Saturday, January 04, 2020

Note to Self - Do 2020 a Little Differently



I begin every new year with several reading goals in mind even though I haven’t in the past taken the time to formalize them. And every year, I fail to come even close to achieving any of those goals. This year I’ve decided to take a few minutes to create a “note to self” kind of post that I hope will make it more likely that I at least come closer to achieving some of the things I have in mind going into 2020. (By forcing me to keep in mind that I have a reckoning at the end of the year to complete.)

These are not so much challenges as they are simple changes to my reading habits for the next twelve months - with hope that some of them become so second-nature to me that they become habits that I will painlessly carry into future reading years:

·      Read more in translation
·      Read more American and World History
·      Read more books already on my shelves
·      Read more world literature classics
·      Read more modern classics (1920s-1970s)
·      Continue to catchup on the earlier books from detective fiction series I follow
·      Continue to review ARCs that appeal to my reading tastes

I’m not setting any numerical goals because that is just setting myself up for failure. This is more about changing some bad habits, such as not getting so distracted by all the shiny new books that will be published in the new year, than it is reading a certain number of books in any one category. Honestly, this is as much a list of regrets I have about 2019 as it is anything else.

So now to see what happens…

14 comments:

  1. Always good to focus on what you hope to read in the coming year. Especially before you start making your reading lists. ;D

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    1. Now if I could just get back into some kind of reading rhythm everything would be a go for 2020. I'm still in Christmas holiday mode and seem to be letting the days fritter by with little to show for them.

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  2. That third one is my main goal for this year. And to try and up my number of non-fiction, or rather the percentage. Yes, to classics too. Thinking of some Greek Lit but not sure where to start, possibly the The Iliad or The Odyssey. I read some at school but wasn't all that interested, fancy I'd get more out of it now. Dickens is on my list too. Look forward to seeing what you read. It's quite exciting isn't it?

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    1. Dickens is a real favorite of mine. I used to read him from a set of his works published in the 1860s and 1870s but those are getting to fragile to handle very much more without damaging them so I haven't read Dickens in a while.

      I'm considering Vanity Fair...but just picking it up intimidates me...lots and lots of pages there. LOL

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    2. Back eons ago (we're talking the dawn of time here) I read Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Christmas Carol, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby and one or two more. But there are a whole clutch I've never read, Pickwick Papers, Our Mutual Friend, Bleak House, though I have seen some excellent BBC productions of some I've not read. What I want is to read a few of those unread ones and maybe reread a couple already read. I remember thinking David Copperfield was the best thing I'd ever read for instance.

      Vanity Fair is a nice doorstop. LOL! I haven't read it so will be very interested if you do. I must admit, getting through Moby-Dick has totally inspired me to think I can now read *anything*.

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    3. Reading some of the more obscure Dickens would be fun, Cath. I do think that his work holds up well to re-reads, and I've read several of them two or three times now. The one that I think is a bit overrated is A Tale of Two Cities - I wonder if that one is so popular mainly because it's so short. LOL

      Vanity Fair is, indeed, a doorstop. I'm looking at it right now...it's made it all the way to the top of my desk now. This is getting scary.

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  3. I like the idea of noting habits you want to form rather than just a set number to achieve. I think you'll be able to do that! I definitely want to read more from my own shelves too. So many there to choose from...

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    1. You're right about what's already on the shelves. I'm amazed at all the good stuff I find there that remains untouched for years at a time. I used to look at unread books on my shelves as "money in the bank." I really think it's time to spend some of that "money."

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  4. I want to read more classics this year, too. I didn't read a single one last year and I regret that now.

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    1. I've become embarrassingly negligent when it comes to reading the classics, and I need to find a way to jumpstart myself. Maybe one of the shorter ones would do that trick for me.

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  5. I always set my reading goal at 200, but I haven't ever achieved it. I keep trying, though, and don't beat myself up if I don't get there. It's a "for fun" goal :)

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    1. I got into the mid-140s one time, but never again. I can't even imagine reading 200 in a year, including audiobooks.

      I had a lot of fun one year following a blogger who read 365 books in a year - and managed to blog about them at the end of each day of the year. It was fascinating.

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  6. Read more modern classics is the resolution that definitely blows my hair back! I love this era!

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    1. I love that period, too, and I really have neglected it. Now that I have more reading time on my hands, I think it would be fun to go back and read books from those years.

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