I'm not a big New Year's resolution maker. That's because I usually break those resolutions so darned quickly, it's just not worth it. Last year, I remember putting a moratorium on book-buying that lasted maybe a couple of months--and looking back, I can now say that even that was a minor miracle. This year I have some reading resolutions I need to say out loud, so that maybe they'll stick.
1. Keep better track of the books I've read. I belong to LibraryThing, Shelfari, and goodreads; all great services, but I don't put them to good use. I don't use them nearly enough to really track what I've read. I used to keep a physical notebook, but was pretty sporadic about that, so I went digital. Which somehow was my excuse to just stop keeping track altogether. Hmm...must remedy this.
2. Review books directly after reading. Obviously. Because then reviews have a better chance of actually being written. Right.
3. Write something every day. For me, reading, writing, journaling, blogging and even meditation all go hand in hand, and if one suffers, they all suffer. Also, I have a wee problem with consistency, and I think I need to train myself to do a little bit every day. I'm working on it.
I have some non-reading-related resolutions, too (The Game On! Diet, anyone?), but they tend to be the same stale ones every year, and I don't even kid myself about keeping them for very long.
Any resolutions, reading-related or not, you'd like to share?
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10 comments:
I wish you the best of luck with your goals this year! Sometimes putting them in writing helps you hold yourself accountable, so it can't hurt. :-)
Have a Happy New Year.
I avoid New Year's resolutions myself. If I see a need to change something, I'll work on it whenever it comes up - there's nothing sacred about January 1 for me.
Good luck with your resolutions, though - happy reading, writing, and blogging, and hope to see more of you in 2010!
literary feline--I'm hoping that putting my goals out there will help me achieve them!
Florinda--I hear you--I think I need the push of milestones to help me make change, however. I often make resolutions on birthdays or the Jewish New Year--maybe I'll start doing it on Chinese New Year, too :)
Good luck with your goals for the year! It definitely makes sense to write them down to help you keep them. I like the one about writing every day -- that could lead to some interesting results! I hope you have a great year.
There is a group of us doing Game On again. We had to close the teams as it was getting a bit close to the start of the game (we start Jan 4th). I'm sure I will be crabby the first week.
I use Goodreads and LT faithfully but I abandoned Shelfari.
Dorothy--I'm hoping writing it down will help, but who knows? I'll try anything at this point! Happy New Year of reading to you :)
Ti--Let me know how Game On goes--good luck!
Blogging was a wonderful way for me to write every day, but that was when I first started. But I think unless you have a will of iron or a deadline it's very hard to be consistent on one's own choice activities. I think maybe you have to permit some inconsistency as inevitable, and commit to write five days out of seven, or something similar. Life does get in the way of routines at times! But good luck with all your resolutions and may they bring you the order, pleasure, or result that you want. :)
I need to review books right after reading them, too. For the same reason! I will finish one late at night and think well I will write it later instead of staying up and getting woken up doing it. Still have not written a single review yet this year. Yikes!
My resolution is to let my whims take over my reading. I'll read whatever that interests me at the moment, and not to be limited by challenges and deadlines. I'll be reading stuffs that are suitable for challenges but not joining them. I also have a stack of movies and BBC episodes that are based on novels. I would like to read the book and watch the adaptation.
litlove--lol, I do not have a will of iron! I like the 5 out of 7 days idea, since it's probably more likely I can manage it. Besides, I believe in moderation in all things, even those things that are good for you!
Rebecca--I'm so behind on reviews, it's scary! Just posted one, though--finally!
mattviews--that sounds like a plan. Why make reading, one of the great pleasures, into a chore by attaching all sorts of plans to it? I'm liking your resolution!
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