Top Ten Bookish Goals for 2013

hosted by The Broke and Bookish

2013 is shaping up to be a monster year. And while I've got a lot of serious Real Life Things to think about, I'm going to ignore those as long as possible and focus on BOOKS because duh. I kind of blew my wad with the goals thing by posting about my Reading Resolutions, which is really the same thing as Bookish Goals only with an awesome alliterative title. But why not go ahead and make MORE resolutions? Plus I'm more likely to actually accomplish them if they're called "goals" and not mixed in with any non-reading resolutions that I'm absolutely never going to accomplish, like stop spending all your money on books and maybe pay your rent instead, maybe walk around the block at least every now and then, and stop eating second breakfast.

So here are ten of my goals this year:

1. DO SOMETHING with my 80,000 books. Organize them, sell them, give them away. Anything so they are no longer impeding the path from my bathroom to my bed (True Gillian Story: I broke my toe once walking to the bathroom in the middle of the night. And yes, I broke it on a book). I know, I know. Book blogger problems. You guys are thinking, "Um... this does not seem like an issue to me." BUT IT IS. People gasp when they enter my apartment. I am thisclose to being on Book Hoarders.



2. Attend BEA! For those of you who don't know, Book Expo America is basically a giant convention/book party/smorgasbord of awesome that's held in New York City every May. There are authors, bloggers, publishers, agents, and fans. People hold panels and sign books and basically nerd out about books all day long! It sounds like heaven. It sounds like my Twitter feed come to life. I've never been but I WANT WANT WANT TO.

 

3. I'm going to comment more on the blogs I read! As a blogger, I know how much a simple comment can mean. They really do brighten your day. I used to be SO GOOD at commenting, but I just haven't been doing it as much as I ought.

4. Read the books I already own before buying new ones. This one is the hardest. As I said before, I've got a mountain of books, plus mountains more back at my mom's house, and scores more on my Kindle. It'll make me more frugal to actually read those before I get swayed by a pretty cover and an awesome review of a new shiny read and go shopping.

5. Go to more author's signings! Considering I live in Los Angeles, a gargantuan city with no doubt hundreds of book signings a year, I really should go to more. I did get to go to a talk at UCLA and meet Leigh Bardugo, among others, and I plan to go see Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Rees Brennan when they come to the Grove in, I think, March. I may pass out when I see them, even if there will be fifty gazillion people there.

6. Read all the YA books that are becoming movies this year! I've been thinking about doing this one for a while. Someone gave me a copy of THE HOST, and after leafing through it I decided I will dive in before the movie comes out. And there are so many YA movies coming out this year! City of Bones, Warm Bodies, Beautiful Creatures... and so many I haven't read. Maybe I'll make a meme out of it. Hmmm... *thoughts percolating* This could be fun.

7. Catch up on all the awesome YA series I missed out on. I HATE being out of the series loops. You realize all your blogger friends are so excited for X Volume Three and are chattering about it nonstop and saying it's amazing and you're like... "Perhaps I should jump on this train." Which is the perfect segue into saying I already read DIVERGENT (Dauntless reference! I didn't even do that on purpose. Seriously, sometimes my own brilliance just astounds me). GRACELING is next.

8. GET A LIBRARY CARD. I believe this one is self-explanatory. I moved this year LAST YEAR (!!!). I only lived twenty minutes away from where I live now, but because L.A. is weird like that, I was technically in a different city, so it had its own library. Now I live in Los Angeles proper I need a Los Angeles library card! So I can bring more books home! Wait, I didn't think this through...

9. Make new blogger/reader friends! BLOGGER FRIENDS ARE MY FAVORITE. I know I've said this a million times, but blogger friends are why I do this. And READERS! *kisses readers* You know how special you are.



10. This is more of a writerly than a readerly resolution, but I feel if I say it enough then it will happen. WRITE! Write until I'm finished, and my book is ready, and then foist it upon the world! I need to settle on one project, since I'm currently writing about nine, and really make that one project shine. I get a little shivery and nauseated just thinking about querying and all that jazz, but that's where I want to be well before the year is out. My goal is to be agented by the end of the year.

I just need to get the damn words out.

Leave me your links to your TTTs, if you made them, and I'll come visit! And comment, because, you, know, number 3. It's too early to fail my resolutions already.