 Oh my God, I got to read the entire book tonight. It's good resale value. I do spend so much time reading books that I hate. I probably won't know my kidding. Too lazy. Ow, I just punched myself in the chin. A new year is upon us. I don't know how that's possible, but here we are. I don't really tend to be the kind of person that does New Year's resolutions. I mean, I do, but I also don't. I mean, like, I think it's dumb, but I also, I mean, okay. This is not the point of this video, but I'm just like, I often do resets for myself while I'm like, okay, well, starting next month, or okay, starting next week, or okay, starting next year. So like, I definitely do that. But like, I don't, like, so New Year's, like, I do it as much as I do at any time, but it's like a time when everyone's doing it. So like, I'm actually posting a video about it, whereas normally I wouldn't post a whole video where like, my resolution for next week, ow, I just punched myself in the chin. My resolution for this year is to not punch myself in the face so much. Oh my God. Okay, so I've come up with, I actually thought I'd only have like two or three, and I started writing stuff down and I was like, man, I have a lot of things that I want to change or like, want to be better about. So I actually ended up with a perfect 10. They aren't ranked in terms of like, priority or anything. I just like wrote down 10, I was like, 10. 10's good, 10's good. So my bookish or booktube, book adjacent book related resolutions for 2022, off we go. So my first one is to read what I own. This is always a goal of mine. And actually towards the latter half of 2021 was a little bit better about that, or like I really only bought books. Actually, that's a different resolution. So I'll talk about that in a second. Where I was like, when I would set up my TBRs, obviously there'd be stuff that's like, I've agreed to buddy read this. I've agreed to do a read-along for this. My patrons have picked this for me to read. I better get it or it's a book club book or whatever. But as I would like fill in the rest of my TBR, I was like, hey, there's series that I intend to finish that are on my goals for this year. And I oftentimes purchased entire series and wouldn't go. So oftentimes that means reading what I own because I already own the whole series because I just commit, you know? By finishing series, I was already reading what I own. But then in general, I would just kind of like look at my shelves and be like, what do I own that I can stick on my TBR? So I really, really want to do that. Cause I wasn't like, it wasn't an official goal of mine, let's say, but I was like getting better about that anyway. So I would like to continue that and really plant my flag in that goal as like, yes, read what I own because I think I probably like, at the end of, the end of 2020, at the end of 2020, I had to put my own books on Goodreads for Bethany because we were doing like a TBR swap thing. So like she had to know what I already own, which forced me to do the exercise of actually looking at all the books I own that I have not read. So it was pretty bad. And I think it's still pretty bad, but I don't think I bought as many books in 2021 as I did before, or at the very least, the books I was buying was largely like special editions or like things that I already owned that I wanted a different cover of or things like that. Or it was books that like I needed immediately. So anyway, this kind of ties into a few other goals, but like that's my, I don't know how I have that much to say about a goal that's read what I own because it's a pretty straightforward goal. Anyway, goal number one is read what I own. Number two is to prioritize finishing series. So that kind of ties in. I haven't actually, I don't have a video going up or anything like that where I have like an official set of series that I specifically want to finish. Like I did last year, and I did actually pretty good with that goal. I might do a check-in. I probably won't, am I kidding? I'm too lazy. I did pretty good with finishing series or making progress on series that were on that list from last year, but I don't have any like specific series this year that I'm like these ones. I want to finish these ones. I just generally want to like make progress on series instead of starting new ones, especially ones that I own to tie into the first goal. These all kind of tied together. They're all kind of like versions of the same goal. So my third goal is for Book of the Month specifically to both keep up and catch up. So last year, in order to keep up, my method, my goal, the way I was approaching that was to always read the Book of the Month in the subsequent month, but I also frequently get add-ons and I also have a bunch of books left over from previous, like before I started doing that. So I do have like a backlog of Book of the Month with books that I still haven't read yet. I did get through a bunch around Halloween time. I guess a bunch of them were thrillers. But so like my, I like escalated my old methods. My old method was like the Book of the Month, like of the five they give you that are like Books of the Month, the one that I would get that would, I would have to read it the following month. And then my new, have like up to the ante now, any book I get from Book of the Month, I have to read the subsequent month. So like in an effort to like actually read what I get, but also to like keep from just getting add-ons to be like, well, this too. I'm like, well, am I gonna read it next month? No, well, then not that too. So hopefully that will both like keep me from getting too many Book of the Month Book, Book of the Month Club books and also get me to read the ones that I do get. But also again, this goal was to catch up and keep up. So that's to keep up, but then to catch up to try to put more Book of, old Book of the Month Club books on my TBR. So like if I don't have any add-ons in the following month, then to like add on an old Book of the Month Club book that I have. So that I have every month probably at least one or two Book of the Month Club books on my TBR. I feel like I've said Book of the Month so many times that like if they were paying me by the mention, I'd be so fucking rich. Number four is to make time for research books. So I mentioned before in like an announcements plans changes video that I have a bunch of books that I've bought for like research for my own writing and they just sit there. And like I have taken a peek here now and then when there's like a specific thing I wanted to look up as writing, like as I've been writing, I'm like, man, I just, I've gotta look this up right now. But like a lot of them are not the kind of book where I can just like go and specifically look a thing up. They're gonna be more like, I don't know, just like general knowledge that I think could either help me to build my world better or help give me new ideas for like, how like some specifics to do with like magic systems or something like that. Or just like general like general knowledge that I think will be really useful for me to have to draw upon or to like further my understanding of like what things like into what I want this to be like we're actually like or how that did work or like how I can mess with it. So like the more I understand about the types of lore, the types of history, the types of geography, the types of battle, the types of like eras of history, et cetera, the more I know about those types of things as they have been, the more just general like well of material I have to draw on to either be like, you know what, it would be really cool if like I did the exact opposite of that. Or I'm like, ooh, they did that. I had no idea. Actually, yeah, I really want to like highlight that they did that. They're definitely gonna do that in my world. Or like, oh, you know, like I was having my magic go like this, but like there's this like interesting old myth about et cetera. And like a piece of that myth kind of really goes with my magic system, but like makes it even cooler. So like stuff like that where like I can't just look it up because I don't know what I'm gonna find. All that to say, like I have a bunch of books like that that are just like stacked next to my desk in this like in the hope that like I will read them. I'm like, I'll put them here next to where I write and then I could just look at them and just cry about how I read them. So I want to prioritize reading them because I don't put them on TBRs. I don't really want to put them in wrap ups. Like it's just for me. It's like literally just for me. So prioritize actually reading them. And like I'll probably mark them on Goodreads because I can't not. I love checking off things on lists, but like I won't put them on TBRs. I won't talk about them in wrap ups and like just be fine with that. Like, okay, so you made time for this research book which means like your wrap up is gonna be five books this month instead of six or seven. So like, so what? So like to prioritize that. Number five is just set daily reading time. Now, obviously like I won't actually be able to do that every single day because, you know, life happens. There are exceptions, but like to try to make it like a set time, both a time of day and an amount of time, that I try to always make reading time every day. Like I mean, I got through 177 books in 2021 and I have a lower reading goal. I don't want to read as many books or like I don't want to try to make myself read as many books in 2022. But that said, it's just been kind of like chaotic where I'm just like listening to audiobooks all the time, just like trying to get through stuff and then like it'll be like the day before the live show for like some read-along I'm in and I'm like, oh my God, I got to read the entire book tonight and so then I'm just like every other priority goes out the window because I'm just gonna like binge read this book. It's chaos and that's just kind of how I am as a human. I work better under pressure and I have to give myself deadlines if no one else does because if without a deadline, I will never do anything. So I want to be a little more just like gradual and like set aside time to be just just reading to not be like, oh fuck, this is due tomorrow because there's a live because that will still happen, let's be real. But yeah, to find a time of day that works for me, I'll try out different things and then find one that works for me in a set amount of time, probably an hour or two hours and then to the best of my ability to keep to that and then, you know, if I have something else going on that day that cuts it short, that's fine. Or if I have something going on that day that makes me push it up an hour or push it back an hour, whatever. Some days I would say I won't be able to at all because life happens, but to be structured about that and to like make it just like a natural part of my routine. My next goal, it will make some certain specific people looking at you Jess, really happy and that is DNFing. So I'm on record of saying that I almost never DNF books and I still struggle with that because like, I've often said it's because when I review a book I don't want to have to say, well, maybe by the end this gets better, maybe by the end this is fixed, maybe by the end this is explained. Like I don't want to have to qualify anything. I want to be able to say I've read this whole thing and the whole thing was this and it never got fixed and it was garbage all of my three or whatever the case may be. That said, I do spend so much time reading books that I hate and then oftentimes I don't even do a review for it. Like if I really was going to do a review for it, like an in depth, like let's pick this apart here, we go, okay, fine, probably finish it because like may as well. But I don't even post how many individual reviews and it's just for a wrap up in which like I'm not gonna say that much about it in a wrap up, it's pretty quick fire, a rapid fire. Like why do that? Like why spend hours and hours of my life finishing a book I hate for the like two minute mention in my wrap up. So my new policy for myself is that I will DNF books that I really, really hate unless it's like a book club book or something like something that's like an obligation book or like I'm supposed to be reading this for like my patrons picked it, something like that. I mean I will, I'll read the whole thing. But if it's just like a book that I picked up like if it's a book of the month club book that I really hate or if it's just, yeah, whatever. I will DNF it like pretty early on if I really think I'm gonna hate it. And then if it's a book that like, I've been kind of holding out hope for but like it's just like not, it's just not doing it. It's getting worse. Part of the reason I also hate DNFing is because I have always believed that you can't rate a book if you've DNFed it because I just don't think that's fair. And that I can't count it towards my good read goal. So oftentimes it's that too. I'm like, well, I've spent this long with it. Like this is gonna count for something. So my new policy with myself is that if I have read at least 75% of the book, I'll allow myself to rate it and to add it to my good reads like goal. Like as a book that I read for the year. And if it's less than 75%, then no, I just DNF it and I will DNF it. I'll be better about that unless I plan to actually do a dedicated review for it. I will DNF it if I'm not liking it. So that's my new plan to increase joy in my life. Okay, so I already mentioned this. My goal number seven is to only buy books that I intend to read immediately. So, or special limited editions because like those are like here today, gone tomorrow. I spend way too much money on special editions but I love special editions. Speaking of bringing me joy, not just like randomly buying books because I'm like, oh, this looks cool. Maybe I'll read that someday. Like, okay, well then wait, buy it someday when you're gonna read it. Unless it's like maybe there are instances where like, especially with the UK, like they'll run the hardcover for like a week and then it's like gone forever. So for a few things like that, I might, if I'm like, if I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love this, if it's an offer that I know, if it's something that like, I'm fairly certain I will or it's really good resale value. If it's something like that, we're like, it's not a special edition but it is gonna be limited in some capacity where you gotta get it now or never. Then I'll, you know, then I'll buy it. But otherwise only buying a book if it's like for this or next month's TBR. Otherwise just, just wait. Number eight is to step out of my comfort zone a little more. This has always been a goal of mine. It is always a goal of mine. Continues to be a goal of mine. Book of the Month really does help me with that. As much as I've been kind of like considering, maybe I, maybe I should give up the subscription because I often end up hating. Most of my pango bookstore front is just all of my Book of the Month books that I'm like, read it, ate it, here you go. But that's it. Because they so often don't have, you know, SFF, then I'm forced to choose something that isn't necessarily something that I have heard of or that I would have normally picked up. And I like that it makes me try out new things. Even if I end up not always and frequently not liking those things. It forces me to step out. And I also feel like it's oftentimes like with people who've never read SFF before are intimidated by like, I don't even know where to start or what I'm gonna like. So like me, primarily reading SFF, that's how I feel about Litvick and mystery and things like that. I'm like, I don't know what I like. There's a lot out there. It also gives me like, allows me to dip my toe into some of those waters so I can get a little more familiar with like what those genres do have to offer so that I know that what I can go out now and look for more of. Yeah, so that's one of the main reasons I keep that subscription even though I end up hating. At least have what I read from. But yeah, but outside of that, I mean, I do want to be better about because just like I have research books that just sit there waiting for me. There are a lot of like nonfiction or Litvick or historical or mystery books that have caught my eye that have been of interest to me. And I just don't pick them up because like when push comes to shove, if I'm choosing between that and an SFF book, I will choose the SFF book. So I want to try to be more conscious and intentional about not always choosing the SFF book and sometimes prioritizing something else. Goal number nine is to actually write Goodreads Reviews. I used to be really good about this and it's been a long time since I was good about this. And yeah, part of it is that I had so many books to read last year and I just kept adding more and more and more and it's insane. That's why I don't want to do that this year. Like it's cool. Like I'd like knowing that I could read that many books in a year, but okay, I know that now. So like I don't need to prove that to myself and I can just like ease up. But yeah, so like I would like to actually write down Goodreads Reviews one because like it's fun to look back because now when I've done some rereads in 2021, when I would go to mark this book, you know, as reading again or as read again, then my old review would be there and I'd be like, oh yeah, what did I have to say about it? And I'd like, I enjoyed going back and reading like what I wrote when I first read it. And it also, I feel like the books that I have written a review for, similarly to like when you actually do a spoken like a video dedicated video about it, which I will not do for every book. Absolutely not. I just won't for all the other books that I don't do a dedicated review for, like a video for having written a review will help to keep it more in my mind. As you know, people always say like you really understand something if you've had to teach it. So like writing a review has like forces you to like put into words, how you feel about it. And I feel like makes it stick in my mind more than it would otherwise. Even like a few minute sum up in a wrap up wouldn't do it as much as writing a review. So I want to be better about that. I don't know if I'll do it for every book and I will probably fall off that wagon, but I want to try to get back to doing that. And my last goal is to actually post on my Instagram. Again, I used to be so good about Instagram. I'd often prioritize Instagram over YouTube because I had so much fun taking pictures for my books to grab. And then I just like, I posted like four pictures maybe in 2021. I have like cool props and beautiful editions. Like what am I collecting all these beautiful editions for? All these amazing bookish candles, et cetera. And I've been posting about it on my bookstagram. So like, I've just been, I've just gotten lazy honestly. And it's also because I got a new phone and like the app that I used to like transfer photos from my fancy camera to my phone wasn't working on my new phone. And I couldn't be arsed to figure that out. So I just stopped. But I mean, my phone's camera is actually really good now unlike my old phone. So there's no excuse. I'm just lazy about it. And I want to be not lazy about it anymore. So yeah, those are my goals for 2022. Let me know in the comments down below if any of these goals are your goals. If you think these goals are stupid, if you think these goals are great, whatever you want to let me know. I post videos on Saturdays, other random posts as well, but definitely Saturdays. So like and subscribe, join my Patreon if you feel so inclined and I'll see you when I see you.