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.
Here’s how it works: Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic for each Tuesday. If you check this link, you’ll find she’s assigned topics for several future weeks so you can plan ahead. She adds, “create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list . . . Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you!”
Each week Jana posts a Linky on her blog where you can (if you want) share a link to your post and check out other bloggers’ posts.
Overall, I was pleased with the way my year of reading 2022 turned out. Therefore, in setting my reading goals for 2023, I’m going to follow the general outline of last year’s post:
Like last year, I’m going to continue in 2023 to avoid focusing on mere productivity (such as number of books or pages read).
However, one big difference between 2023 and 2022 is that we’ll be traveling this year. We have scheduled two separate ocean voyages that will total five months of the year. Santa brought a Kindle Scribe, so reading won’t be a problem, but lack of reliable internet access will interfere with regular posting. I have good intentions of keeping up with writing reviews, but they may show up on Notes in the Margin at irregular intervals.
But let’s not worry about all that until the time comes. In the meantime, here are my reading goals for 2023.
1. To make more time in my life for reading and writing
Some things will have to go. The biggest one is binge-watching Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu.
2. To read some big books
One of the benefits of not setting a number-of-books challenge is that it leaves time to read big books (500 or more pages). I appreciated not having to hit a quota of books by the end of the year and look forward to the same freedom this year.
3. To read more nonfiction
I focus mainly on fiction, but I also love good nonfiction books, since nonfiction is what I write. In fact, I have a large carton filled mainly with nonfiction books I’ve been wanting to read. Traveling may affect how many of these I’ll get to, since I’m not going to take print books with me, but at least the thought is there . . .
4. To read more historical fiction
For the last several years I’ve read mostly contemporary fiction, but I have a number of historical fiction works on the TBR shelf.
5. To read some fantasy books
While I still don’t like horror, I’d like to get a bit more familiar with fantasy.
6. To read more books by BIPOC authors and more books about other cultures by international writers
This is one of those good intentions I’ve been carrying around unfulfilled for quite a while. I need to get more serious about this in 2023.
7. To review more books as I read them
Doing this will require me to make some changes in how I approach reviewing. Not every book warrants an extended essay, and I’ll have to learn to write some shorter reviews.
8. To keep up with the monthly 6 Degrees of Separation meme
Another approach to creating more time for reading and reviewing is to let go of blogging memes and challenges. But one meme I intend to keep is 6 Degrees of Separation. It’s only one post a month, and it makes me think more deeply about books I’ve read or want to read.
9. To write at least one 2023 Discussion Challenge post a month
The annual Discussion Challenge is another exercise that allows me to think more deeply about literature. Participants get to choose how often to publish challenge posts, and I think I can handle one post a month.
10. To catch up on Project Pandemic Reviews
I may not get to all 20 books on this list, but I do hope to get to at least the ones that are on my best of 2020, best of 2021, and best of 2022 lists.
© 2023 by Mary Daniels Brown
As of December 1, 2022, I am no longer using Twitter. Instead, I’ll be promoting blog posts—other bloggers’ and my own—on Mastodon. You can find me there under this name:
@NotesintheMargin@toot.community
You cannot search for people by their real names on Mastodon. To find someone, you must go to Mastodon and search for the user name. I think you have to have your own account with Mastodon to do this.
Good luck with all your goals, and I really hope you enjoy your trips!!!
Thanks, Nicole!