Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013

 

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about our bookish goals for 2013.  I'm challenge-free this year and trying to 'read for the moment' rather than planning too far ahead - but even so, I still love thinking big thoughts about what I might like to achieve by the end of December.  With that in mind, here are a few of my tentative ideas about how I'd like my bookish 2013 to play out!

 

1.  Read at least five classics.  I have so many I want to read sooner rather than later, and a couple I'd like to reread this year too.  I think my old favourite Jane Eyre might be first - it seems to keep cropping up everywhere at the moment, I have a lovely new copy, I haven't seen the new film yet, AND it's been many years since I last succumbed to the rugged charms of Mr Rochester... 

 

2.  Keep up with my book-to-movie reading.  I've got a fair few book/DVD pairings waiting for me at home already - We Need to Talk About Kevin, Submarine, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Woman in Black - and there are loads more coming up this year on the big screen, including The Great Gatsby and Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters.  Best get reading!

 

3.  Read at least one book from outside my comfort zone.  Maybe a book on a subject I know little about, a novel by an author I've been previously too intimidated to try, or something I've picked up on a complete whim from the library.  Some of my favourite reads every year happen when I challenge myself a bit!

 

4.  Read at least ten non-fiction books.  It doesn't matter whether they're light humour or epic history, as long as they're not novels!  I've been really low on non-fiction reading in the last year, despite it making up about about half of my library, so I'd like to throw more love and attention that way in 2013.

 

5.  Read at least two Shakespeare plays.  It'll probably be more - my Hollow Crown DVD box set comprises four plays, for a start, which my regular readers will know means reading them as well - but I'll say two just to be on the safe side!

 

6.  Read at least one book that I'm embarrassed NOT to have read yet.  For example, I still haven't read To Kill a Mockingbird.  I've had it for about thirteen years, everyone else in my family has read it, and we have a giant poster of the American first edition hardcover in the shop - but I haven't read it.  It's definitely getting a little embarrassing now!

 

7.  Buy less books!  Yes, I know we all say this every year, but hey, isn't that the beauty of New Year goals?  Really, it's the good intentions that count!  I'm not sure how to do this yet - try not to buy ANY books and see how far through the year I get?  Aim for buying no books at all until, say, April, then see how things go?  Whatever happens, I already have a few pre-orders lined up for 2013 so I'm not going to be 100% book-free, but I think it's time to at least attempt to reel things in a bit!

 

8.  More time reading, less time procrastinating.  As I mentioned in my Epiphany posts in November - particularly the first of the three - I am often guilty of allowing great swathes of my time to disappear in a blur of internet sites and social media, and I don't like it!  In 2013 I'd definitely like to spend more of my quiet time with my nose in a book, both at home and at work.  I spend far too much time staring at my laptop screen, so it'd be nice to get some balance back!

 

9.  Become more mindful of my bookish habits.  Am I buying nice editions, or cheap ones?  Am I picking up lots of extraneous books in a buying binge, rather than one or two I really want to read?  Am I choosing to read books I really fancy, or am I feeling pressure of some kind when it comes to picking my next read?  I'm certainly guilty of being seduced by charity shop shelves, buying blindly, and pressuring myself unnecessarily (for example, to read shorter books for speed), and I'd like 2013 to be the year I break my bad habits!

 

10.  Make some blogging decisions.  Is the blog going to run for another year, or is it becoming more of an obligation than a hobby?  If I'm acquiring a new laptop with a camera, should I try video reviewing?  If the blog is going to keep going, what kind of approach do I want to take to keep my content fun, informative and relevant whilst also acknowledging that I'm running the shop full-time and might not always want to spend so much time online?  If things are looking good, might now be the time to invest in a proper blog design?  All things I plan to consider in 2013 to decide what comes next for Musings of a Bookshop Girl...

 

Okay, that's ten!  What bookish goals do YOU have for 2013, whether it be certain books you'd like to read, challenges you'd like to complete, or blogging tasks you'd like to accomplish?  If you've created a Top Ten Tuesday post of your own, feel free to leave a link in the comments!