gilly Hopkins and The Canterbury Tales
Ten years ago I was reading: Silas Marner

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2019

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl for another Top Ten Tuesday.

Since there's no goals topic this year, I'm stealing this week to talk about my 2019 reading goals. (Also, I have no idea what's being published in 2019!) In case you missed it, here's how I did with my 2018 goals. Wish me luck on my goals for 2019!

1. Read the whole Chronicles of Narnia series.
As previously mentioned, I already have plans to do a buddy read of this series with a friend this year. I've read the first two books (publication order) before, but I have not read the rest of them. Now is the time!

2. Reread the Malloreon series on audiobook.
I tried getting through both the Belgariad and Malloreon last year, but I only made it through the Belgariad. The Malloreon was always my favorite of the two series, so I'm looking forward to revisiting it.

3. Read some of the unread books on our bookshelf.
This is a continuation of last year's goal, since I didn't do terribly well. There aren't that many, so I should be able to get through them if I try!

4. Get roughly 50% of my 2019 reads from my TBR list and 50% from elsewhere.
I'm going to attempt this again this year even though I didn't succeed last year because having the goal is still helpful in pushing me to get through the books on my original TBR list, which I capped a few years ago. One of my book clubs recently switched from monthly to every other month, so that will help with the number of non-TBR books I "have to" read.

5. Read at least three books published in 2019.
I like this goal because it gives me permission to pick up new releases that sound interesting, and a lot of my favorite reads from last year were new releases. Also, I hate getting to the annual Goodreads Awards and not having read anything on there.

6. Read at least five books on my "shelf of shame."
I created a tag on Goodreads to mark those books that I really should have read by now, the ones I see pop up again and again. There weren't nearly as many as I expected, and now it feels more manageable to start tackling them intentionally. These include Redwall, King Lear, A Room with a View, and Little Fires Everywhere.

7. Read Harry Potter à l'école des sorciers.
My husband borrowed the French version of the first Harry Potter book from someone for me and I haven't had a chance to read it yet. I've been wanting to listen to Harry Potter and the Sacred Text, so I thought it might be cool to listen to each podcast episode after I finish reading the corresponding chapter in French, as an incentive to get through it.

8. Read a few books that are the first in a series.
I have a tendency to put off books on my TBR if they're the start of a series, because what if I like them and then have to put everything else on hold to read the next eight books? But last year I finally read The Raven Boys and loved it and did not mind devoting the time to reading the rest of the series. Goal #4 be damned, I'm going to take the chance this year on some series.

9. Get caught up with the Dublin Murder Squad.
Speaking of series, I was happy to finally get to The Secret Place last year, only to find that Tana French had released The Witch Elm and I was now two books behind again. I hope to read both The Trespasser and The Witch Elm before the year's end.

10. Read something my sister recommends.
I've enjoyed this annual tradition, so I'm going to ask my sister for a recommendation again this year. Hopefully she can find me something that's less creepy than her last three picks...

What are your bookish goals for 2019?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Peter Pan and After Dark
Five years ago I was reading: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and War and Peace
Ten years ago I was reading: Copyediting

Review of 2018 Bookish Goals

Now that we're in 2019, it's time to look back at my 2018 goals and see how well I did. Then it will be time to share my 2019 goals! Here's what I wanted to accomplish in 2018.

1. Read the His Dark Materials series.
I did it! I enjoyed listening to the full-cast audio production of these books. It turns out that all this time I'd thought that I'd read the first two books in middle school, but I definitely only read the first one. The first book was excellent, the second book was confusing, and the third book was a trash fire of nonsense. Oh well!

2. Read the whole Chronicles of Narnia series.
I did not do this, but I'm all set to do a buddy read of the books in publication order in 2019. I already finished The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe this week!

3. Finish the Hercule Poirot books.
I did it! It took me just about two years to read through all 37 books. I haven't yet decided if I want to make a goal to tackle more Christie in the new year, or give it a break for a while.

4. Reread the Belgariad and Malloreon series on audiobook.
I completed half of this goal: I listened to the Belgariad series in 2018. I hope to get through the Malloreon series in 2019. I wasn't a huge fan of the audiobook narrator, but he grew on me as I got further into the series.

5. Read something my sister recommends.
My sister recommended Night Film by Marisha Pessl, and I thought it was excellent! I turned out to like it much better than the Pessl I'd had on my TBR list for the longest time, Special Topics in Calamity Physics, which I also ended up reading this year. My sister definitely has a taste for creepy books, though: Her past recommendations have been Stolen (about a kidnapper) and You (about a stalker).

6. Read some of the unread books on my bookshelf.
I pretty much failed at this. I read one book I had in hard copy, Disunity in Christ. I also started working through R For Dummies. And that's it. However, for Christmas I got a custom library stamp (as mentioned here) so I think that will prompt me to read more of my unread books, since I can't stamp them until I know whether I want to keep them! (Thankfully I own very few unread books to begin with.)

7. Get roughly 50% of my 2018 reads from my TBR list and 50% from elsewhere.
So it turns out that it's not a good idea to make a goal to read books off your TBR and then make every other goal about books that aren't on your TBR. Whoops. Out of the 124 books that I read in 2018, 43 were from my original TBR list, or 35%. That was the same number I read last year when I was actively trying not to read books on my TBR. Oh well — it's a new year!

8. Read at least three books published in 2018.
A whole bunch of my favorite authors ended up releasing books in 2018, plus I heard about several that I had to get my hands on immediately, so all told I read 15 books published in 2018, which is definitely a record for me. And half of these ended up on my "best of" lists for 2018!

9. Read some 2017 releases.
I read six books published in 2017, which is more than I expected to get to. One of them, When Dimple Met Rishi, also ended up on my favorites list for the year.

10. Promote the Best of the Bunch linkup more.
I didn't exactly do a stellar job of actively promoting this, but I did remember to link up with the Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up each month, so I consistently got 2-4 people linking up each month. Best of the Bunch is an easy linkup to participate in and I find it fun to see what everyone's favorite reads of the month were, so I hope it will continue to grow!

What were your bookish goals for 2018 and how did you do?

Looking back:
One year ago I was reading: Peter Pan and Americanah
Five years ago I was reading: Life After Life and War and Peace
Ten years ago I was reading: The Screwtape Letters and Dave Barry Is Not Making This Up

Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2018

I'm linking up with That Artsy Reader Girl, who is now hosting Top Ten Tuesday!

In case you missed it, here's how I did with my 2017 bookish goals! I've decided over the years that making ten big goals is a little overwhelming, so I'm trying to make more of my goals smaller and more achievable this year.

1. Read the His Dark Materials series.
I read the first two books in the series in middle school and never read the third one, which means every time there's a list that's like, "Have you read His Dark Materials?" I can't check it off because I've only read 2/3 of it. And I like checking things off!

2. Read the whole Chronicles of Narnia series.
This is another one where I read the first two books (I think in college) and then moved on to other things. I might ask a friend to do this read/reread with me.

3. Finish the Hercule Poirot books.
I've read 31 of 37, and it feels definitely doable to read the last six this year. Then I have to decide whether to tackle her standalones next or one of her other detective series.

4. Reread the Belgariad and Malloreon series on audiobook.
These were some of my favorite books in middle school and high school, and I got my now-husband hooked on them in college. But I haven't reread them in over a decade! Since I recently recommended these to a friend looking for audiobooks, I thought it might be fun to reread them on audio.

5. Read something my sister recommends.
I like this goal from last year, so I'm going to do it again this year!

6. Read some of the unread books on my bookshelf.
I had this goal a few years ago, when I successfully read almost everything on my shelf that was on my TBR list, but then I realized I had some other books — like data visualization manuals I had put on my PaperBackSwap list a long time ago and just received recently — that weren't even on my TBR list. It's increasingly difficult for me to find time to read hard copy books, so I'm not going to attempt to read everything, but at least a few.

7. Get roughly 50% of my 2018 reads from my TBR list and 50% from elsewhere.
I continue to struggle with balancing getting through the books I've been wanting to read (or feel like I should read) and having the flexibility to pick up books when I first hear about them. This year I'm going to continue tracking what I read off my TBR, so I'll have a total count to see how I do with this goal.

8. Read at least three books published in 2018.
I am terrible about not reading new releases until years after everyone's stopped talking about them. The one year I pushed myself to read a bunch of new releases so I could vote in the Goodreads Awards, the books I read were either 1) terrible and I didn't want to vote for them or 2) weren't even on the list. So that's no longer my goal, but I do still want to keep up a bit more than I usually do. I think three seems like a manageable number to shoot for this year.

9. Read some 2017 releases.
In the spirit of the above goal of not letting too much time pass, I plan to read some of these 2017 releases I wish I'd read by now.

10. Promote the Best of the Bunch linkup more.
I'm keeping this goal from last year because I didn't really do anything with it. Maybe this year I will!

What are your bookish goals for 2018?

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Review of 2017 Reading Resolutions

It's that time again! My 2018 reading goals will be going up soon, but first I need to take a look back at my 2017 goals. Here's what I wanted to do, and how I did.

1. Read fewer than 50 books from my to-read list.
Success! I only read 43 from my to-read list. I actually started to wonder how many of my books really came off my to-read list in previous years, as it might not be as many as I thought. I decided to keep tracking the books I read off my main to-read list again this year, as my list can sometimes feel like a bottomless pit and it's good to see the progress I've made.

2. Read some books over a thousand pages.
I read Don Quixote, Bleak House, and Infinite Jest, and I'm partway through The Stand. I also read some books on the longer end that weren't over the 1000-page mark, including Vanity Fair, The Three Musketeers, and The Brothers Karamazov.

3. Catch up on some classics.
I got through a ton of these, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, Crime and Punishment, Sophie's Choice, The Sun Also Rises, and Stranger in a Strange Land, plus the extra-long ones listed above.

4. Read something my sister recommends.
This year my sister picked You by Caroline Kepnes, which was a weird book that I can't say I really liked, but I appreciate that she got me out of my comfort zone a bit. I'd take another recommendation from her this year!

5. Make use of my personal reading area.
I did a pretty good job of this in the first half of the year, but I've gotten away from it. Mainly that's because I've been trying to get to sleep earlier, which means as soon as my son's asleep I get ready for bed, so that's cut out most of my evening reading time. My reading area is also right next to the bedroom door, so even if it's my husband's turn to do bedtime I can't read because I can hear them talking. Weekend naptime is my other downtime to read and I was taking a class on Saturday afternoons the last few months. We'll see if I can get back to reading in my special reading chair more regularly this year.

6. Read books on my new Kindle Voyage.
I've definitely used my Kindle a lot more this year since getting the Voyage for Christmas in 2016. We took a week-long trip to Mexico in May and it was glorious to have all the books I could want in one slim case. I still read on my phone more than on my Kindle since I don't bring my Kindle with me everywhere, but I like reading on the Kindle when I can.

7. Read book club picks more than a week in advance.
I did really well with this in 2017! I didn't always get them read a full week in advance, but having that goal meant that I didn't have any more situations where I was scrambling to finish the book the morning of. The downside is that sometimes my memory's fuzzy if it's been a few weeks since I finished it, but I've usually written enough key points in my Goodreads review that it doesn't matter.

8. Host a book club meeting in the first half of the year.
Success! I hosted in March. There's enough of us in the club that I shouldn't have to host again until late summer or fall of this year.

9. Comment on other book blogs more often.
I did really well with this in the first half of the year, and then in June Delicious Bookmarks stopped working, which is where I saved all the links for the pages I commented on so I could go back to look for replies later. I'd already switched all my other bookmarks to Diigo but kept my comment tracking in Delicious, and I don't want to have two separate Diigo accounts so I need to find a different site. I just haven't put in the work to find a replacement yet. Any suggestions?

10. Promote the Best of the Bunch linkup more.
This is the one thing I didn't do a great job with this year. One thing I did do was start enforcing that people who submit a post have to have a link on that post to the Best of the Bunch linkup, so no one gets free publicity for their blog without also publicizing the linkup to their own readers, but so far this has just resulted in people not linking up rather than adding a link on their own post. If you have any ideas of how to get more people to join in, let me know!

How did you do with your book-related resolutions in 2017?

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Top Ten 2017 Bookish Goals

I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for another Top Ten Tuesday.

For the past two years, Top Ten Tuesday has started out the year asking for our book-related goals for the year, but they didn't do that this year! I decided to do my own thing and still use this week to plan out my goals for 2017. Here are my 2016 goals and how I did with achieving them. Now, here are my goals for the new year.

1. Read fewer than 50 books from my to-read list.
Normally I'm trying to tackle more and more of my to-read list, but combining that with an ambitious goal of number-of-books for the year means I tend to skip over the books that will take me longer than usual to finish. I also pass up series and sequels in trying to knock out more of my existing list. This year I decided to cap the number of books I can read off my existing to-read list to give myself freedom to reread books (including more Agatha Christie), pick up new publications, and read series if I want to.

2. Read some books over a thousand pages.
I don't think I've tackled a thousand-pager since I read A Suitable Boy and War and Peace in 2014. Some of the ones on my to-read list I've been passing over (see #1) are The Stand, Shōgun, The Way of Kings, Bleak House, and Infinite Jest.

3. Catch up on some classics.
There are some books that keep coming up on "books everyone should read" lists that I still haven't gotten to, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Brothers Karamazov, The Sun Also Rises, and Stranger in a Strange Land. This will be the year to finally read them!

4. Read something my sister recommends.
I love that my little sister is now a bookworm like me. We don't have a lot of crossover in the books we read, but I like what she's recommended before and I keep throwing recommendations her way, so I want to read another favorite of hers this year.

5. Make use of my personal reading area.
After we moved into our new apartment this past year, I started thinking about how I would ideally like to use the extra space we have with our new apartment's layout. Now I have a comfy chair with an ottoman, and I got an armchair organizer this Christmas where I can keep my Kindle and set my tea on top. I have a little shelf with the Harry Potter books, and I have an Ideal Bookshelf print and this Dillard quote poster to hang above my chair. So many of my reading nowadays is in snatches on my phone and listening to audiobooks before bed; I want to try to sit down in my special chair and read at least once a week.

6. Read books on my new Kindle Voyage.
I got out of the habit of using my Kindle except for traveling because it was so buggy and unresponsive when it came to turning pages, so I would just keep reading on my phone. For my birthday I got a new Kindle Voyage, which has the same touch screen as my old Kindle but has page-turn buttons that take care of that source of frustration. I want to keep my Kindle synced up on the wi-fi so I can easily switch from my phone Kindle app to my actual Kindle once I'm home (especially since my phone battery has been terrible lately).

7. Read book club picks more than a week in advance.
I have this bad habit of not checking out book club books (or putting holds on them) right when the next meeting's choice is announced; I hate when the meeting arrives and it's been several weeks since I read the book (and I've read five others in the meantime), so my memory is fuzzy. I have to remind myself that I hate even more when my hold doesn't come through in time and I'm sweating about whether or not to buy the book and whether I'll have time to finish it before the meeting. This year I want to trust myself to write detailed reviews, and read the books well in advance.

8. Host a book club meeting in the first half of the year.
One of my book clubs meets online, and one meets at the same location every month, but my newest one rotates as a different woman hosts each month. I've been waiting until our apartment was completed to volunteer to host, but now there are only minor things left that may or may not get done anytime soon. I need to just bite the bullet and host before I'm the last one left who hasn't!

9. Comment on other book blogs more often.
I've managed to keep up with linking up (with The Broke and the Bookish and Quick Lit), but I don't always take time to visit the other blogs in the linkup, or if I do, I don't make the effort to leave comments. This year I want to make more of an effort to leave comments on other book blogs — I know how much I love getting comments here!

10. Promote the Best of the Bunch linkup more.
Since I took over hosting the Best of the Bunch, I haven't done a great job of putting it out there so more people know about it and can participate. This year I want to find more ways to get the word out about this monthly linkup. If you have any suggestions, let me know!

What are your bookish goals for 2017?

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Review of 2016 Reading Resolutions

Happy New Year! I've put together some reading plans for 2017, but before I share those, I want to look back on how I did in 2016 with sticking to my New Year's resolutions for reading.

First, some hold-overs from 2015: As part of my goal to read other religious texts, I finally finished The Qur'an, the Book of Mormon, and the Bhagavad Gita in early 2016. For my goal of reading friends' recommendations, I didn't get to Dancing with God, Winter of Fire, A People's History of the United States, or Woman at Point Zero until this year.

Now, here are the goals I set for 2016, and how I did.

1. Read all the unread books on our bookshelves.
I read almost all the books from my to-read list that were still sitting on our bookshelves. I abandoned (and got rid of) Letters from a Martyred Christian, and I haven't gotten to The Discoverers yet. I ended up keeping George, Faith Unraveled, Dear Mister Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?, A Prayer for Owen Meany, and Adoption Parenting and passed the rest on through PaperBackSwap. However, I realized that there are a handful of other books I've gotten in hard copy that were so low priority they weren't even on my to-read list, so I still have to get to those at some point.

2. Read all the Catholic books on my to-read list.
I did end up going to World Youth Day this year (yay!) and I successfully tackled all these books before I went. I read The Church of Mercy (as well as the follow-up, The Name of God Is Mercy), Philippine Duchesne, and With Burning Hearts. I was very glad to have read them all.

3. Read a novel in French.
I did it! I read Translation Is a Love Affair in French. I kept Google Translate open on my phone the entire time, but other than not knowing a lot of the vocabulary I was able to read pretty fluently and understand (I think) everything that was happening. I'd like to try to read another book in French in the future.

4. Read some highly rated books I'd never heard of.
There are still tons of books with a 4.2 rating or above on Goodreads that I haven't read, but I got through some that were new to me. These were Ficciones, All Creatures Great and Small, and Hunger. There are still some others from the list I'd like to read, but it was nice to at least start to branch out.

5. Read some classic psychology books.
I read Will I Ever Be Good Enough? and Emotional Vampires, both of which were just OK. I still have Feeling Good on my to-read list.

6. Reread some Agatha Christie books.
I decided to start with the Hercule Poirot books and read them in order, and I've read almost a third of them at this point. It's been fun to revisit them, and I've remembered almost nothing from the first time I read them except for Murder on the Orient Express. I found that Hugh Fraser narrates a lot of the Poirot audiobooks and is very talented at doing accents, so I've listened to several that he narrated.

7. Read some World War I books.
I did listen to The Guns of August, but only just started on Good-Bye to All That. I haven't yet decided whether to take up the torch again for the publication of my great-grandfather's WWI memoir, or just let it be a story to share within my family.

8. Read more books that require waiting for hard copies.
I did OK with this. Via requests, I read Friendship at the Margins, Five on a Treasure Island, and Winter of Fire. I also got a handful of the books mentioned above (the French book and one of the Catholic books) through ILL, as well as some book club books. With so many books available on Kindle and audio from the library, it's easy to pass over the ones that require a wait.

9. Read multiple books published in 2016.
When Goodreads' 2015 awards rolled around, I'd read a measly one book in the pool, though plenty of them were on my to-read list. This year, I succeeded in reading a number of books published in 2016, including When Breath Becomes Air, Grit, Before the Fall, The Girls, Truly Madly Guilty, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and The Wonder. The bad news: When Breath Becomes Air is the only one I liked enough to vote for it, so I only ended up casting one vote again this year! At least I tried...

10. Read books published in 2014 and 2015.
I caught up on 22 different books from 2014 and 2015. I won't list them all here, but some of the ones I'd felt most behind on were Everything, Everything, More Happy Than Not, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, None of the Above, The Girl on the Train, All the Bright Places, and Lies We Tell Ourselves.

Overall, I'm happy with how I did with sticking to my reading resolutions this past year! I tackled some different parts of my to-read list thematically, which was a cool way to do it. My 2017 goals will be posted soon!

How did you do with your book-related resolutions in 2016?

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Why Making a Public Commitment to Read Diversely Isn't a Bad Thing

I've been thinking about a recent article from the often-controversial Jezebel titled (sarcastically), "Damn, You're Not Reading Any Books by White Men This Year? That's So Freakin Brave and Cool." I can't promise that this post isn't at least partially a defensive response in light of my year of intentionally reading diversely (2014). But it got me thinking more generally about why we read, why we set goals, and why we talk about our goals, and I wanted to share my thoughts.

The writer makes two main points, as I understand it. The first point is that while there is a definite problem in the publishing world of things skewing white and male (and straight and able-bodied and so on), these resolutions tend to be more about the person making them and how they as an individual will be changed by the experience. The second point is that when you do things that are good for you, you should not publicize them. In other words, you should privately start reading a more diverse selection of books, and then simply let that inform the range of books you mention, recommend, etc.

To the first point, I say, yes, that is true. Resolutions are about the person making them. But... is that a problem? There is definitely a need to push back against the norms of publishing, such as by supporting organizations like We Need Diverse Books. But the major way an individual pushes back is in the books they choose to read, buy, and recommend. If that comes about only a consequence of more people making a personal commitment to broaden the scope of their reading... I'm not sure I'm seeing the part where this is a bad thing.

And maybe it is just about the reader personally feeling more educated and open-minded as a result of reading these books. Isn't that much of the reason we read, period? Certainly there is an element of engagement and entertainment, but a reading diet that includes at least a handful of "literary" type books is going to challenge and educate the reader. There's a reason researchers often tout the benefits of what fiction does to your brain, such as improving empathy. We as readers want to be stretched and to glimpse what it's like to be in someone else's head, and we can then go out and be better friends, spouses, neighbors, parents, coworkers, and citizens.

But what if you find that you — yes, you personally — have been limited in the fictional (or autobiographical) heads you've explored? That was the case for me in 2013, when I undertook an extensive project to categorize the gender, race, and nationality of the authors and main characters from every book I'd ever read (excluding most picture and chapter books I read as a kid for sheer number and lack of records). I found that, as I expected, they skewed very far white American, and more male than female.

So I spent 2014 not just trying to regain some kind of balance but also learning about my own tendencies that led to this skewing in the first place, which — as much as I would like to lay it at the feet of the publishing industry — had as much to do with my own habits and thought processes as anything else. I discovered that certain past experiences (like having to read The House on Mango Street in school twice, and disliking it both times) had implanted in my subconscious brain the idea that I "didn't like" Latin@ literature, something I only discovered by consciously pushing up against it.

Although I didn't announce my goal at the outset (simply because my blog didn't exist yet), I did write a reflection post on the year, which brings me to this article's second point. It would be wonderful if we lived in the kind of idealistic world the writer depicts, wherein we read books for their own sake and they just happen to fall across a diverse spectrum of topics and demographics. But until we live in that world, why not talk about how we don't? Why not admit that you are making a conscious effort to diversify your reading because you've recognized that, on your own, that doesn't happen?

I understand the point that resolutions don't always pan out and that it's crappy to make these kinds of public resolutions if you're just doing it in an attempt to show how "social justice-minded" you are or what a good "ally" you are. I get that. But it seems like most of the people she's calling out are people who already have platforms and audiences and write things about themselves, so why avoid mentioning this specific thing?

For the past two years I've shared my reading goals for the year (2015 goals, 2016 goals). Is there something permissible about saying I want to read more graphic novels or books about World War I that does not extend to wanting to read fewer books by white Americans?

The reasons for sharing the resolutions are the same: First and foremost, I want to hold myself accountable by publicly sharing my goals (and then, later, reflecting on whether I accomplished them). And secondly, I want to challenge other people to be self-reflective about their own reading habits and whether they've been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding books in certain genres or, more uncomfortably, by authors of certain ethnicities or nationalities.

This goes above and beyond just recommending books from my own diverse(r) reading selections, as the article suggests. As I said above, before I intentionally set out on a journey to broaden my reading, I wasn't aware that I was discounting particular book recommendations as "books I wouldn't be interested in." Sometimes someone else's personal challenge, made public, can inspire others to — if not do the same — turn a critical eye on their own thoughts and behaviors.

Two final thoughts:

I saw some responses to the Jezebel article that said simply, "Read what you want!" Which, to me, just underscores why it's so important to have these conversations, not just about what we're reading, but why. I don't think people realize the origins of what they "want" to read until they stop and think about them. As my own to-read list ballooned to 300+, I started being more mindful of what I added to the list, and why. Before a book gets added to my list now, I generally have to see it recommended multiple times in multiple places by people or publications I trust, and check with myself that I really do want to read it. However, if a book falls outside my own "default reading scope" (i.e., the books I naturally gravitate to), I am more likely to add it to my list after just a few recommendations. This is my own way of ensuring that the books I read continue to expand my mind rather than keep it running in its existing, well-worn circles.

Secondly, if you are considering your own resolution to read more diversely, I would point out that there's a reason my personal tracking system (which I continue to use for my own accountability) looks only at author and main character demographics. I cringe a little bit when I see book reviews that celebrate "diversity" on a surface level, as in, "This book is so diverse! There is a black character and a gay character and someone uses a wheelchair!" Google "tokenism" and read about the tendency to relegate non-white, non-straight, non-ablebodied characters to the role of "best friend" or "classmate." If you're a white person and your goal is to break out of your whitewashed reading box, then read books by people of color — of all genders — where the main character is a person of color. Don't be content to tick off that a book contains "diverse" people if you never get inside the head of someone different from yourself.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you tried to intentionally broaden your own reading in this way? If so, have you made this intention known to others? Why or why not?

Top Ten Bookish Resolutions for 2016

I'm linking up with The Broke and the Bookish for another Top Ten Tuesday.

Last year I shared my bookish goals for 2015, and I recently shared how I did with those goals. Now it's time to think about the new year, and the folks at The Broke and the Bookish have upped the ante, so it's not just goals but resolutions for 2016! Here are mine.

1. I resolve to read all the unread books on our bookshelves.
There are a dozen books I've gotten through PaperBackSwap or as gifts that I just haven't read yet. I want to get them read this year so I can decide whether to keep them or send them on. These are Stolen, George, Faith Unraveled, Borderlands/La Frontera, The Whole Life Adoption Book, Dear Mister Rogers, Does It Ever Rain in Your Neighborhood?, East of Eden, A Prayer for Owen Meany, The Discoverers, Walking on Water, Letters from a Martyred Christian, and Adoption Parenting.

2. I resolve to read all the Catholic books on my to-read list.
I am hoping to go to World Youth Day this year, so it's a good time to get caught up on these books. I want to read The Church of Mercy by Pope Francis (particularly as he's named this "The Year of Mercy" and I'm not sure I know exactly what that means); Philippine Duchesne: A Woman with the Poor, which is about the saint I chose for my confirmation name because she was French but about whom I know very little; and With Burning Hearts: A Meditation on the Eucharistic Life, a recommendation from a friend.

3. I resolve to read a novel in French.
I spent 2015 doing daily French lessons on Duolingo to brush up my skills, and one of my personal goals for 2016 is to participate in regular French conversation groups. However, it's been a long time since I read a full book in French. My hope is to read Translation Is a Love Affair in the original French, as it's not a very long book and some reviews said it seems to have lost something in translation.

4. I resolve to read some highly rated books I'd never heard of.
The Goodreads list of books with a 4.2 rating or above introduced me to a number of books I'd never heard of before, but which have 1,000+ ratings that put them in the highest rated books on the site. These include The Way of Kings, Ficciones, The Winds of War, All Creatures Great and Small, and Imperium.

5. I resolve to read some classic psychology books.
I see these books pop up occasionally in discussions about people's behavior or therapy techniques, and I want to read them for myself rather than getting just the bare-bones summary from an article. The ones I have in mind are Feeling Good, Will I Ever Be Good Enough?, and Emotional Vampires.

6. I resolve to reread some Agatha Christie books.
It's always galled me that I tossed the list I made in middle school of the 60+ of her mysteries that I'd read, because now I can't remember which ones I've read and which I haven't (with a few notable exceptions, like And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express). I want to start over and read her books again, plus rate and review them.

7. I resolve to read some World War I books.
At one point I was trying to get my great-grandfather's WWI memoir published, but I got discouraged by the rejections, and I think to write a better query letter I need to be more familiar with what's already out there. On my list are Good-Bye to All That, which is a memoir, and The Guns of August, a highly rated, Pulitizer Prize-winning book about the war.

8. I resolve to read more books that require waiting for hard copies.
Although I organize my to-read list based on my current goals, I will often read something next just because it's currently available on OverDrive. Some books I want to read require making a request via our university's ILL system or even (gasp!) buying the book. I don't want those books to linger on my to-read list forever, especially as some are out of print and will become increasingly hard to track down. Books like Celebrating Silence, Friendship at the Margins, and Winter of Fire were recommended to me this past year but I didn't read them because I couldn't easily get a copy at the library.

9. I resolve to read multiple books published in 2016.
When Goodreads' 2015 awards rolled around, I'd read a measly one book in the pool, though plenty of them were on my to-read list. This year, I want to make it a priority to read books the same year they're published!

10. I resolve to read books published in 2014 and 2015.
See #9. There are too many books from the last two years that I never bothered to get my hands on, and I want to get caught up on the books everyone's been recommending.

What are your book-related resolutions for the next year?

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