Top Ten Tuesday: Goals/Resolutions for 2014

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is goals and resolutions for 2014! Mine are a mix of reading and blogging related. So without further ado, here are the things I'm aiming to do (or not do!) in 2014.

Read more of my own books

I have a huge pile of unread books that get neglected for review copies or library books, so I'm determined to read and enjoy those books because I've been dying to read them for so long.

Take my time reading - don't rush!

Because of the amount I often have to read, I sometimes find myself rushing books instead of being able to read at my own pace and savour the moment. It's like there's this pressure to read as many books as possible, so by taking a book slowly you're missing out, but I often find it a lot more enjoyable to take a week or two with a book and really appreciate it. Because the times I get to do that are so rare, I'm hoping to do it more in 2014.

Read more UKYA

I've been really inspired by Lucy over at Project UKYA so I'll be keeping my eye out for more exciting British authors and novels.

Read more sequels/finish more series

I've started so many series and am yet to move onto the second book, so my aim is to try and stick with them until the end! I've started taking more chances and buying more complete series, or buying books and their sequels. I used to be worried about not liking the first book and having a book lying around I don't want to read, but that hasn't happened yet and it's so much handier when I have the sequel right on hand. If I don't, I just keep putting it off!

Read 150 books

This is my Goodreads challenge for this year. I'm going to be a lot busier so I know it's going to be hard, but I always find having a Goodreads target a motivation. Usually I set it really low and beat it half way through the year, but this time I'm going all out and starting high!

Read some 2014 debuts

I tried doing the debut author challenge last year but it was too hard to keep off with, so I'm just making a resolution to support 2014 debut authors and read as many debuts as I can.

Be more relaxed about blogging

I put a lot of pressure on myself when it comes to my blog, but sometimes you just need to relax and stop worrying. I don't need to post daily, and if I run out of things to post that week and skip a few days then who really cares? It's my blog. I'd rather spend time working on a really good post than rush to churn out something sub-par. And I'm starting to realise I don't need to review every book I read. I can always re-read in the future if I fancy posting a review, but reading as much as I do then the odd book is going to slip through the net and I'm ready to accept that and not worry!

Post more opinion/discussion/non-review posts

I love writing reviews, but I want to try and post more content about books in general. I love writing opinion posts but sometimes struggle to find the time. I want that to change this year.

Shop more in bookshops and discover some new ones!

It's hard to shop in bookshops a lot when you don't have a lot of money, but I want to try and spend the money I do have in the right places. The Books are my Bag campaign has really inspired me to seek out those gems of bookshops and support them.

Visit some book/film locations

I'm dying to visit the Harry Potter studio tour so that's top of the list, but there are so many more places connected to books I'd love to go.

I'm sure there are a lot more, but those are my top ten! What are your bookish resolutions for 2014? Let me know in the comments and if you link me to your top ten then I'll try my best to pop by!

Opinion: Thoughts on Reading Challenges

When I started this blog it was the middle of the year and as I found my feet in the blogosphere, I realised that I'd missed out on the chance to join in with blog hosted reading challenges. A lot of blogs host their own challenges which start at the beginning of the year and run throughout, with participating bloggers linking up their posts, sharing goals and even competing to win prizes.

So at the start of 2013 I was excited to be able to take part in some challenges. I chose the debut author challenge and my own children's classics challenge, as well as setting myself a Goodreads target for number of books to read during the year. I failed both the debut author challenge and children's' classics challenge.

Firstly, I know why I failed the debut author challenge. Reading debuts was always going to be hard because most of my books come from the library, and the library doesn't always carry new authors. I found myself struggling to get hold of the books pretty early on. I also wasn't receiving review copies for most of the year, and soon discovered that the majority of people taking part in the challenge were bigger bloggers who had access to ARCs of these debut titles. I also struggled to keep up with what books were coming out in the UK because the challenge was very US based. So midway through the year I gave up on this particular challenge.

I did however read some debut novels - hurrah! Sometimes it was a conscious effort, where I looked at the novels listed on Goodreads as 2013 debuts and reserved them at the library or kept an eye on the price of them on Amazon to take advantage of when I could afford them. But I'll admit that most of the time, I read them because the book looked interesting and I wanted to read it, not because it was a debut. I always want to support debut authors, but as I become more of a mood reader, the type of book and what it's about are always going to be what draws me to my next read. Not just the fact it's a debut.

Anyway, here are some of the 2013 debuts I read last year:

Splintered by A. G. Howard
Geek Girl by Holly Smale
Soulmates by Holly Bourne
Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter

There are probably more if you include self-published novels, and books where I wasn't 100% whether or not were debuts. So at the end of the day I don't really feel like I've failed, because I've read a lot of debuts. This is why this year I'll be making more of a loose resolution to read books by debut authors. There won't be any set target, so I can't fail.

When it comes to reading children's classics, it will still be something I aim to do. I read three this year which is nowhere near the amount I wanted to read. The reason I failed this challenge is because I just couldn't find the motivation. The whole reason I set myself this challenge because they were books I felt like I should read, not books I wanted to read. Whilst I did enjoy all the books I read, it made it harder to prioritise the books when choosing my next read. Also I got a lot of the classics for free from Project Gutenberg and the stingy person in me always prioritises books I paid for because I need to make sure I get my moneys' worth! It would be a waste of money to buy a book and not read it...

So for 2014 I'll still set myself a Goodreads target (because there's no doubt I'll be reading books all year so it's achieveable!) but instead of challenges, I'll be setting myself bookish resolutions. You can find out my full list of resolutions in tomorrow's Top Ten Tuesday post!

Are you taking part in any challenges this year? What do you think of reading challenges? Let me know in the comments!