Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme that was originally created and hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books starting in August 2019, and was then cohosted with Dani @ Literary Lion from May 2020 to March 2022. Aria @ Book Nook Bits has been the host since the beginning of April 2022.
Alright! So this prompt has a few questions to answer so I’ll be writing up mini paragraphs on them so I make sure that I address everything. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve done a Let’s Talk Bookish post and I’m glad that this one has a lot of questions to talk about. Sometimes it makes it easier for me to figure out my post when I have more than one question to answer. So let’s check it out, and get on with it, shall we?
Did you set reading goals for 2024?
So technically yes I did, but I don’t think I shared them anywhere yet. Or maybe that’s actually wishful thinking because I don’t remember what I was thinking for my goals. They are a bit similar to the goals that I had last year, but I really want to commit to more reading challenges and catching up with my reviews. I feel like those were the two areas that I let slide last year because I just felt really overwhelmed and I didn’t want my reading journey to feel like a chore. I’m so weird like that. I absolutely love to read and I love all the things that go with reading, but sometimes when my life starts to take a turn for the uncomfortable, I start to feel like everything is falling apart around me and the first thing I stop doing is something regarding reading. I truly hate that part about me and I know that’s something that I’m going to have to unpack at some point, but for now, I’m trying to check in with myself to see when I’m feeling that way, and then try to understand why.
Have you set reading goals in past years?
Normally it would only be the book count goal, which I usually make low on purpose so I don’t have to feel rushed to read so many books. Even right now, I have my goal as 60 books and I’ve only finished one book and I’m one book behind already. I don’t like feeling behind when January isn’t even finished! It freaks me out lol.
2023 and 2024 have really been the years that I’m trying to make my goals more than just quantity based, and I’m happy about it. This does remind me that I actually need to share my 2024 goals so that I can reflect on them throughout the year.
I think if I’m going to be more intentional about making goals, I need to also take the time to check in on these goals monthly like I did back in 2023.
Do they motivate you to read more, or do they make reading more stressful?
It’s a bit of a toss up for this one. Most of the time, they can motivate me to keep going and keep pushing because of the outcome that I will have and be able to share with everyone, but throughout the year or even in the beginning of the year, if I feel like I’m already falling behind, then it’s going to stress me out. I think that’s why I really stopped blogging for most of 2023 and didn’t sign up for any blog tours or anything. I remember one year that I was all about blog tours and signing up for ARCs and fully immersing myself in the book community, and I felt like I wasn’t enough or doing enough. Sometimes I can still feel like that and I try to stop myself because I really shouldn’t be comparing myself to anyone else, but dude sometimes I can’t help it.
What kinds of goals, if any, are the most motivating to you?
I think the goals that motivate me the most deal with the ones that make me have to reflect on my reading journey as a whole. Like tracking and journaling my journey was important for me because I never completed an entire year except for 2023, and being able to go back and see my stats for the year was really cool to see. It proved to me that I could do it, and that’s why I’m trying to make sure I do that again for this year. There may be days where I don’t actively track in my journal, but that doesn’t mean I have to give up for the entire year, and that’s something that I finally figured out last year.
So while my monthly spreads are pretty similar in what I track and want to pay attention to, at least I can make the sticker and washi theme different for each month.
Have you noticed a change in your reading since you joined bookstagram?
Yeah it’s definitely changed. I think I started to pay attention more to the latest and upcoming releases more, and definitely looked closer to the imprints that I seem to favor. That is one thing that I haven’t actively tracked before, but now I’m wondering if I should. I have noticed that I usually do the Big 5 but I do also rock with the indies. Indies are great, and they need more love for sure, and people shouldn’t treat them any less just because they are indies, you know?
How about the goals you set?
Goals have also changed to be more quality focused rather than quantity focused. I think this is important for me because I don’t want to stress myself out with HOW MANY books I read, and hopefully that will help me catch up on the reviews that I want to write and share.
Phew! I feel like I typed a whole bunch and I was getting irritated with how many typos I was making. It’s making me question whether my nails are too long or if it’s the keyboards. Clearly it’s the keyboards I’m using. Can’t be my claws lol.
What about your goals for 2024? Let’s talk about it!
Sometimes Leelynn Reads 
I’ve given up officially setting goals….I’m never going to be able to read 100 books a year and work full time 😂
Saying that I always have the aim of reading one book a week but tend to just see how I get on rather than obsessively monitoring it.
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Honestly, I feel like quality based goals can be so much more helpful than quantity based goals. Sometimes trying to reach a set number of books can be stressful for me, but setting a goal based on genre or something, like reading more queer historical fiction, can be so much more motivating! Good luck with all your goals, and I hope you have a great 2024!! 🙂
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