Top Ten Tuesday: Books and blogging goals for 2025

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Welcome to this week's edition of Top Ten Tuesday which is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's theme is Bookish Goals for 2025 (How many books do you want to read this year? Are you hoping to read outside your comfort zone? Are there books you meant to read last year but never got to? Are there new-to-you authors you’re hoping to read?)

I normally don't do this post each year, simply because it has been a while since I formally set down any reading/blog related goals. This year, it feels like a year when I need to do this. I haven't got ten but here are the ones I have got!

My Goodreads goal is to read 104 books. This is the same goal as last year and is doable given that it is 2 books a week, but I don't want to make it any higher.

Read more Australian authors - I have been reading a lot more British authors, and have found some that I really love, but I do need to make some more space for new to me Aussie authors as well.

Read more historical fiction - Given I host the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge, I really should read more. If I read more Aussie historical fiction books then I could kill two birds with one stone!

Review both of those when I do read them - I am never going to go back to reviewing every single book I read, but I do want to make a concerted effort to read both of the two types I mentioned above.

I mentioned yesterday that I have committed to doing the chapter a day War and Peace readalong, so one of my goals is to make sure I actually do it!

Will this year be the year that I finally figure out how to build engagement on social media? Probably not, but I am going to try to build my Bookstagram presence. I only just started my Bookstagram account, and I currently have 182 followers. If you would like to follow me I am intrepidreaderandbaker. I will also follow you back!

I am also trying to figure out Storygraph this year, so I need to keep that updated.I

I used to use the library a lot but these days if I see a book I want I tend to just buy it. Good for the authors I know, but I do want to use the library a bit more.

Sunday Salon: Better Late Than Never

I suddenly realised this week that I still haven't managed to post my goals for 2012 in relation to blogging and reading, so this week my Sunday Salon post is going to be doing just that. After all, it would probably be best to do so while the month is still January!

To be honest, most of the goals that I will be setting this year will be very similar to the ones that I have had in the last couple of years, mainly because these seem to be working for me.

Read 150 books -  Last year I read more than 220 books which is the most I have read in a single year. Whilst it didn't feel that onerous getting to that mark last year I still thank that around 150 books is my natural level of reading.

Read 10 books that I owned as at 31 December 2011 - Every year I read less books that I own than come into my house. This is my attempt to try to make sure that I read at least a few that have been on my shelves for a while. I actually have done pretty well with this aim so far this year.

Reading Australian authors - Every year I look at my list of reads and think, gosh, I don't read enough Australian authors. This year I am aiming to read at least 12 books by Australian authors. I rejoined the Aussie Authors Challenge to try and help me meet this goal and I am also participating in the Australian Women Writers Challenge as well.

Read some Charles Dickens - A few years ago I aimed to read Dorothy Dunnett, and didn't manage to even crack open a book, and still haven't in fact. Last year I aimed to read a novel by Jane Austen which I did. This year is a big year as it is the 200th anniversary of Dickens birth, so it seems like a good time to revisit his works. I have only read Great Expectations so there are still a number of other books that I can choose from.

Perpetual Challenges - I am aiming to read at least one book for each of the perpetual challenges that I am signed up for like The Pulitzer Project, the Orange Prize Project, and the Complete Booker. 

Review more - This is what I have written for the last couple of years "Over the last couple of years I have allowed myself to get very lazy about writing reviews of the books I read. I still start a blog post for every book, but not enough of them see light of day! This year, I am going to try to write at least one review a week, preferably more. Need to get back into the habit. I know that that really isn't many, but I do also want to be a no guilt blogger as well, because at the end of the day blogging is supposed to enrich our lives and be fun and not something that we are slave to." All of that is still relevant for this year!

Deadline Reading - I want to back off a little from deadline reading whether it be for library due dates, tours, egalley expiry dates and try to be a little organic in my reading in terms of being able to look at my shelf, or the library shelf and have a little more room to just read what I feel like reading! I am not quite sure how to quantify this one, except in terms of how I am feeling, but I will try to!

TSS: 2011 Reading Resolutions

For last week's Sunday Salon post , I looked back at my year in 2010. Now it is time to look forward.

When I started thinking about my reading goals for this year, they look a lot like my goals in previous years! They generally involve reading a certain number of books, reading more Australian authors, and that at least some of the books I read should be books that I already own but haven't read yet.

Read 150 books -  Last year I was aiming for 125 books because I had changed jobs and therefore my commuting and reading time reduced, but I still managed to read 166 books, so I am thinking aiming for 150 should be a doable figure. I could try for more than I read this year, but I don't want to be forcing myself to read just to reach a hard to achieve goal.

Read 10 books that I owned as at 31 December 2010 - Every year I read less books that I own than come into my house. This is my attempt to try to make sure that I read at least a few that have been on my shelves for a while.

Reading Australian authors - Every year I look at my list of reads and think, gosh, I don't read enough Australian authors. This year I am aiming to read at least 12 books by Australian authors. I also rejoined the Aussie Authors Challenge to try and help me meet this goal.

Read some Jane Austen - A few years ago I aimed to read Dorothy Dunnett, and didn't manage to even crack open a book, and still haven't in fact. Last year I said "I intend to rectify what I feel is a major gap in my reading. I have never read anything by Jane Austen. I have watched a couple of the adaptations that are around and liked them, so we will see how we go with reading some of her books." Didn't happen. So now I have the books loaded on the ereader, and I have joined the Sense and Sensibility challenge, so maybe that will be the impetus that I require.

Perpetual Challenges - Last year, one thing that I didn't do very well at all is read for the perpetual challenges that I am signed up for like The Pulitzer Project, the Orange Prize Project, and the Complete Booker. This year I would like to read at least one book for each of these, if not more. I have cut back on a lot of my other reading challenges to try and do better with the perpetuals.

Finish War and Peace - Last year I started, and was really enjoyed War and Peace, but then I got distracted by other books. I want to pick it up again, and I know there are a couple of readalongs happening so I might hook up with one of those to assist me with that.

Review more - This is what I wrote last year "Over the last couple of years I have allowed myself to get very lazy about writing reviews of the books I read. I still start a blog post for every book, but not enough of them see light of day! This year, I am going to try to write at least one review a week, preferably more. Need to get back into the habit. I know that that really isn't many, but I do also want to be a no guilt blogger as well, because at the end of the day blogging is supposed to enrich our lives and be fun and not something that we are slave to." All of that is still relevant for this year!

2010 Reading Resolutions

So, I have looked back at my year in 2009. Now it is time to look forward.

I didn't realise that I hadn't set any reading goals in 2009. That was something I normally do, but obviously either didn't want to last January or never got around to it. The thing is, my goals remain pretty constant most years. They generally involve reading a certain number of books, reading more Australian authors, and that at least some of the books I read should be books that I already own but haven't read yet. This year isn't all that different.

Read 125 books -  Over the last few years this number has consistently reduced. In 2006 and 2007 I aimed for 200 books. In 2007 I said that this was a reduced amount because I needed to get a new job. In 2008 I aimed for 150 books because I really, REALLY needed to get a new job! This year, I finally have the new job, and because of reduced commuting time, I have much less reading time, so the number of books I am aiming to read has dropped again.

Read 10 books that I owned as at 31 December 2009 - Every year I read less books that I own than come into my house. This is my attempt to try to make sure that I read at least a few that have been on my shelves for a while.

Reading Australian authors - Every year I look at my list of reads and think, gosh, I don't read enough Australian authors. This year I am aiming to read at least 10 books by Australian authors. I also joined in the Australian Authors Challenge to try and help me meet this goal.

Read some Jane Austen - A couple of years ago I aimed to read Dorothy Dunnett, and didn't manage to even crack open a book, and still haven't in fact. This year, I intend to rectify what I feel is a major gap in my reading. I have never read anything by Jane Austen. I have watched a couple of the adaptations that are around and liked them, so we will see how we go with reading some of her books.

Perpetual Challenges - Last year, one thing that I didn't do very well at all is read for the perpetual challenges that I am signed up for like The Pulitzer Project, the Orange Prize Project, and the Complete Booker. This year I would like to read at least one book for each of these, if not more.

Review more - Over the last couple of years I have allowed myself to get very lazy about writing reviews of the books I read. I still start a blog post for every book, but not enough of them see light of day! This year, I am going to try to write at least one review a week, preferably more. Need to get back into the habit. I know that that really isn't many, but I do also want to be a no guilt blogger as well, because at the end of the day blogging is supposed to enrich our lives and be fun and not something that we are slave to. Just looking at this one though, I haven't written a review yet this year! Gah...already behind! LOL.

So, that's it. My reading resolutions for this year.

2008 Reading in review: The Resolutions

These were my reading resolutions for 2008:

Read 150 books - this is a significant drop in the number of books I read this year, but I really want to get a new job much closer to home and so I will have much less reading time!

Blogging - catch up and keep up!

Australian Authors - I would like to read at least 20 books by Australian authors this year.

Library - I really need to get the number of books that I have out from the library down to say 35, and keep it there. Ill be going a post of all my library books shortly, and I am pretty sure that you will agree that it is over the top at the moment!

Challenges - I am going to be joining in on challenges this year, but I want them to be ones that will help me reduce my huge TBR list down a bit!

Books I Own - I want to read at least 15 books that I owned as at 31 December 2007!

So with my total reads being 182 for the year I exceeded the first goal quite easily. Having said that, I still have not found another job yet, but I am. I really need to! Really.

I haven't managed to get caught up, but I have stopped worrying about this too much...mostly.

I didn't quite manage to read 20 books by Australian authors. I did read 16. I am going to try for 20 again this year.

I didn't manage to get my library reads down either. I currently have 54 books out of the library.

I did join in on the challenges, and for the most part the books that I did read were all off of my TBR list!

I only read 10 books that I owned as at 1 January 2008. This is one area that I really need to do better in because I keep on buying books that I want to read and then not reading any of them!

I'll put my 2009 goals up in the next couple of days. They will be pretty similar I imagine.

2008 Reading Resolutions

So I have done the 2007 year in review posts, but what I haven't posted yet are my 2008 reading resolutions. I had a somewhat mixed year in terms of my reading resolutions last year, but I will be keeping at least some of those same goals this year.

Read 150 books - this is a significant drop in the number of books I read this year, but I really want to get a new job much closer to home and so I will have much less reading time!

Blogging - catch up and keep up!

Australian Authors - I would like to read at least 20 books by Australian authors this year.

Library - I really need to get the number of books that I have out from the library down to say 35, and keep it there. Ill be going a post of all my library books shortly, and I am pretty sure that you will agree that it is over the top at the moment!

Challenges - I am going to be joining in on challenges this year, but I want them to be ones that will help me reduce my huge TBR list down a bit!

Books I Own - I want to read at least 15 books that I owned as at 31 December 2007!

My Reading Year - 2007 - The Reading Resolutions

My reading resolutions for this year were:

Read 200 books - I've just scraped in, having completed 203 books so far, although I do expect to finish another couple of books this year.

Read 15 books that I owned as at 1 January 2007 - As I mentioned in my stats post, I have only read 33 books that I own this year. The rest mostly came from the library. Of the 33 books that I read that I owned, only 4 of them were books that I owned before this year! Expect to see a similar goal in my reading resolutions for next year, because this year I bought 112 books. To say I am getting further and further behind on my TBR is an understatement!

Read Dorothy Dunnett - will a simple no suffice? I will read her....but it won't be this year!

Read more Australian Authors - In 2006 I only read 5 books by Australian authors - this year I managed 20, so I am pretty happy with that!

Shortlists - It was my intention to read the shortlists for The Booker Prize and either The Orange or The Pulitzer. Of the Booker shortlist I have read one, and have two more here to read. I also read two of the books that were longlisted but not shortlisted. I read three of the books that were shortlisted for the Orange Prize including the winner, but somehow I completely missed knowing what books were on the shortlist for the Pulitzer! Not sure how that happened. I did read the winner though! Overall, I haven't met my goal here, but I am not totally unhappy with what I did do! I might have something similar for my reading goals next year.

Blogging - My goal for this year was "try not to get so far behind on reviews, or to put pressure on myself when I do get behind!" At one stage this year, I was all caught up, but suffice to say that I am not at the moment!



I'll be posting my 2008 Reading Resolutions in the next few days.

My Reading Year - 2007 - The stats

It's that time of the year to look book over the reading year. I thought I would start with some stats about my 2007 reading year, and then in a separate posts I will focus a bit more on specifics!

No. of books:

Completed 203 books so far - expecting to finish 2 more before the end of the year so should end up with 205 by the end of the year.

Of those 203 books, only 33 were books that I owned, either because I bought them or got given them to review, and there were no rereads in amongst those! With the exception of 2 books the rest were from the library. By contrast I bought 112 books this year. I really need to read more books that I already own next year!

I read 20 books by Australian authors-vast improvement over previous years

Genres:

YA/kids - 8
Crime/Mystery - 26
Fantasy - 16
Historical Fiction - 43
Literature - 18
Non fiction - 5
Romances - 73
Womens/Chick lit - 15

Of those books that aren't historical fiction, the setting was historical in 55 of them, 15 paranormal and 8 suspense/thriller, although I don't always seem to be consistent in how I classify the sub genres!

Grades:

5/5 - 2 - although I would probably change one of those retrospectively
4.5/5 - 43
4/5 - 113 - seems to be my go to grade
3.5/5 - 27
3/5 - 12
2.5/5 - 4
1.5/5 - 1
1 0/5 - DNF

Publishers:

14 Harlequin
33 Harper Collins
1 Kensington
11 MacMillan
36 Penguin/Putnam
27 Random House
18 Simon and Schuster
6 Hatchette/Warner
49 Others

Total No. of pages read: 73889

New to me authors: 110

In summary, I read about 30 less books this year than I did last year. Not sure why, but I still made my goal of 200 so I am not disappointed.

I am kind of surprised that I read 16 fantasy books - I always say that I don't read fantasy, but I am averaging more than one a month!

110 authors seems quite a lot, but I did read a few anthologies earlier in the year that introduced me to a lot!

Reading goals

Today I finished a book. Nothing unusual in that really! This book was however book number 150 for the year which means that I am pretty much right on track for my goal of 200 books.

How am I going with my other goals?

Reading Dorothy Dunnett - well..there's still 3 months left in the year. I might get there, but I actually don't think I will!

Reading at least 15 books I owned as at January 2007 - still only 3. I have been reading lots of 2007 books recently, which is completely unconnected really but never mind!

Reading shortlists for the Booker and either the Orange or Pulitzer. - hmmm...less said on that one the better!

Blogging - well you know I am always behind in reviews so nothing new there.

Reading more Aussie authors (at least 10) - actually this is the one that I am doing better on. So far this year I have read 12 books by Aussie authors! Goal reached!



Actually, I have just posted a review by one of those Aussie authors over at Historical Tapestry - The Boar Stone by Jules Watson. Pop over and have a look!

Half way done

So, we are basically at the halfway mark in the year, so I thought I would do a quick check of where I am at in comparison to the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year.

My goals for the year were to:

Read 200 books
Read 15 books that I already owned as at 1 January 2007
Read Dorothy Dunnett
Read more Australian Authors (at least 10)
Read shortlists for the Booker and either the Orange Prize or the Pulitzer Prize
Blogging - specifically not getting so far behind on reviews or putting pressure on myself if I do.

So how am I going? Let's just say it isn't pretty!


Read 200 books - actually this one isn't too bad. As at June 30, I had read 98 books, so I am not too far off of where I need to be in order to meet my goal, however, at this point last year I had read 109 books.

Read Dorothy Dunnett - I borrowed the first book in the one of her series. Didn't get to read it though! Does that count?

Read 15 books that I already owned as at 1 January 2007 - Um...well I've read 2, so I might need to work on this one a bit! It's especially a bit of a worry seeing as I have bought more than 15 books in May and June alone!

Read more Australian authors (at least 10) - Surprisingly on target on this one! Maybe I need to go and check my spreadsheet to make sure that I counted right!

Read shortlists for the Booker and either the Orange Prize or the Pulitzer Prize - Well given that the shortlist for the Booker isn't out yet, I am not failing that part yet, but as for the Orange and the Pulitzer...well...I've read both the books that won! I will be reading a couple more of the Orange prize nominations soon...no really, I will be!

Blogging (specifically not getting behind on reviews) - There was this brief moment back in April when I was all caught up. Unfortunately, that wasn't something that I was able to maintain, and I am currently a terrible 22 reviews behind!

So I might be being a bit harsh on myself at this stage to say:




but it isn't that far off!

20 Novels Set Close to Home

The State Library of Victoria have a program going at the moment called Reading Victoria: 20 Novels Set Close to Home.

Reading Victoria is a summer reading program that will take you on a journey around the state. We have selected 20 contemporary and classic novels set in Victoria for you to read, discuss and enjoy this summer.

20 Novels about Victoria
A sense of place is one of the most important elements in many works of fiction, and Victoria has inspired great stories over the years. Interesting places in the state have been written about in some of our most loved books, many of which are on the 20 novels set close to home list.

It's an interesting list of books - many of them are books I had never heard of before, so I have added more books to my ever growing TBR list! As a bonus, if I ever get to reading any of them then I will at least be meeting my "read more Australian authors" reading resolution!

The twenty books chosen are:

Shadowboxing by Tony Birch - never heard of it.

Monkey Grip by Helen Garner - I have read another book by Helen Garner, called Joe Cinque's Consolation, which was quite an interesting look at a real life murder of a young man by his girlfriend.

True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey - probably should have read Peter Carey by now, but I haven't! Just call me a bad Australian...I don't like Vegemite either!

Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood - read this not too long ago!

The Art of the Engine Driver by Steven Carroll - never heard of it!

The Dressmaker by Rosalie Ham - haven't heard of this one before either!

The Getting of Wisdom by Henry Handel Richardson - now this is supposed to be something of an Australian classic. I was supposed to read it with an online club a couple of years ago, but I was a bit unwise and didn't do so! Get it...unwise...oh, never mind!

My Brother Jack by George Johnston - I remember watching the mini series that was made of this book years ago and loving it, but never read the book!

Power Without Glory by Frank Hardy - apparently this bloke is an important Australian literary figure...apparently!

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsey - now this is an Australian classic, and a very good book. Also made into a very creepy movie. Hanging Rock isn't actually all that far away from where I live. One of these days I will go and visit it.

Of a Boy by Sonya Hartnett - I haven't read this book, but I did read Thursdays Child and thought that it was a very good read.

Stiff by Shane Maloney - I had heard of this book at least!

Sunnyside by Joanna Murray-Smith - another one I had never heard of before.

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple - or this one!

Three Dollars by Elliot Perlman - or this.

Everyman's Rules for Scientific Thinking by Carrie Tiffany - this book was nominated for the 2006 Miles Franklin Award, which is one of the more prestigious Australian literary prizes. It was up in competition against The Secret River by Kate Grenville and the eventual winner, The Ballad of Desmond Kale by Roger McDonald.

On the Beach by Nevil Shute - I have read A Town Like Alice by this author.

Loaded by Christos Tsiolkas - another one that I had never heard of before.

Players by Tony Wilson - and again

Cafe Scheherazade by Arnold Zable - I have vague recollections of hearing of this author before.

Reading resolutions for 2007

I have given a little thought to my reading resolutions for this year, but I am afraid a couple of them are going to be a little vague. I am hoping to tighten up on them during the year.





For 2007 my reading resolutions are:





Read 200 books - this is actually less than I read last year, but there is a reason for this! I am hopeful that sometime this year I am going to be able to change my job and actually be based much closer to home. If that happens then I will lose my 2 and a half to 3 hours of reading time every day so 200 will be a real stretch without that.





Read 15 books that I already own as at 1 January 2007 - Last year, I borrowed a lot of books from the library - most of what I read in fact. Given that I have 136 books that I own at the moment that I haven't read, I figure I will be doing well if I can read just over 10% of them.





Read Dorothy Dunnett - every time I see a post from someone that is reviewing a book by Dorothy Dunnett, I post a comment saying something along the lines of "I really want to read her". This year I am going to. In order to kick start this I have just requested The Game of Kings from the library.





Read more Australian Authors - Unless there are some authors that I didn't know are Aussies, I only read 5 books by Australian Authors in 2006. Pathetic - must do better. If I can double that number then I will be happy.





Shortlists - it is my intention to read the shortlists for the Booker and either the Orange Prize or the Pullitzer Prize.



Blogging - try not to get so far behind on reviews, or to put pressure on myself when I do get behind!

Looking at it all written down like that I am a bit concerned that I haven't left myself a lot of room for reading for fun, but we will see how we go!

2006 Year in Review

My goals at the beginning of this year were to:

Read 200 books

Of those 200 at least 25 books needed to be books that I already owned

Maintain my blog

and to read across a variety of
genres.

So...how did I do? Well, I ended up reading 226 books in the year, so I exceeded this target quite easily. In 2005 I read 168 books so that is quite a jump for me.

I didn't do so well on the second challenge - I ended up reading only 10 books that I already owned as at 1 January 2006.

I think I did okay at maintaining my blog, although as you may have already noted me saying...I am a bit behind in my reviews at the moment!!!

As for reading across a variety of genres, I actually think that my reading habits changed quite significantly over the last 6 months in particular. In June I picked up the first book in the Sookie Stackhouse series of books, and since then I have been reading vampire and other paranormal stories quite a lot - really surprising to me. I have also read a lot more fantasy this year than I would ever have thought I would read! I think 86 new authors in a year is a pretty good effort.

There were only five books that I marked as 5/5 reads. There were certainly lots more that were 4.5/5 reads, and some that stick in the mind even though they may have been graded as less than that. The five books with top marks were:

Donnelly, Jennifer - The Winter Rose. This was the sequel to The Tea Rose, and was a much better book in my opinion.

Setterfield, Diane - The Thirteenth Tale - Moody and gothic, improbable but still an engrossing read.

Snyder, Maria V - Poison Study - It was a complete surprise to me how much I enjoyed this book!

Bishop, Anne - Queen of the Darkness. It took me just about all of the first book in this series to understand the world, but once I was there I was completely hooked. This is one example of a book that I wouldn't have read if I hadn't of seen positive reviews of it out in blogland.

Keyes, Marian - Anybody Out There? - This was the last book I read for the year and I thought it was so good!! Haven't got around to writing a review, and may in the end not write a complete one, but seriously, this is an excellent, excellent book! I am so glad that I finally read all of the Walsh sisters books, and I can't wait for the last of them.

I'll be back with a more in depth analysis of my reads in the next couple of days! Can't wait can you??

97..98..99..100

Yes, that's right!! I have just finished my 100th book of the year..so far!

My reading resolutions for this year were to read 200 books. It would appear that I am ahead of schedule! Yay!

My other resolutions were to read at least 25 of the books that I already owned at the end of last year and to read a wide range of genres.I am up to 12 on the first count so not too far off of target either. I've realised though that the reading of a wide range of genres wasn't exactly a specific target but I guess I am not doing all that badly there!! So far this year I have read 34 new to me authors, so all round it seems to be all good!!

As long as my reading continues as it has been shouldn't be a problem to reach the end of year targets I set myself.

2006 Reading Resolutions

My reading resolutions for this year are to read 200 books. In 2005 I read 168 so this should be a challenge.

Of those 200 book, at least 25 of them need to be books that I already own that I have not read yet! I have loads of books on my bookshelf that I have been meaning to get to soon, but haven't quite got to.

I also want to maintain this blog, and continue to read a variety of genres and styles.

I'll be a happy reader if I can do that!