Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2024

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

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We’re halfway through January and it’s time to put up some bookish goals for the year. I hope I’ll do better this year but I also don’t want to put that pressure on myself to absolutely meet them all. So here’s to putting this out there and seeing where 2024 takes me!

1. Do a buddy read or two

I didn’t get a chance to buddy read with anyone last year due to life’s busyness, not even with my blogging partner Fives, but I want to jump back into it this year. I miss getting the chance to discuss a book while we’re still in the middle of it and getting to rave or rant together.

2. More diversity in subject matter or genre

I’m a huge advocate for Asian rep books and will continue to read as many as I can, both debuts and long-standing authors. I will try to challenge myself to continue reading with more diversity of different cultures and minority groups as well. Besides subject matter, I want to continue reading different genres that may not be what I always read and in different formats (including graphic novels!).

3. Read with less pressure / have more fun reading

Over the years since reviewing became more of a chore and finishing all my ARCs felt suffocating at times for a mood reader, I want to tell myself it’s okay to read for fun. Not always have to nitpick and annotate for quotes or write the best reviews when I’m not feeling it. I don’t always read in a way that feels fun anymore, which was another reason for the hiatus last year, and I want to grab that joy back for myself again like when I used to be a teen.

4. Not be afraid to DNF

With the above #3, one way to find more joy again is to DNF more often and not feel guilty. I already pick and choose books carefully based on synopses that sound interesting to me. But when I’m not in the mood for a book, I sometimes force the finish or I put it aside – for a super long time. Perhaps I should learn to be more comfortable with DNF’ing. There’re always more books out there and it’s not like I review the books I DNF anyway. Is this hard for anyone else?

5. Work on my bookstagram more

I do have an account and I want to work on it more in a way that’s still fun and not considered “work” to constantly churn out content for the masses. I started feeling that pressure when I first joined but I want to see if I can dive back into it on my own terms this year with such a balance in mind. Does anyone else have a blog and bookstagram and has figured out a system that works for them? Any tips to prevent burnout?

6. Collect only the special editions I absolutely want

I fell more deeply in love with collecting special edition books last year. But they are super costly so my goal is definitely to cut back in 2024 and only get the ones I absolutely want on my shelves, whether they’re books I loved or look so beautiful.

7. Try out DIY painted edges

On that note for #6, one way to cut back is to try my own hand at painting book edges myself. I’ve seen some people DIY their own books and I want to give it a try. I could use a new hobby while also making my shelves beautiful at a fraction of the cost of buying special editions with stenciled or digitally printed edges. Of course, mine may not look as great but I hope the efforts will come through with practice.

What are your goals for the year? Do you struggle with finding joy in reading? Or balancing the pressure of churning out bookish content? Is DNF’ing a regular part of your reading? Let me know in the comments below! (I could really use some tips for some of my goals 😅)