Bookish Resolutions for 2026

Every year I make resolutions and every year I discard them. And yet, it's tradition, so I keep making them. 

For 2026...

Read. All. The. Time. Instead of watching TV or using social media, pick up a book and read. 

No new books except for the usual suspects - the next in a series, or a new one by a favorite author. 

Declutter books I don't like and won't reread. 

Read the books on my bookshelves. 

Book blog it up - share about all the books, post reviews, write about all things bookish.

Substack. Don't ignore it and actually use it to 'write it out.' 

Journal daily - never stop writing.

Have fun with books - fall in love with reading, again. 

Wishing you all a lovely New Year. Here's to 2026! 

2023 Bookish Resolutions

 1.  Read. Yep, simple as that. Just read. My reading fell to the wayside last year and I am not having it this year. I need to read - it's what makes me happy. So, this year is all about doing the things that make me happy and reading is on that list. 

2.  Books.  To buy or not to buy, that is the question. All last year I bought books and I read a few of them, but the majority are now piled up around my bookshelves. So, I am thinking that a book buying ban needs to be in place during 2023. With exceptions, of course. Those exceptions being: new books by favorite writers can be purchased and new-to-me editions of my favorite books can be bought. That's it though - no other reason to buy a new book. Fingers crossed I stick to this one. Especially after reading this article about the struggle of bibliophiles and all their books - yikes! Here's the link: drowning in books

3.  Book blog.  Write more reviews! Post about all things books, journals, etc.. Just blog. 

4.  Planners.  Use what I bought for 2023 and stop buying more planners. I am addicted to trying all the new planner formats, because I'm convinced that I will finally find the one that will help me to organize my life. Yeah, a planner is not going to organize anything for me, I need to do that. 

5.  Journals. Stop buying journals. I have way too many. 

6.  A photo a day journal. Inspired by Patti Smith's latest book, A Book Of Days, I want to take a photo a day, print it out and paste it in a journal and then write a caption for it. I loved her book and I love the idea, so that's something I want to do in 2023. 

7.  Recipe book. I bought a journal specifically to write family recipes in and I have yet to use it. So, this is the year I use it and actually write family recipes in it. I also want to add a photo of the food for each recipe. 

8.  Five year journal. I bought a five year Hobonichi and plan on using it for my gratitude journal. I've been using a gratitude journal for years now, so I thought that a five year one would be a good idea. Hopefully, I will enjoy using the same journal for five years. 

As of now, those are my bookish resolutions for the new year. I might add more as the year progresses. Either way, I'm excited to start working on them. Picking up a book to read is the perfect way to kick off the New Year and my resolutions, so that is exactly what I will be doing. 

In fact, I think I've just thought of a 9th resolution: Reading Challenges. Join in and have fun. I'm participating in the Japanese Literature Challenge 16, hosted by my dear friend Meredith of Dolce Bellezza, which kicks off this month and goes through February. So, I'm thinking maybe joining in some other reading challenges will help get me to read more books. We'll see. 

Anyhow, that is where I'm at bookish-wise. Hope you all are well and cozied up with a book or three. I wish you all a very Happy New Year filled with lots of great books. Happy reading!!

Bookish Resolutions for 2022

Happy New Year!! 2022 is here and I am ready for it. Or at least I am telling myself that I am. Last year was rough (an understatement), so I am looking forward to a fresh start. I am setting up my planners, reading a new book (These Precious Days by Ann Patchett), cracking the spine on a new hardcover journal by this British shop called Choosing Keeping that I just discovered, and I'm finally using my green Montblanc pen. I am also figuring out what resolutions to make for the new year, or if I even want to make any. Let's be honest, I tend to forget about my resolutions a month after I make them, so should I even bother? And then there's the whole idea of choosing a word for the year. Hmm...resolutions...words...what to do? I'm thinking of choosing bookish resolutions and then taking it from there to see if I want to bother with life resolutions. What do you do? Do you make resolutions? Do you pick a word for the year? Or, do you just start the year like it's just another day? 

I'm thinking for my bookish resolutions I will aim for the following:

- Read. My reading was awful last year and I want that to change. I want to fall back in love with books. Don't get me wrong, I'm still reading, but just not like I used to (which was all the time) and it has been the worst. And the thing is, I'm still buying books all the time - I'm just not reading them. So, yeah, I need to work on that. Especially with so many wonderful books coming out this year - the new Antoine Laurain is on my list and I can't wait for it!!

- Stop buying books. Yep, I need to stop buying and starting reading what I already own. The only exceptions will be new titles by my favorite authors (Antoine Laurain) and limited editions that I come across of my favorite books. That's it. No more buying books randomly online or at Target - that mindless shopping is over. 

- Cull my books and donate the ones I don't want. 

- Reorganize my bookshelves. It needs to be done. 

- Subscribe to literary magazines. I used to love doing this, but haven't in ages. I figured it could be fun to try it again.

- Focus on my book blog via the blog and IG. I've neglected it far too long and I want to get back on track with it. 

- Read. The main resolution is to read. Just pick up a book and read. 

What about you all? Any new books to recommend? Resolutions you are excited about? Let me know. 

And now, I'm off to read an essay in Patchett's book. Happy reading!!

New Year, No Bookish Resolutions

Happy New Year! I know that I'm a bit late with my well wishes, but as the say goes...better late than never.

So, how has the new year been treating you, thus far? Have you been reading up a storm or savoring your first book of the year? I started off in a reading funk, but lately I have been gobbling up books left and right. I think I was waiting for something substantial to call my attention and when it didn't, I picked up a chick lit novel.  And then, I read another and now I'm reading nothing but mystery-thrillers. I always find those two genres to be satisfying, fun, and easy to get lost in. I think I needed that to help me get my reading back on track. Luckily, its worked. I'm currently in the middle of:

Of course, now I'm trying to figure out what to read next already. I was thinking of something for the Japanese Literature Challenge that my dear friend, Meredith is hosting over at her awesome book blog, Dolce Bellezza.  The challenge is three months long and all you have to do in that time is read one (or more) book(s) which have originally been written in Japanese. And, that's it. Easy peasy, right? Now, all I have to do is pick a book or three to read. Right now I have Yoshimoto, Ogawa and Murakami swirling around in my head.  Hmm...what do you think? Which writer should I pick? Or do you have one you can recommend? Let me know.

Oh, and before I forget, I just wanted to share that I am not making any bookish resolutions this year. I feel like I always do and I never manage to stick to them. Whether its trying to be "low-buy" with my book buying or writing more blog posts - I just seem to always fall short. So, this year I have decided to just go with the flow. Whatever floats my boat is the way I will read and book blog. We'll see how that goes. What about you? Any bookish resolutions for 2020?

And now, I'm off to read some more of You Can't Catch Me. Hope you have a wonderful week! Happy reading!!

My 2017 Bookish Resolutions...

A new year means new resolutions.  I've decided that my bookish resolutions will be simple: read, read, read.  Yep, that's pretty much it.  I want to spend 2017 reading as many books as I can get my hands on.  I want to read all of the books I have languishing on my shelves - including the classics.  I own boxed sets of Austen's works and the Brontes' works, but somehow have only manged to read two from each set.  Perhaps the bicentenary of Austen's death will inspire me to finally read the rest of her books - Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and her shorter works.  As for the Brontes, I think it might be fun to finally pick up The Tenant of Wildfell Hall - I've heard its fantastic.  Is it?  I hope so.

I also want to read all of Elizabeth Strout's books. I absolutely fell in love with My Name is Lucy Barton - it was simply the best!  One of my favorite reads of 2016.  I own all of her books now, and plan on purchasing her new one later this year - its called Anything is Possible and comes out April 25th.

Plus, I still need to read the new Murakami and all of his other books that I've been putting off.   I didn't want to finish all of his books and have nothing left of his to read, which is crazy because he always seems to be writing something new.  So, I've decided to just read all the Murakami I have left to read.  Sounds like a plan, right?

Oh, and, I want to read the rest of Miriam Toews' and Ann Patchett's books.  I've read a few from each author, but this coming year I want to read their entire catalog of books.  I love their writing, so I figure why not read the rest of their books, right?

Of course, my  main goal - aside from just reading as much as I can - is to read books that I already own. I have so many new ones sitting on my shelves begging to be read that its high time I just dove right in.  I will be buying some books in 2017, but I'm limiting the amount.  This year I think I went a bit overboard with my book buying and that can't happen again.  So, I'm going to write a list of books coming out that I just have to have and pick a number and that will be the amount of titles from the list that I can actually purchase.  Wish me luck!

And now, I'm off to continue reading the new Maisie Dobbs book, In This Grave Hour. 

Happy New Year!! Happy reading!!

Nonfiction in the New Year...

I'm taking a cue from The Bibliophile Belle and will be reading at least one nonfiction book a month in 2016.  Pretty nifty resolution, eh?  Not only do I enjoy nonfiction (when I actually read it), but I think its high time to read more of it.  Luckily for me, I already own quite a few nonfiction books - so I won't be breaking my resolution of reading my own damn books.  Hurrah!  In fact, I'm actually off to a good start already. I just finished reading this book earlier this week:

and am currently reading this:

Not bad, eh?  And here are some of the nonfiction books I own that I'll be choosing from:

I think I have a pretty good selection to choose from, so I'm pretty excited about this new resolution of mine - one nonfiction book a month.  Truthfully, the way I'm reading lately, I'll probably wind up reading more than one nonfiction book a month. We'll just see how it goes.  Of course, I haven't mentioned the books that I don't own that I want to read for this nonfiction addiction I'm developing.  Here are those books:

Another good mix of books, eh?  I have fluff mixed in with self-journey/self-help and history and so much more.  There are just so many great books out there lately, its hard not to want all the pretties.  Ack!  Oh well, I will stick to my own books as best I can.  I am only human though, so a purchase or three may happen during the year - I'm thinking the Bronte books, the new Roxane Gay, and the Lauren Conrad (my sis and I are throwing our dad a party next year, so the Conrad will come in handy) are must haves.  What do you think?  Have you read any of these?  Which do you recommend (preferably from my own collection and not the ones I want to buy)? 

Well, I'm off to finish reading the Cisneros.  That book is speaking to my heart and soul in so many ways - its beyond. I am just crushing so hard on it. I am in love with this book. Hope you are enjoying a great read as well.  Happy reading!!