Top Ten Tuesday – Bookish Goals for 2013

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I’m not mad on New Year Resolutions. Well, not the ones that require an effort to keep. Resolutions such as ‘Eat Mint Slices and read more books’ are fine though.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new ‘top ten’ challenge is posted – anyone can join in. This week’s topic is Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013. I haven’t quite made ten… don’t want to over-extend myself and all that.

1. Buttoning my lip when it comes time to selecting the book at book group – Just SHUT-UP KATE and let others suggest books.

2. A monthly ‘spring clean’ of my Kindle samples – last year I got into the habit of grabbing samples before simply buying the book, which was progress. But I still have to read the samples and at last count I had 78 sitting on my Kindle. That’s just stupid. Even if I bought all those books, it’s a year’s worth of reading. Time to get ruthless.

3. Another Mount TBR challenge – it was a great way of curbing book buying. This year I’ve signed on for the Off the Shelf challenge.

4. Re-read some old favourites.

5. Quit ‘having to finish a book, no matter how bad’. I could count the number of books I’ve abandoned on one hand but really, life is too short for bad books.

6. Catch up on my NetGalley books before requesting more.

7. Although this flies in the face of pledging to reduce my TBR stack, I really loved author Gwenda Bond’s 2013 reading resolution, which is a response to constant recommendations and reading reviews –

“So my literary resolution for 2013 is to buy a book each month that I’ve never heard of before encountering it in the bookstore and give it a try. (This has the added benefit of giving me an excuse to go book shopping in an actual store each month, too. Not that I need the excuse.)”

8. I have a page listing all my book reviews. I need to create another page listing all the recipes that I have suggested. 2013 is the year.

27 responses

  1. Great goals, I share a few of the same as you! My big goal is I’m really trying to catch up on all my Netgalley requests this month and next and then really limit what I’m requesting for the rest of the year. I have so many books I already own that I need to dedicate some time towards. Good luck with your goals!

  2. Haha #1 certainly resonates with me. In the end we switched to a system where the host chose because I was always the most vocal about what I did and didn’t want to read! I’m guilty of the Kindle samples pile-up too. I do love the ‘try before you buy’ option though. But abandoning books, yes, get into it! I’m a reckless abandoner. It’s liberating. It will help you with your Off the Shelf Challenge too!

    Here are my goals: http://annabelsmith.tumblr.com/post/39982227770/top-10-tuesday-bookish-goals-for-2013

    • Our host is meant to pick the book… But then they invariably turn to me and say “What’s good?” I have to pipe down 😉

      Abandoning books will be my greatest challenge. I find it really, really hard. I think it’s because I figure that if the author has taken the time to write, I can take the time to read, plus given the fact that there was a reason why I picked the book up in the first place. I’ll let you know if I do actually manage to abandon any!

      • Ah yes, well I must admit I still try to exert my influence on the uncertain!

        I’m the opposite of you – I think, well, if they can’t hold my attention, that’s their problem (their, because I blame the editor as well as the author!)

  3. I am also opening up to the idea of not finishing books if they are incredibly terrible. That has happened very rarely for me, too, but I am at least making progress in the “not continuing to read series if they’re mediocre” category.

  4. you’re totally right about life being too short for bad books.. I just feel bad, you know? Like, what if it gets better and I didn’t give it a chance? anyway, great goals! come visit me too:) boardingwithbooks.blogspot.co.il first post is my TTT list:)

  5. Oh gosh, I HAVE to read some of my Kindle freebies. I can be classified as a ebook hoarder at this point. It’s a disease, I tell ya! (Ironically enough, after I typed it onto my TTT, I had to check out the newest freebies…and downloaded more – I know, I need help)

  6. Great goals! I’m looking forward to your recipe page because I’m always looking for new recipe ideas. It’s not on my list, but I’m not going to finish books I don’t like anymore either, at least that’s the plan:-)

  7. I like the idea of #7, that would be a nice, small incentive to hit the bookstore every now and then but not necessarily walk out with half the bookstore in your shopping bag 😉

    Best of luck with your goals this 2013, it’ll be an awesome one 🙂

  8. You #1 goal cracks me up. My book club met tonight and I didn’t suggest a book. The one that was selected is not one that I ever would have considered reading. It’s more sci-fi than I like to read and it will probably be a good one, but I wish that I would have suggested at least one.

    • Sometimes good things happen when you ‘have’ to read a book you wouldn’t have picked yourself. My book group picked ‘The Book Thief’ a couple of years ago. Based on the cover alone, I would never have read it but it turned out to be one of the best books I’ve ever read. I want more of those lovely surprises!

      • I totally agree. I had the idea that I wouldn’t like Jasper Jones and then we read it for book club and i LOVED it.

  9. I have really improved this last year about not finishing books. If I was halfway through and didn’t like it, I stopped. Also, I run a book club at my library and I quite enjoy being the one to pick all the books. Very satisfying. I’ll probably be a book dictator in no time.

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