2022’s bookish resolutions and goals

Posted January 20, 2022 by Kate

hello, lovelies!!!!

I’m still flabbergasted that I’m writing this post right now. I’m beyond behind in setting up for the new year in every way – organizationally, mentally, physically, emotionally – and I just can’t believe it’s been another 365 days in the books (approximately) since I wrote this post out last time!!

You’d think that 8,760 hours would be enough to accomplish some of these… alas 💀💀💀 I was in a reading slump for most of the year, which is reflected in most of my outcomes for the guidelines I set myself last year. However, I’m always a fan of resolutions and guidelines for personal expectations, so I’m continuing with this tradition! I find it fascinating to look on past years and see where I was.

I’m never an avid stickler for rules or goals, I’m too much of a mood-reader and binge-worker for that (which I’ve learned throughout my four years of writing these post), but I do have some guidelines on my reading, blogging, goals, buying habits, and community participation that I would like to follow. I will start by reflecting on last year’s resolutions, and then moving on to new ones! (2018 Resolutions | 2019 Resolutions | 2020 Resolutions | 2021 Resolutions)

Personal Resolutions

When it comes to personal life… I’m not a proponent of explicit goals with a pass/fail. They’ve never helped me, and it’s never made me more productive or successful. So instead, I compiled a list of… reminders, which might serve as a better word here, of things to keep in mind throughout 2022 to make the year a better one. Some of them are favorite quotes, but let me know if these help you!

Breathe
You are strong. Don’t let the hard days win. Do not yield.
You are enough: Be proud, Be kind, Be brave, Be fiercely you
Look for adventure, Never forget the stars, and Remember to Dream
Don’t prepare for someday… just jump in and do it now.

2021 Bookish & Blogging Reflections

BE A CONSISTENT BLOGGER. BAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHA. After my most successful blogging year ever in 2020 (over 150 posts!), I published eight posts in 2021. Most of this is understandable: the longest reading slump, working myself into the ground with 60+ hour workweeks when not in school…etc. But still.
POST TO BOOKSTAGRAM AT LEAST 4 TIMES A MONTH. I did start to get better at this! At the beginning of the year, I was heavily involved on Bookstagram for a couple months in the spring. Then I worked myself into the ground all summer and am still recovering. So.
TRACK BOOKS THROUGH SPREADSHEET + BULLET JOURNAL. Ah-ha! A rousing success. I’m more proud of my Airtable Reading Tracker database than I am of my curls on an excellent hair day 😁🙌🏼
CONTINUE TO PUBLISH DISCUSSION POSTS. Look, we’ve already discussed I did diddly-squat on my blog this year. But my discussion post ideation at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 were gold.
BE AN ACTIVE COMMUNITY PARTICIPANT. I mean… kinda?? I haven’t been consistently active, necessarily, on anything, but I’m always in my Instagram stories.
POST AT LEAST 4 YOUTUBE VIDEOS. I posted nothing. I thought moving to a new apartment would give me more freedom, but filming in front of a roommate is actually more awkward than being caught talking to yourself by your parents.
PUBLISH QUARTERLY NETGALLEY WARRIOR POSTS. Look, this was an excellent idea. I was going to do a quarterly assessment of Netgalley books I have and haven’t read and try to wipe out those shelves. I just… didn’t do it. I’m tabling this idea for 2022 😌
MAKE REREADS PRODUCTIVE. I did an excellent job of reviewing rereads in 2020 – in fact, I did the bulk of the work for making sure my favorite worlds were represented on my blog. But once again… I didn’t post in 2022 and continue the trend. But don’t worry, I still reread plenty!
USE GOODREADS AS THE TOOL IT IS. Nope, still largely ignored GR and frantically added months of books at a time.
CREATE A LIFESTYLE SECTION. I’ll say it louder for the people in the back: I didn’t blog this year!!! I was lucky to get a review out there, let alone extra content.
DO NOT SUBSCRIBE TO A SUBSCRIPTION BOX PLAN. Success!! I didn’t :) I need to read all those books from the boxes I haven’t read, first.

2022 Bookish & Blogging Resolutions

Publish 12 Posts by the end of the year

Obviously I want this to be more. I’d ideally like to strike a balance between the 162 published in 2020 and the eight published in 2021. Twelve posts is hopefully just a start, but at the very least that guarantees publication even just once a month. I’m hoping that it will inspire even at least a semblance of consistency.

Participate in + complete readathons

I love love love readathons!! I participated in so many last year and the years prior, but not so much in 2021. I went as far as to make bullet journal pages for several, but never actually even tried to follow through. I want to participate – fully! – in a weeklong readathon, a month-long readathon and a 24-hour readathon. I’d love to pull an all-nighter reading just once 💛

Maybe a little review pressure…

I just read through my past years resolutions, and this point varies year-to-year. Some years I vow to review every book, some years I promise some, and some years I take all the pressure off and just ask that I review my rereads. It’s always a constant cycle. I need to get back into the routine of thinking about what I’m reading and writing down some notes, even if it’s just for me.

Post to Bookstagram 4 times a month (minimum)

Similarly, I love the bookstagram community and could posts daily no problem. But the commitment to creating posts, specifically the photographs that accompany them, is sometimes insurmountable for most days.

Publish Netgalley Warriors posts quarterly

“Netgalley Warriors” is a new series I’m starting on my blog! Hopefully 😂😂 I tried to start last year but I just wasn’t too productive on arcs or blog-wise. But really, that just makes it all the more imperative that I succeed this year! The goal is six posts every other month throughout the year tracking my ARCs, spotlighting review-copy mini-reviews, and generally kicking Netgalley ass. With charts! This is the goal. Or I could just be exposing myself again. We’ll see.

Use Goodreads as the tool that it is

I picture the lifestyle so easily! Adding books to my TBR shelf when they cross my radar. Posting books as “currently reading,” updating my status as I go. Interacting with friends on their reading journey’s. Marking books as read and posting a little ditty on my thoughts – full-scale review not always necessary. Have I ever lived this life???? It seems so perfect!

Expand your reading repertoire

Out of the 186 books I read last year, 74 of them were Kindle Unlimited reads and 80 were rereads. This means that only 38 of my books were non-KU books read for the first time!! This is crazy to me. More stats… 141 of the books were classified as romance. As to the rest, 20 were Urban Fantasy/PNR, 10 were High Fantasy, 7 were mysteries and 5 were nonfiction (read for class).

Point is, I’m in a bit of a reading rut. I want to make sure I’m reading not only to have something to entertain me between work, academia and sleep, but to learn things, expand my thinking on social issues and perspectives. I want to read more thrillers, self-help books, essay collections… and dark academia and dark romance books. These are all things I love and enjoy, but just don’t actively seek out.

Engage in bookish communities

I’ve talked about how I want to be specifically more active on Goodreads and Bookstagram, and that’s true, but generally I just want to continue to be engaged within the communities on those platforms and off.

* Experiment with your reading tastes and methods

Similarly, I know I’m a mood reader. I know,. It’s something I’ve had to live with everyday 😌 But jokes aside, I want try new experiments with my reading and being more intentional about what I’m picking up. I don’t know exactly what this means, but I think it would be fun and a good thing.

Track your reading, utilize Airtable databases

This doesn’t need too much description! Below is a snapshot of some of my books from December 2021, from my Airtable database. This is only the first portion, but I love how it helps me organize my reading and the books that I’m picking up. Further to the right, unseen, I have spots to write my reviews, track my actions, etc.

Try new things, evolve my perspective with reading

This year, I read through all my past five years of reading resolutions in preparation for writing mine. When I first started doing these posts, I read a lot of YA books that I physically owned, and some romance books I could get from the library or purchase. When I read the first book of a series, I continued with book two, then book three (etc). One year, I resolved to experience more series, and not worry about the sequels unless I wanted to continue. I threw myself into readathons that didn’t leave room for sequels. Now, all too often I only read book one and don’t continue with the series or pick it back up, even if I highly enjoyed it. Now, after years of convincing myself to stay away from bestsellers and over-hyped books and only read books I really, really want… I’m unaware of popular books I would also enjoy!

This proves I’ve been able to gradually change the way I read, and I’d like to break a few bad habits. When I feel I don’t have enough “time” or “it’s not the right moment,” I push off books I really, really want to read for something that will kill the time, wrap up quickly, and end up with a 3 – 3.5 star rating. I want to be more purposeful about my reading time and tastes. I’m a binge-reader, so the thought is “why bother starting this book unless I can finish it tonight or tomorrow.” But it’s okay to make a book last a few days if I can only read for an hour one night!