I suddenly realised this week that I still haven't managed to post my goals for 2012 in relation to blogging and reading, so this week my Sunday Salon post is going to be doing just that. After all, it would probably be best to do so while the month is still January!To be honest, most of the goals that I will be setting this year will be very similar to the ones that I have had in the last couple of years, mainly because these seem to be working for me.
Read 150 books - Last year I read more than 220 books which is the most I have read in a single year. Whilst it didn't feel that onerous getting to that mark last year I still thank that around 150 books is my natural level of reading.
Reading Australian authors - Every year I look at my list of reads and think, gosh, I don't read enough Australian authors. This year I am aiming to read at least 12 books by Australian authors. I rejoined the Aussie Authors Challenge to try and help me meet this goal and I am also participating in the Australian Women Writers Challenge as well.
Read some Charles Dickens - A few years ago I aimed to read Dorothy Dunnett, and didn't manage to even crack open a book, and still haven't in fact. Last year I aimed to read a novel by Jane Austen which I did. This year is a big year as it is the 200th anniversary of Dickens birth, so it seems like a good time to revisit his works. I have only read Great Expectations so there are still a number of other books that I can choose from.Perpetual Challenges - I am aiming to read at least one book for each of the perpetual challenges that I am signed up for like The Pulitzer Project, the Orange Prize Project, and the Complete Booker.
Review more - This is what I have written for the last couple of years "Over the last couple of years I have allowed myself to get very lazy about writing reviews of the books I read. I still start a blog post for every book, but not enough of them see light of day! This year, I am going to try to write at least one review a week, preferably more. Need to get back into the habit. I know that that really isn't many, but I do also want to be a no guilt blogger as well, because at the end of the day blogging is supposed to enrich our lives and be fun and not something that we are slave to." All of that is still relevant for this year!
Deadline Reading - I want to back off a little from deadline reading whether it be for library due dates, tours, egalley expiry dates and try to be a little organic in my reading in terms of being able to look at my shelf, or the library shelf and have a little more room to just read what I feel like reading! I am not quite sure how to quantify this one, except in terms of how I am feeling, but I will try to!
My Sunday Salon post won't go up for a few more hours, since it's only 8:00 on Saturday evening here.
ReplyDeleteI took a reviewing tip from Nancy-the-Bookfool a few years ago. She did what she called mini-reviews, lumping several into one post and writing only a few sentences about each book. I now combine book reviews that have even a small connection, as I did with the two books I've read about Hurricane Katrina this month. It works for me:
http://bonniesbooks.blogspot.com/2012/01/beginning-on-water.html
Mentally, I can't bring myself to contemplate mini-reviews. If I am going to write a review, it will be a full one! lol
DeleteThe one I linked is more like a combined review, a two-in-one review. I compared, for example, how dogs die in both books, though for different reasons. And both books were about the hurricane, but one was about the big city of New Orleans and the other about a rural area in a different state.
DeleteI know Bonnie. I post about the books I am reading in different ways here too. I just don't feel all that comfortable with the formal mini-review format.
DeleteI'm sitting here with four reviews to do but it's just too hot still. I find I procrastinate a lot about books I really didn't like!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't tell you how many half written reviews I have sitting in draft! Even ones I really, really liked!
DeleteWhen I started by blog I really wanted to prioritise Australian writing, and I was very good at it initally too. Every second book I read was Australian. Over time though this slowly reduced and now I again dont read enough. Hopefully thats something I can change this year too. I like your idea of trying to read 12 Aussie books, one a month seems totally do-able.
ReplyDeleteBecky, one book a month on average is definitely doable! More is preferable! lol
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ReplyDeleteIn awe. That's all I'm sayin'.
ReplyDeleteAt which bit? ;-)
DeleteSounds like some really solid goals! I haven't set any goals for myself this year because once I finish my study, I'm going to be free from deadlines and goals for the first time in a good long while. Not sure how long this will last though - I'm kind of a goal-nut!
ReplyDeleteFreedom sounds like a good thing in your situation!
DeleteGreat goals! I've toyed around with joining the Orange Challenge, but I haven't actually committed yet. There are a few I don't want to read, and I kinda feel like it's cheating if I sign up not intending to actually read *all* the books. I know that may sound funny, but oh well. I did read one shorlisted and one longlisted book as part of Orange January, so at least that's something :-)
ReplyDeleteI guess the thing with the Orange Prize, and the ones for the Pulitzer and the Booker Prize is that it is perpetual so there is no pressure to read them all now.
DeleteMarg, we have some of the same goals. My shelves are loaded down with books that I've bought and haven't read yet. I'm hoping to make a huge dent in them and review a little bit more. I understand what you mean about deadline reading. I recently checked out a ton of books from the library and taken most of them back unread because I knew I wouldn't be able to read them in time. Good luck with your goals.
ReplyDeleteVasilly, it is almost as if the books that I wanted badly enough to actually buy are the books that I am least likely to actually read!
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of the same goals, too - I think a lot of these areas are struggles for lots of book bloggers. I have only read two Dickens - and keep meaning to read more. Maybe someone should hold a Dickens read-along!
ReplyDeleteCarrie, I am sure that there will be more than one going on at some point this year!
DeleteThese all sound like really levelheaded and clear goals, and I wish you a lot of luck with them. Reading and reviewing should be fun, and when it starts feeling like a hassle, all the joy can quickly flee.
ReplyDeleteI think they sounds like sensible goals Marg - good luck with them!
ReplyDeleteShelleyrae @ Book'd Out
I'll read a Charles Dickens with you!
ReplyDeleteThose are all excellent goals. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to read one or two Dickens books each year for the last 4 years or so. I have really enjoyed the exercise.
Great goals! I signed up for the Aussie author challenge again and I'm not doing too bad, the Dusty Bookshelf challenge is another story lol. Well done on reading some of your own books that have been sitting there ... now if I could just take a leaf out of your book :))
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