2013 Challenges

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I've been thinking about challenges lately; everyone is signing up for them and I'm not feeling ready to yet.  My goals for next year are to:

Work on my Classics Club list.  I have so enjoyed the better-quality literature I prioritized this year and I want to keep that up.  I would like it to be my main goal for next year.

Keep reading my TBR pile.  I have a bunch of great books in there that are begging to be read!

Work on whittling down my Amazon wishlist of books I want to read.  That's not my list of books I want to buy; it's the list of books I want to check out from the library and read.  There are currently just over 100 titles on my list, and quite a few are books that I would have to get through ILL, so it's a bit of a problem (ILL is limited at my friendly neighborhood public library).   Still, I know I can read lots of them.


Here's what I'm not going to do:

Count titles.  It was fun to see how many books I read this year because I never have counted before, but that's a one-time deal for me.  I'm not going to count any more, nor am I ever going to try to beat my own numbers.  I think I'm going to hit 200 by year's end and that is plenty.

Pressure myself to post.  If Howling Frog becomes a job, it won't be fun any more.  I very much want to avoid the temptation to worry about numbers or put effort into becoming a popular blog with lots of followers.  I love having you here, but if I start worrying about it, it won't be fun!  I will therefore read what I want, when I want, and post about it as I like.  Often that means doing a readalong or a challenge--for myself, not because I feel like I have to post.

Join every challenge I see.  That's been fun for the last couple of years, but I think I want to cut back a little this time.  I have really loved my challenges this year and they have helped me focus on better reading habits, but I do want to cut back a bit next year.

I will be joining some challenges, but I haven't really found a whole lot that appeal to me yet.  I have a few in mind.  I'd like to find another medieval challenge, and maybe a fun eclectic one like the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Mixing It Up--I enjoyed those a lot. 

Got any good suggestions for me? 


Comments

  1. Lemon TreeDecember 6, 2012 at 4:32 PM

    For challenges, there are actually a few that I joined this year. Here's the list of them :D

    http://half-filledattic.blogspot.com/2012/12/2013-challenges-compiled-together.html

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  2. AnonymousDecember 7, 2012 at 12:52 AM

    Great goals for the new year! Most of which I have for myself, too. :) The TBR is getting more unwieldy everyday..

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  3. S.December 7, 2012 at 4:08 AM

    Great post! I feel pretty much the same about how my reading has gone this year. I hope you'll keep up Howling Frog, though -- it is one of my favorite bookmarks :)

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  4. JeanDecember 7, 2012 at 7:14 AM

    Lemon, some of those are on my list, so I'll see you there. :)

    Kissacloud, I read 25 books from my TBR pile this year. It seems to be exactly the same size, if not a bit larger--and the wishlist is out of control!

    Gee, SRK, thanks so much! I didn't think I was on anyone's favorite list. I certainly plan to keep blogging; it has been so much fun and I feel like I hit my stride this year in reading and blogging both. :)

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  5. AmyDecember 7, 2012 at 1:58 PM

    I also want to limit my challenges next year to the Classics Club and my own TBR list (it annoys me to have unread books around, and yet I keep buying more. And I hear you about not wanting the blog to become a source of stress--as a newer blogger than you, I feel some pressure about members, but I really only want to post what I want to post, and am always keeping that in mind.

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  6. JeanDecember 7, 2012 at 3:52 PM

    Yep, there is always this weird little tug-of-war going on, isn't there? Consciously, I've made the decision that my blog is a fun hobby and that I am not in it for numbers or to become a Popular Blogger. But everybody wants to be popular, right? It's sometimes hard to remember that being a Popular Blogger is not one of my goals. If that should happen, well then lovely!--but I'm not going after it.

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  7. Alex in LeedsDecember 8, 2012 at 6:28 AM

    Sounds good! I've been away from book blogging for a while so this year has been interesting as I tried to figure out which challenges work for me and which don't! Definitely no more Paris in July type stuff, just the events that focus on specific authors/books/cultures I want to round out my reading with. Things I would have read anyway but it was fun to do with company. :)

    ReplyDelete

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