2021 Is Here!

 Yes, I know. I'm behind. I'm always running behind these days, trying to play catch-up.  But the end of 2020 is something I feel like celebrating. So far, this year is off to a great start. 

My family grew a little this month (Welcome beautiful little one! We adore you and we all plan to smother you with hugs and kisses as soon as you're ready for it!). I've done all the boring year-in-review chores and made notes on the upcoming year. My kids and I have all decided to try and learn something new this year. And, once again, I've made some (possibly over-ambitious) reading-related goals to try and hit over the next few months.

If you haven't already, I would like to encourage you to make a few resolutions this year. They don't have to be big ones. Just tiny, achievable little goals to help make 2021 a better year than 2020. Maybe they could be reading related? Aim to read more books this year, maybe. Or maybe branch out and try a new genre?

Here are the ones I've decided to attempt, if you need ideas: 

Reading Resolution #1-  Attempt to reduce my TBR pile. This is a yearly staple on my resolution list, largely because my pile of books to read is completely out of control. And constantly growing. For every book I manage to read, five more take its place. I don't expect that to ever change, but I need to make an effort to read at least a few of the books patiently waiting their turn. 

Reading Resolution #2-  Continue with my presidential biographies list (which I've been meaning to mention here, actually). Ideally, I'd like to get through Buchanan before the end of the year. We'll see how far I manage to get.

Reading Resolution #3-  Stay within my book budget. This is the biggest variation from years past. Before, I always resolved to buy fewer books. Or no books, relying only on what I already have and the library for my reading. And every year, it fails miserably. Not because I don't read library books or re-read the ones I have, but because new books are a necessity for a happy life. Pretty sure that's just fact. Also, people won't quit writing them (thank goodness!) and I need to try and keep up with my very favorite writers. Right? So, I've accepted the inevitable and added a line in my budget specifically for buying books. It isn't a lot, but for the first time it is part of the plan. No more relying on birthday money or other special occasions and then spending too much (I hope), I just need to stay in my budget. We'll see how this works out for me...

And finally, Reading Resolution #4-  I would like to read at least 100 books this year. Not counting the ones I read with the kids, but just the ones I read for myself. I've managed it every year since 2017, with 2020 being the record year since I started keeping track (in 2014). Last year's total is at 172, due solely to being unemployed for half the year and stress reading as many fluffy feel-good comfort stories as I could find. With working full time hours now, I know that number is ridiculous and far out of reach. 100 seems much more reasonable. I think. Maybe.

So there you have it. A year of reading goals. And next January, I'll be able to tell you how that all worked out for me. Now, what resolutions did you make?