Top Ten Tuesday #2

Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday!

hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday post. This week’s topic is Bookish Goals for 2023. Here are my bookish goals for 2023:

1. Make a dent in my TBR mountain — I have a ton (at this rate, I’m not exaggerating) of books I have bought over the years, or received from authors or giveaways, that I actually want to read. This year, I want to be intentional about reading the books I have and making a dent in my mountain.
2. Say “NO” — I struggle to say “no” to people. This gets me into trouble as I become way overwhelmed with obligations. I am a woman of my word, so I meet those obligations, but I do so feeling super stressed out. I love Christian authors and I always want to help them spread the word about their books, but I can no longer join as many street teams and blog tours as I previously did. I’m going to burn out!
3. Read less — “Say what, now?!” Yes, I want to be realistic about my reading goals for 2023. I have a full-time job (where I work 40-50 hours per week) and a full-time family. Between my full-time job and my blogging/reading time, my family time often takes a back seat. That’s just not right. So, instead of setting a super high reading goal this year, I’m choosing to put some reading time on the back burner instead of my family. I’m setting my priorities right!
4. Read a non-fiction text or two…for fun — I tend to ignore non-fiction. Most non-fiction looks incredibly boring to me. But I know there are non-fiction texts out there worth the read. So, this year, I want to discover those books. If you have any suggestions, let me know!
5. Read during daylight hours — I believe I will fail this one. I love to read at night, but that gets me in trouble. The problem is I really LOVE to read at night: being cozy under my covers, the atmosphere of a dark night, reading a good book, turning pages voraciously, thinking to myself, “You can do one more chapter!” It’s the best! But this causes me to be tired and grumpy during the day when I am supposed to be giving my students, and then my family, my best. So, even though I love reading at night in bed, I am going to try to be more intentional about reading during daylight hours so I can get better sleep.
6. Finish a series I have started — One time, I was listening to Jocelyn Green discuss her books and she made a comment that the end books in a series do not get read as much as the front books of series. It was one of those “duh” moments for me, but it was also a sad moment, too. If I love the first couple of books in a series, why do I stop reading? Honestly, I think it’s the allure of new books releasing. This year, I’m going to fight that allure and commit to completing ONE of the series I have already started but have not finished.
7. Not be afraid to DNF a book — It kills my soul to do it, which is why I hardly ever do, but life is short. I have to be OK with DNF-ing books that are just not my cup of tea. Not every book is written for me, and that’s OK.
8. Make a better dent in my NetGalley shelf — I have been purposely clearing through my NetGalley shelf this past year, but I admit that there are about four books on my shelf that just sit there. They are books from when I was very brand new to NetGalley and didn’t really know what it was all about. BUT, I feel guilty that those poor books are there. It’s not their fault I was a naïve newbie who didn’t really understand the NetGalley process. So, I want to at least clear as many of those reads as possible this year.
9. Check in with myself — lately, running my blog has felt like a second job that’s sucking my soul dry. That sounds dramatic, but that’s how it’s felt. I want to be more intentional about reflecting on my current feelings in regards to my blog and reading schedule. If I’m feeling overwhelmed, it’s time to take a week off. And that’s OK. I struggle with taking breaks, but breaks can be really beneficial.
10. Re-read a book that makes me happy — I have a re-read pile of books that have blessed me once upon a time. This year, I would like to revisit at least one of those books for nostalgia’s sake.

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So, what about you?

What are some of your bookish goals for 2023?

Any similar to mine?