Ten Resolutions, Plans & Goals as a Reader, a Writer & a Blogger

Posted on by areadingwriter

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Am I believer of new year’s resolution? To be honest, I’m not.

For more than two decades, I have not created nor written such. That doesn’t mean I hate them, it’s just that it has never been a habit. 🙂

So for this year, because of The Broke and the Bookish, I would like to give it a try. (Operative word: TRY!) 😀

January 5: Top Ten Resolutions We Have For 2015 (can be bookish, personal resolutions)

I don’t think I can write ten (10) bookish resolutions, so this list will include my plans and hopes and yes, resolutions as a reader, a writer and a blogger. ❤

—Reader—

  1. To (FINALLY) give Harry Potter series a try.
Credit

Please don’t be angry Potter fans. I have nothing against J.K. Rowling or Harry Potter or anyone from this series. It’s not them, it’s me! 😀

  1. To (HOPEFULLY) read 50 books this year.

I am ashamed that I was not able to finish the PopSugar 2015 Reading Challenge. 😦 I am two books away from wrapping it up with flying colors… but… I failed.

  1. To read a classic with a happy heart!

I have proven that I am not an old soul when it comes to books, but this year, I hope to read even just one classic. 🙂 (Hey, I read two classics last year! Maybe three?!) But I admit, I am not happy when I read them. So I hope I will be happy to read one next year. Any recommendations? 🙂

  1. To read more of local books proudly written by Filipinos!

Patriotic as it may seem, I plan to give local writers a try! It’s because out of 159 reads, only 2 are locals. It’s a shame!

Credit
  1. To try new authors!

I’ve done that last year and it proved to be exciting! I have stumbled to new found gems and I hope to discover more gems this year! Again, any recommendations?

—Writer—

  1. To read more!
Credit

A Reading Writer’s tagline is “I read because I write. I write because I read.” So that explains it. 🙂

  1. To go out and write out of the box.

I have tried a lot of new things this year! Thanks to Writing 101 and 201, this blog has been more diverse and exciting to visit. I want to keep the juices flowing and I hope I can write more without sacrificing quality,

  1. To write book reviews, more book reviews!
Credit

It is a bit of a shame that I have so few reviews here. The writer-part of A Reading Writer is in full force last year but the reader-part isn’t. So I hope to put a balance on it.

—Blogger—

  1. To blog more consistently. (Weekly features, ahem!)

I tried so hard to blog and to do that, I set weekly features that I can follow. But still, I failed! So this year, I hope to change that. HOPE!

  1. To follow more, comment more, inspire more, write more!
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It’s self-explanatory, right? 🙂

—

How about you?

What are your plans, goals and changes that you would want to do this year?

Can you relate?

I would love to talk to you.

YES, you!

😉

~

Published by areadingwriter

I read because I write. | I write because I read.

98 thoughts on “Ten Resolutions, Plans & Goals as a Reader, a Writer & a Blogger”

  1. Classics? How far back do you need to go? “Pride and Prejudice” is a always a good one, but if the 20th century is okay with you, try “To Kill a Mockingbird” or “Rebecca.” The latter maybe isn’t in the same class as the other two but it’s a great story!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Definitely give Harry Potter another go. Even if you start at book 3 when things get more adult and more interesting and go from there. I can give you some classics as an idea Emma is great by Jane Austen, The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne, Alice in Wonderland and Alive Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, The Advetures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Virgin and the Gypsy by D.H. Lawrence, or Son’s and Lovers by the same. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald. And for authors to check out who are new to you one of my fav books but on war The Things We Carried by O’Brien, Ann Brashers The Last Summer, and any Sisterhood of The Travelling pants. The Hush Saga (4 books YA) by Becca Fitzpatruck, check out Jamie McGuire starting with Beautiful Disaster and there is awhilr series of of this. And if you are in for a good romance series Gabriel’s Jnferno (there is 3 books in the series) by Sylvian Reynard. I’ll shut up now. Good luck with your goals!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Woah! You know a lot of great books, I know because I heard most of them often. 🙂
      I have read Alice and Wonderland and The Great Gatsby. 😀 I tried reading Pride and Prejudice and it kinda made me sleep. 🙂
      I think I will do try Ann Brashares and O’Brien! 😀 Beautiful Disaster was once on my TBR list but I kinda quit fantasy YA already. 🙂
      Thank you for the recommendations my dear! Good luck on your own goals, too! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Excellent goals! And I like the new face of the blog 😀
    All the best seeing them get accomplished!
    Are you considering only English speaking authors or others? There are a lot of beautiful books out there 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. No. I would love to read even non-English speaking authors (as long as their books are translated in English). I have actually read books written by Japanese and Korean authors. 🙂
      Do you have any recommendations? 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I would read anything from Pablo Neruda (poetry), Gabriel García Márquez (prose) and Czeslaw Milosz (prose, poetry) 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  6. I share the same goal, to read a lot more. I hope to read at least 14 or more book this year. I read 7 for 2015, but also started late. Beside reading just continue writing both online and in my journal. Am praying this we be a better year for me.

    Liked by 1 person

  10. I can relate with most of your resolutions. I would like to be happy reading the classics as well but most of the time they just bore me. So far the only classic I’ve really enjoyed has been Of Mice And Men by John Steinbeck. I’ve actually read it more than once. If you haven’t read it yet and like crime and mystery then read it!

    If you like crime and mysteries and want to try something new from a Finnish author I can recommend the Maria Kallio series by Leena Lehtolainen. I think they’ve all been translated to English.

    I was thinking about doing the popsugar reading challenge for 2016. Are you perhaps doing that this year to redeem for last year? It would be fun to compare the books we find. 😊 I’ve also been trying to reach 50 books in a year for many years and failed every single time. Maybe this year will be different…

    I’ve decided to comment more too and be more active as a blogger (and a reader).

    Good luck with the resolutions!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi there Irene! Glad to see you here! Thank you for your comment! 🙂

      I am thrilled to know your recommendation for Of Mice and MEn!!! I am a crime and mystery lover (yes to James Patterson, Robert Galbraith, Michael Crichton, William Landay, Agatha Christie!), and I will surely want to read that! 😀
      I will also check out Maria Kallio. I bet it is good. 🙂
      I am still thinking if I will do the POP sugar challenge. 🙂 I participated last year and I am 2 books short! I enjoyed it but looking for a book that will fit the category is quite hard. (I think I cheat or gave myself a bonus category thrice!) 😀
      But with a partner, I bet it will be much enjoyable! 😀

      Thank you again! Have a great year!

      Like

  12. Woah! Now that’s a great jump start for the year. I wish you good luck with you plans and goals. I’m sure we could expect nothing but the best from you 🙂 🙂 And oh, it’s a shame that I haven’t read any local books, too. Do you think we have a book for spoken poetry?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Maria! 😀 Your words are like my little teenie weenie treasures! 😀

      Let’s love local this year? 😀 And hey, I am quite interested with spoken poetry too! Too bad Sev’s Cafe is now closed. 😦

      Liked by 1 person

  14. goodluck with the goals and the resolutions! 🙂 I would love to read books by local authors too, but that would be difficult now that I’m not in the country.
    I like reading books by Japanese authors translated to English 🙂 Have you tried Banana Yoshimoto, Natsuo Kirino, or Keigo Higashino? The first one is a contemporary author, while the other two are mystery/crime authors 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Ooooh! I love mysteries and I would surely check them out! I’ve read one Japanese author, it’s Haruki Murakami. 🙂 I bet you heard about him already? He’s quite famous.

      Thank you for dropping by! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Okay, I’m happy to talk about and give recommendations for classics! What’s your definition of a classic, though? There are modern classics, for example?

    Some off the cuff recommendations:
    I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
    Howl’s Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones
    We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
    Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
    The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

    I’ll happily give you more, if you let me know what kind of genres you most enjoy? (I looove classics!)

    My TTT 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oooh! IT is definitely an honor to meet someone who loves classics! 😀
      I once TBR-ed The Picture of Dorian Gray! But I never got to start it. 🙂
      Thank you for your recommendations.
      I actually love mysteries, crimes, whodunit! 🙂
      I know you can give me recommendations for that?
      Thank you, Wendleberry!

      Like

  18. These are solid resolutions, and I kind of guilty want to copy them 😆 I’ve never been much for the canonical classics either, and while I’m sorry of resigned to it, I kind of want to give at least one concentrated effort. I was an English major and I sometimes think reading the classics under duress soured me to a lot of them unfairly. Good luck with your goals!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have no problem if you want to copy them, J! 😀
      I understand where you are coming from. As a journalism graduate, classics have bore in classroom before! 😀 But yeah, let’s give them a try!
      Thank you and have a great 2016! 😀

      Like

  19. If you like audiobooks, I cannot say enough good things about Jim Dale’s reading of the Harry Potter series! They are simply fabulous & a great way to read through the series fairly quickly. Happy New Year! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi there! Thank you for dropping by and for your recommendations! 🙂
      I’ve quit dystopia already (because of those YA series that I’ve read) so I think I will check out Wuthering Heights and Age of Innocence. I’ve heard a lot of great reviews about those two! 🙂
      With Beowulf, it was one of the book options that my high school had for our book report but I choose a Michael Crichton thriller. I might give it a try! 🙂

      Thank you! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  21. First off, let me say that I like what you do. I immensely enjoy what you blog. Your style is both spirited and authentic. Your comments are instructive and artful. I think I’d like to imitate your resolution to read more Filipino writing–in addition to your own, that is. I might enjoy Filipino poetry, especially. If you’re interested in a kind of classic, I might be able to advise. I happened to buy two new novels while I was away. They are The Fifth Gospel by Ian Caldwell–sort of a Vatican conspiracy-thriller–and The Well by Catherine Chanter, which looks freakish and I trust will be freakishly good. Don’t know of anything by these writers; the story descriptions drew me in. I’m sure the choices you make in resoluting will be right. As long as you keep crafting here, please. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. As always, your words made me smile! So thank you! I really really appreciate your presence here and please know that your posts and your comments are equally brilliant and true! 🙂
      Thank you for your interest in Filipino literature. I believe we have a lot of great writers that I have not given a chance yet. I hope to know them soon, this year. 🙂
      And thank you for your recommendations! I am a fan of thrillers and mysteries and I am surely taking note of the Fifth Gospel and The Well! You made them sound so creepy! 😀

      Again, please receive my heartfelt thanks! 🙂 Have a great year!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Thank you. If you come across poetry from the Philippines that resonates with you, please let me know. I value your perspective. Yes, the new novels do sound creepy. Good word for them. Even though I’ve been back from a short trip fora couple of days now, it seems I’m still unpacking and finding things (well, looking for things). I hope all your activities go successfully!

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Aww. Thank you! 🙂
        I know there are a lot great Filipino poets, though the beauty of their poems really lies with how they use our own language which is Filipino or Tagalog. Our language is actually ‘flowery’ (full of elaborate or literary words and phrases). I am not quite sure but I think when Tagalog poems are translated in English, it is still beautiful yet less flowery. 🙂

        Thank you!

        Like

  22. Well done with your 500 btw 😀
    Great list – I hope you achieve these. I’m useless with resolutions, it’s like I start breaking them even as I’m thinking them up!
    Lots of great classics out there – I second Wendleberry’s above – particularly Howl’s Moving Castle. In fact – they’re all really good (except for the Gilman which I haven’t read so can’t comment upon).
    Happy reading.
    Lynn 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Lynn! 😀

      Resolutions are not really my thing and I believe I might break them up sooner or later! 😀
      Nonetheless, thank you for the recommendations and for dropping by! I do appreciate it a lot! 😀

      Like

  23. I’m the same way – I want to read more local books this year, too. Most of what I read is either American or European, and I rarely read anything written in my country. I should change that!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi there! 😀 I am glad that we are doing the same thing now! Let’s love local this year. 🙂
      What country are you from? 🙂
      It was nice knowing you!
      Thank you for dropping by!

      Like

  31. That’s quite a goal and I’m sure you will succeed in fulfilling it. I hate to admit this, but I have not read any of the Harry Potter series nor have I seen any of the movies. I need to at least see the movies! LOL!

    Liked by 1 person

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