LOOKING FORWARD
2023
THEMES - CHALLENGES - FEATURES
READING GOALS
LONG TIME NO SEE
My views started dropping drastically, so I thought I'd better whip something up, and quickly!
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I've had some health things going on for around three weeks and haven't felt like doing anything blog related, but I was feeling pretty good today.
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Last year I challenged myself to reading all Black and Native American/First Nations authors and it went very well! I have fallen into a pattern of having a themed year and then following it with a free-range year. This year will be a free-range year to an extent because I always have my monthly themes. In 2024 I hope to read all Middle Grade.
THEMES
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My monthly themes have been the same for years, did I mention I realized I've been blogging for ten years this year?
JANUARY
DRAGONS & ROBOTS
I used to call my January theme Dragon Daze, but because I was having trouble finding dragon books authored by Black and Native Americans/First Nations last year, I changed it to Dragon Daze and Robot Raves. I've decided to keep the theme because it starts my reading year out with my two favorite genres. I also get to keep Clive my Sci-Fi mascot around...
FEBRUARY
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
I'll be reading Historical Fiction as well as Nonfiction titles.
MARCH
WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH
Reading women authors and books about Feminism.
APRIL
April is Celebrate Diversity Month. Because LGBTQ Month is in June and that's my Caribbean authors month, I used to do my LGBTQ reading in April. Last year I realized that hardly anyone focuses on marginalized disabled people, and of those who do it's usually about mental health, or autism. Physically disabled people are pretty much ignored in books. I think because you can't romanticize it like other disabilities. Therefore, I'm switching out my LGBTQ reading for books with characters who have physical disabilities, or intellectual/developmental disabilities (other than autism). I would love to find a story with a character who has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, besides the duology I have already read.
MAY
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so I'll be trying to read all Asian American and Pacific Islander authors. I might sneak in a couple Japanese authors.
JUNE
CARIB-A-THON
Carib-A-Thon runs for ten days, but I usually read books by Caribbean authors all month long because it's National Caribbean-American Heritage Month! I also want to cook some Caribbean food and get takeout from a couple of the local Caribbean eateries.
JULY
SUMMER IN THE CITY
Reading stories set in New York City.
AUGUST
DOG DAYS OF SUMMER
Reading stories with dogs in them.
SEPTEMBER
WITCHES
OCTOBER
SPOOKY SEASON
I usually have a sub-theme like ghosts, zombies, or vampires. I haven't given it much thought for this year. Do you have any suggestions?
NOVEMBER
SCIFI MONTH
DECEMBER
CATCH-UP MONTH
Although I do plan on jumping on A Dance With Book's Turtle Recall Discworld reading challenge again this year, I had to skip last year because Terry Pratchett was a White guy, I plan on the rest being my usual personal challenges. I do want to be a bit more free with my reading choices this year, so I'm going to cut the 2023 goal numbers in half. I will also be joining the Let Us Read Middle Grade challege, also from A Dance With Books, because it aligns with my personal MG challenge.
6 - Native American/First Nations authors.
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6 - Middle Grade.
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6 - Nonfiction.
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6 - Backlist ARCs.
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3 - Classics.
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3 - re-reads.
There is a new category...
12 - Freebie/99¢ ebooks.
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I have 304 books on this Goodreads shelf.
I'm going to write each title on a slip of paper and put them all in a jar to choose from. I got this idea from Keeping Up With the Penguins in this Instagram post.
FEATURES
TELL ME TUESDAY
(reading wrap-ups)
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TOADSTONE & BUMBERSHOOT'S WITCHERY COOKERY AND MAGICAL LIVING
(living a fantasy magical life)
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THE WEDNESDAY WITCH
(witchy books, movies, series, and interests)
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THE SATURDAY SOUP
(previous month's life update)
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SHOW AND TELL
(my monthly Daily Goodie Box unboxing)
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HOPING TO BRING BACK QUARTERLY
THE BOOK DIARIES
(Stuffing the Shelves)
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THE SNIDGET
(Harry Potter)
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THE WELL WITCH
(healthy living habits)
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THE GREEN WITCH
(green living)
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FURS-DAY FEATURE
(animal interests)
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WHAT'S IN THE BAG
(online shopping finds and buys)
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CONVERSATIONS
CAULDRON CONVERSATIONS
(discussion posts)
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SERIES
MY KONDO 30
(the thirty theoretical "spark joy" books I would keep)
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NO KONDO, MARIE!
(my chapter by chapter thoughts on The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up)
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NEW FEATURES
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
(opinions that would get me dog-piled on social media)
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NOT A BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEW
(wandering thoughts that occur to me while reading a book)
I know I've been teasing these posts for about three years now, but I pinky swear I will get some done! Ha ha.
It was a rough blogging year for me in 2022 after having Omicron for nearly three weeks in February, and then continuing to have aftereffects for several months along with my usual EDS symptoms, and a heart episode. I also had some variation of Covid two more times. They weren't nearly as bad as my original bout, but they still sapped me of my energy for weeks afterwards. Combine this with both Blogger and my Kindle being wonky, and I only managed 64 posts in 2022. Honestly, I'm surprised I'm still blogging. Heh. I'm ready to push on though.
•I'm going to be more strict about keeping to a schedule and doing my Goodreads activities on Fridays, blog hopping on Sundays and Wednesdays, and posting and socializing on Instagram on Mondays and Saturdays. I'm also going to try to adhere to my one book a week "less reading, more doing" schedule! I enjoyed reading less last year.
What are your blogging plans for 2023?
What reading challenges are you taking on?
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