2019 Reading and Blogging Goals

So today I'm grumpy because here we are, in 2019, and I barely noticed when the old year passed.  Normally I'm excited about the new year - a fresh start, new chance, all of that.  It's a pretty arbitrary distinction really, but it's an arbitrary distinction of which I happily take advantage.  Normally.

This year, I barely gave it a thought.  Not intentionally.  I'd meant to plan, and make goals, maybe a resolution, take stock of things that had worked for me the past year and what in my life could use improvement...  And I did none of that.  I kept putting it off, and putting it off, and then the 31st rolled around and I hadn't thought about the new year at all.  I didn't go out and watch the fireworks and after midnight passed it didn't really occur to me to even think about the new year.  Which was strange!  It's a little thing, yeah, and completely insignificant, but I always hate when I lose a little bit of joy over things that previously excited me, even if they're small.  I don't want to lose my sense of wonder yet.

At any rate, the month's not over yet, so maybe I can recapture that feeling in February.  I do, however, want to make a few goals for myself here, so hopefully this small step can help me feel back on track.  Not caring about the new year has, maybe counter intuitively, made me feel very off-kilter.

NUMBER OF BOOKS I PLAN TO READ (GOODREADS GOAL): 50

I always do 50 books a year because it's a reasonable goal and I can always manage to meet it.  I have thought about upping it to 52 (a book a week), but 50 is nice and round.  Also, if you divide 50 into 5 sections of 10 books, and 365 into 5 sections of 73 days, then I only need to read 10 books every 73 days.  Which is... not as neat, but I like having benchmarks.  In my little bullet journal, I have every 73 days marked off so I can measure my progress and see how close I am to meeting my goal.

And, if you've read my TBR post then you might be asking why I would even want a goal.  On the surface, it might look like it's reading just for the sake of having a number.  But I get busy sometimes, and sometimes I'd rather be lazy than pick up a book, which is usually bad for my mental health, because except for one or two books that I really disliked, reading has always made me feel much better, and it's something that I genuinely want to commit to doing for my enjoyment as well as my health.  So I always like to set a manageable goal and stick to it, and it has been extremely beneficial for me.

OTHER READING GOALS

-Read more nonfiction, especially politics and philosophy (but any nonfiction, really, I don't read a lot)

-Read more diverse books (I think the bulk of what I read is cozy mysteries, which are all very same-y)

-Read more critically and thoughtfully

-Review more books I read

BLOGGING GOALS

I am especially excited about this, because as I've written a bit more here over that last few months of 2018, I've really enjoyed it.  And I'd like to continue that!  So my goals kind of reflect a new commitment to the blog.

1. Write MORE

One of my biggest issues is that often I feel silly writing, or I find myself unsure what to talk about.  I worry that what I write sounds inauthentic, or it's silly, or it's bland and uninteresting.  The most immediate way to solve this, I think, is just to practice.  As a teenager I wrote all the time - not constantly, but I carried around a notebook everywhere I went (yes, especially school, ahem) and any time I had an interesting idea for a story, or something that happened in my life I wanted to dissect, I wrote it down.  Because of that my voice grew stronger and I got more confident.  For... a lot of reasons, that's not the case anymore, so what I really need to do is just build those muscles up again.  Write.  Keep writing.  Write some more.

2. Write more thoughtful, critical reviews

I doubt my own opinions.  Often, thought not always.  I know whether I enjoyed something or not, but sometimes when it comes to why, I can become unsure.  And because of that it's often hard to articulate my opinions.  How can I make an argument for something that I'm only half sure about anyway?  So as I am reading and analyzing books, I'd like to try to talk about them more thoughtfully, and review books with more confidence.  I don't need to be the most eloquent and maybe my opinion will be very run-of-the-mill, or shared by hundreds of other people who've expressed it better.  I still want to hone my skill in expressing my opinion, and I want to do it in a thoughtful way.  I got a degree in english literature, I might as well use it, right?

3. Connect with other bloggers

So one of the reasons books was what I chose to blog about was because it's one of my biggest passions, and I want to share it with others.  I want to try to get past my anxiety and maybe make a friend.  Or at least an acquaintance.  Or at least have a conversation with someone.  That's basically what this goal boils down to: have at least one substantive conversation with someone I don't already know IRL.

4. Write more about libraries

While this is primarily a book blog, I want to also write about my field - from a professional standpoint, as a librarian, but maybe outside of the professional setting.

5. Have ten followers

I actually don't know how many people follow this blog, because I haven't checked (and I'm not going to, at least not for a little while), but I'm going to assume it's zero.  Ahem.  So, especially to help meet goal 3, I'm going to try to make my blog interesting and appealing and hopefully it might attract somebody interested in reading it!  If not, that's okay, too, I'll keep writing anyway.

So those are my goals for 2019!  I'm going to bookmark this post to help keep myself on track, and hopefully I'll actually make some progress towards these goals.

What are your reading goals for this year?  Do you only set a number of books goal or do you like to try and set the types of books, too?  Help me meet goal 3 early by letting me know!  Also, I'm genuinely interested in what other people are reading and how they're reading.

21 Bookish Gift Ideas

So today I'm grumpy because getting all those presents for the holidays can be really daunting.  I'm the type of person who likes to go "all out" - but in a very specific way.  If you've ever seen the show Parks and Recreation then you know Leslie Knope likes to "win" gift giving occasions, and I am definitely the same way.  (Though... nowhere close to the degree Leslie wins.  She's kind of amazing.)  But I don't like to just get a gift, and I don't get friends and family a ton of stuff - I like to pick out something special, something that I think the recipient will really, really like.  I was looking for cool presents and I found a lot, so I thought I'd share them.  There are a lot of bookish gift lists out there, but a lot of times they have too much, or stuff I don't really want, so I wanted to curate my own list.  (This also, by the way, might be a great list for anyone getting me a gift.  Wink wink, husband and mother.  Ha.)

Top 5 Tuesday: Books on My Christmas Wishlist

So today I'm not grumpy because it's almost Christmas time, which means a break from work and a chance to spend time with my family and friends.  It's my daughter's first Christmas, so I am super excited!  I mean obviously she doesn't care at all, but everyone's going to fawn over her and I get to take pictures, so it all works out, right?

Today I am participating in Top 5 Tuesday, hosted by Bionic Book Worm.  I'm trying to be more social with this blog, so I figured I could do a few tags and memes and things.  But I love lists!  And today's theme is Top 5 Books on my Christmas Wishlist!  I get uncomfortable when people get me gifts, to be honest, so I do have an Amazon wishlist, but it's more for me to remember stuff I need and I don't keep it updated.  But!  There have been so many great books coming out this year and due to a lot of money troubles this year I haven't been able to buy many, so I could immediately think of several books I wanted.  So here we go!  

Space Opera by Catherynne Valente

So I have wanted this book since the moment I saw it.  First, the cover looks great - neon and jazzy and fun, right?  Secondly, look at that tag line.  "In space, everyone can hear you sing."  It's American Idol in space, basically, but since it's Valente, you know the writing is going to be lush and rich and fantastic, too.

Circe by Madeline Miller

I read The Song of Achilles by Miller when it came out (whenever that was, ha) and absolutely loved it.  The writing was just...  mmm, so nice.  So I've been looking forward to this since I heard about it.  And one of our book clubs at work read it and people seemed to enjoy it, so I am really, really pumped about reading it.

The Merry Spinster by Mallory Ortberg

This is a collection of stories - or "tales of everyday horror" - with a fairy tale bent, which is kind of my jam.  I did this book for a new releases book talk at work when it first came out, but I never got a chance to read it all for myself!  Kind of reminiscent of The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter, I think, which I'm totally on board with.

Middlemarch by George Eliot

I have never read Middlemarch and I've always meant to.  I'd even wanted to in October for a Victorian literature readathon, but things got away from me.  This is the only book on the list where I want a specific edition, as well (see the picture, it's the Penguin clothbound classics), mostly because it looks so nice and who doesn't want a little shine on their shelves?  I love classics as much as I love contemporary literature (I really just like books in general, okay), so if I ever need something to read and nothing jumps out at me, I like to go back to a classic I haven't read yet.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

This is a book I've already read, but it's also one I would like to own.  (I like fairy tales a lot.  Did I mention that?  Look out in the new year for a big series I'm doing about fairy tale readalikes.)  If you want to read a little of what I thought of it, you can do so here.  It was very enjoyable, and it's something that I would probably read again, and I like the cover, so this is an obviously-I-want-to-own for me!




Well there you have it!  Top 5 books on my wishlist.  Let me know what you're asking for this year!

Why I Don't Use a TBR

So today I'm grumpy because I realized that while the term is useful, I don't actually have or use any sort of TBR.   I like the idea of it, in theory, but I don't have a list, really, or even a stack.  When I talk about it, I use "TBR" in basically the same way I'd mean the "Want to Read" shelf on Goodreads.  It's just a place to throw books that sound interesting, that I might one day - in the near or far future - think about picking up and reading.  So when I say "Oh that's on my TBR" or "I have a huge TBR!" or anything like that, all that really means is that I think the book sounds interesting.  Maybe I'll read it one day!

I admire people who make a list and stick to it, even irregularly, because I just can't do that.  Even if I did bother to make a list - which I'm sure I have at some point - as soon as I see another interesting book, whether it's on the list or not, chances are I might just put everything else down and read that until I finish it.  That happens a lot.  I tend to start several books at once, because if I can't just sit and read something straight through (and I absolutely cannot, that is an extremely rare luxury in my life nowadays), then often I'll put it down for awhile before picking it up again - and in the interim pick up something else.

So here's why I've decided a TBR is not for me, and why I'm not going to stress about it!

As long as I'm reading, does it matter which books? 

Obviously this is not going to be true or work for everyone, but for me I've decided that as long as I'm reading, I'm just going to enjoy it!  Instead of feeling guilty for not reading a book I've been meaning to, instead of putting off a book that looks really interesting just to read one only because I've meant to for awhile, and instead of not reading because I've got so many books to read I just can't choose, I'm going to simply pick up a book whenever the urge hits me.  (Obviously there are some exceptions to this, though, like when I have to read a book for work!)

One less list to keep up with!

Admittedly, this is not exactly a great reason...  But it still does make a difference to me!  I like making lists of what I've read, and what sounds interesting - but I can barely remember to add books to my Goodreads "Want to Read" shelf, which as I mentioned, is really just a catchall for any book that looks interesting to me.  Having to keep track of a list on top of that of books I actually intend to read?  That's too much work.  Never underestimate how lazy I am, because...  yeah, really lazy.  So, so lazy.

No pressure.

I've definitely seen people in online book communities talking about the pressure they sometimes feel to read.  It's hard enough if you want to read current books to stay relevant with discussions and reviews (which is not something that I bother with to be totally honest), so I hate to see people adding more pressure to themselves with a list they have to follow.  Especially if the list is mostly arbitrary.  Now, if a TBR helps you and alleviates pressure or keeps you from feeling it, then that is perfect!  But if you do feel pressured to read what's on your list and you don't want to?  Then I say toss that TBR out!

I might actually turn my library books in on time?!

I have a bad habit of renewing my books the maximum number of times because I tell myself over and over again that eventually - maybe even soon - I'm going to read them.  I put them on my TBR, so I'm going to read them.  Right?  Right?!  Well I was hoarding books, basically - and since I work at the library and was surrounded my books all the time, my bad habit was only getting fed.  So that definitely played a big part in my decision to just throw my TBR out.  Since I've gotten better at actually updating my GoodReads and keeping track of books I want to read, I no longer feel pressure to keep books when there's no chance I'll have time to read them.  Instead of keeping an overflowing TBR shelf (which was my favored method - and no, it did not work at all), now I just put the title on my list and then I can bring the book back.  Hopefully I'll actually read all those books.  You know...  One day...

So for me, a TBR just doesn't work!  I think it works for a lot of people, and that's awesome.  I've seen a lot of very cool ways to utilize a TBR list, and some people who like to just pull a book at random from the list when they want something to read.  But it just made me feel bad and I wanted to read books that weren't on the list, and it was getting bigger and bigger and way out of hand, so I just threw it out.  And that works great for me!

What's your preferred method: TBR or no?  Do you have an actual TBR list or, more like me, just use the "want to read" shelf on GoodReads?  And if you do use a TBR, how do you use it, what does it look like?

Let me know!   And happy reading!

5 Shakespeare Adaptions

"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here." Or so says Ariel in William Shakespeare's The Tempest.  Maybe that's a little dramatic?  Maybe... ?  At any rate, I'm grumpy!  Again!  I need a good remedy for it.  And since there's a Shakespeare quote for just about everything (he's come up with a lot of common phrases) why not Shakespeare adaptions?  I'm mostly grumpy because I can't do a "top 5" of anything because that implies decisions and ratings and how could I possibly list the definitive 5 of anything?  So think of this, not as the best Shakespeare adaptions, but as five I think you ought to read because you might enjoy them.

Digital Studies: Information, Librarianship, Digital Communities

So today I'm grumpy because I couldn't think of a better title for this post.  Lately I've been talking about books a lot, but another of my passions is, of course, librarianship and libraries in general.  This is because I'm a librarian, so not only do I have something of a vested interest in the field, it's also something I deal with all day every day while I'm at work.

I was browsing for something - I can't remember the specific thing - and I got on to the Library of Congress site and happened to see a link for an application for the Kluge Fellowship in Digital Studies.  This "provides an opportunity for scholars to examine the impact of the digital revolution on society, culture, and international relations" using the vast array of resources from LoC at their disposal.  So why would I, a humble public librarian already out of school, care?  Well first off, um that's really cool, and a fellowship at the Library of Congress is just, in its own right, pretty neat.  I found out about it way too late to ever apply (the deadline is 12/6), though even if I had known in time, I'm not a scholar.  I'd be way out of my depth. 

But I'm interested because there's always a little voice in the back of my head that wants to be a scholar, that wants to be involved in academia - and this same sinister little voice is telling me that really, shouldn't I go back and get a PhD?  (No.  No I shouldn't.)  I do think about it sometimes, to be honest.  I enjoy school, and I really love doing research.  I'd even like to teach.  But first, would I get accepted into a program for PhD candidacy?  My immediate guess is no.  My master's program - which was great, and I loved - was excellent and practical and gave me a portfolio showcasing skills and projects... but not research papers.  I think I did one traditional research paper in three years (about health information seeking online).  I can make a simple website, and do simple data analysis in R, for example, but I don't really have a stellar writing sample.  Not only that, but I also live nowhere near a university offering a program, so I'd have to find one, get accepted, and then move -  which means uprooting my family, so my husband would have to find a job, and I'd need at least a little income, too.  Not to mention how I'd pay for school, which I do not have a plan for at all.  So!  Obviously not in the cards right now.

Which is fine.  Maybe one day, if that little voice doesn't go away first.  I would honestly love to teach, and I've worked in a library for five years, so I have at least a little experience to offer and I'll only get more.  But as I said... I'm interested.  Choosing a school to get your PhD is important because you want faculty working on your research interests.  This is obviously less vital in library science since much of the work is theoretical or could be done anywhere, but examining the impact of the "digital revolution" is totally my jam!  I mentioned that my one, lonely little research paper was on information seeking, but I also did work with digital libraries as well as information organization.  I'm super interested in digital communities and how people build communities online, especially use of language - how it differs from platform to platform, how we use tags and communicate in communities inside specific platforms.  I mean obviously there's been research done, so I'd need something meaningful to contribute anyway, but still.  That's super interesting to me!

So if you too are interested and qualified and have already been working on applying to this fellowship...  I wish you well!  Go get it!  Go propose some "deep, empirically-grounded" ideas for research and understanding!

For some people, getting access to the Library of Congress like that would be a dream.  My personal dream is to work at the Folger Shakespeare Library, which incidentally, has a position open.........

Read-a-Likes: The Woman in the Window and Final Girls

Today I'm grumpy because the noir-inspired The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn had tons of references to classic movies and I don't think I've seen a single one of them.