Bookish Goals for 2024 #TopTenTuesday
This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic at That Artsy Reader Girl is Bookish Goals for 2024. 
Read with more of a plan.
I have problems getting books read when I mean to because, for various reasons, other books get slipped in sooner. That will be helped with a better plan that includes putting books on hold well before I need them, if there’s a wait list.
Keep well ahead on my blog posts.
I’m a much happier blogger when most of my posts are written a week or more in advance of publication. Sunday Salon is the lone exception to the rule. Even with that post, though, it’s more fun if I at least get started on Friday or earlier.
Post more thematically.
I really enjoy brief themes throughout the year. Among other reasons, themes help with my first two goals — they require planning and invite scheduling posts ahead of time.
In 2023, I enjoyed writing posts themed to Pride Month, The Year Without A Summer, and Comfy Cozy Christmas (hosted by Erin at Cracker Crumb Life and Lisa at Boondock Ramblings.
This year, I’m already enjoying Jane Austen January, also hosted by Erin at Cracker Crumb Life and Lisa at Boondock Ramblings.
Do you know of any events that might help me explore themes in my posts in 2024? Bonus points if they can double as British Isles Friday posts.
Post more about anniversaries and events.
One way to explore theme is by linking posts to anniversaries or current events.
Last year, I celebrated these anniversaries:
- The 50th anniversary of Open University in the UK.
- The 141st anniversary of Oscar Wilde’s visit to St. Louis.
- The 100th anniversary of King Charle’s grandparents.
- The 50th anniversary of my family’s trip to Florida.
- The 100th anniversaries of the publications of Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers and The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie.
- The 200th anniversary of Mary Anning’s discovery of the plesiosaurus.
- The 200th anniversary of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Are there any anniversaries or events that you’re looking forward to in 2024? I’m looking forward to the Olympics in Paris this year and to the 100th anniversary of the 1924 Olympics, the one that we learned about from Chariots of Fire.
Write more reviews of book club books.
This just feels like a bad habit. When I’ve talked about a book at a book club meeting, I no longer feel an immediate need to write about it in a blog post. But months or years later, I regret not having a record of what I thought about a book.
Since my book group mostly focuses on books about race in America, these are precisely the books that I’d like to promote so that they are read more widely. So, it’s time to improve my game in this regard.
Our reading year starts in October. I do have reviews for the first two books that we read this year, although I read and reviewed one long before the book group selected it. Let’s see if I can keep this up:
- Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
- A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan’s Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan
Next up, The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb.
Research more fantasy travel inspired by books and shows.
I’m having so much fun exploring the settings and film locations this month for Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. I’d enjoy more armchair travel like that.
Read fiction to support my novel-writing.
I’m working on a novel set in Washington D.C. in 1943. Other World War II novels that feature young women who work for the war effort are helpful. I also enjoy historical fiction novels on other topics, so that I can see how other authors handle the genre.
Right now, I’m looking for novels of any genre that feature ensemble casts, a team of people who eventually come together to save the day. Do you have any to recommend?
Read nonfiction to support my novel writing.
Here are a couple of the books that I’ve read for research:
- Code Girls by Liza Mundy
- Hitler’s Japanese Confidant by Carl Boyd
I also want to read more books about writing, like Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder to improve my skills.
Write a bad first draft of my novel.
Speaking of writing my novel, I would love for 2024 to be the year that I write a complete draft. I have a couple of drafts that I wrote during NaNoWriMo, but I think of those as zero drafts — exploration of plot and character. Now, I’m ready for something that is good enough to be the first draft that I edit.
Read more books that serve no purpose except to delight me.
This goal is counter to most of the previous goals, but I do want to read books for fun, too!
What are some of your bookish goals for 2024?
I’m much happier when my posts are written in advance, too.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
My favorite goal so far: Read more books that serve no purpose except to delight me.
Great list!
I have gotten lazy qwith my reading because there is so much to stream. I used to be someone who could read a book almost every day.
I tend to finish and review our book club books before our meeting. That solves the problem of not wanting to discuss it further after our meeting
I think I’ll try that!
I love your goals! I love that you are aligning them with what makes you happy. I’ve been struggling with shoulds versus wants, and your goals are inspiring me to review mine to be more happiness-inducing. Lol! Good luck on all of them!
I think reading for fun is a great goal! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
Funny thing about the Open University, now you mention posting about it: my dad and I did part of the same course, twenty years apart. He did his while I was a baby, nudging me in my rocker while taking notes on his lectures, which were shown on late-night TV. His final degree was different than mine, but still. It’s kinda funny to think about.
Good luck with all the goals! Reading for sheer delight is an important one.
That’s cool that you have that history with Open University!
Keeping well ahead of your posts is such a great goal. I did better last year around this time than I have been this year (which is not at all!). I keep telling myself I will set aside time to prep posts but then I get distracted or pulled away by work or my family. One of these days! And I love your “write a bad first draft of my novel”. Just getting something on paper is huge. Going back and making it presentable is easier in many ways if you have something to work with. My favorite of your goals is the last one though.
Good luck with all your reading and writing goals, Joy!
Excellent reading to writing goals!! And an inspiration for me to up my writing goals for the year.
I decided a few years ago that I’d always review book club selections no matter what I thought of the book. The reason? Because I tend to remember those books longer than usual and often want to recall something about our discussion.
Happy New Year and good luck on your bookish goals. My 2024 Bookish Goals
-Anne
I love the idea of writing a “bad” first draft of a novel. I’m the kind of writer who agonizes over every word, even when I’m writing an email so trying to pen a novel is just agonizing. Giving yourself permission to write a “bad” first draft seems like an excellent way to just get everything out there. Good luck with this and all your other goals.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Writing thematically is a great point, I do tend to find the same where when I have an
“angle” to focus on, I somehow get more creative when working within a constraint of some kind. Top Ten Tuesdays even do this too!:) Have fun with your goals this year!
Good goals and I wish you well with your book writing. Have you been to DC?
Not since I was a kid. I keep being tempted, although a lot has changed since 1943 when my novel was set, so books and newspapers may be more useful to me.
I’ve always loved reading, and my goal is trying to limit time online so I can do more pleasure reading. It may be a strange goal for someone who also blogs daily but I felt starved for reading time as 2023 ended.