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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

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.

31 comments:

  1. Wow, you have so many books! I wish I had that many! I'm so jealous that you havelibraries in your country! Here in the Philippines, that only place that have libraries are schools, and the books there are mostly for study purposes only..

    My Bookish/Blogger Goals

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    1. 80,000 mayyyy be a slight exaggeration, but I do have a lot. I used to have even MORE, but a couple of years ago I did this massive charity book thing and gave away a full THIRD of them. Bummer about the lack of libraries in the Philippines :(

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  2. O.O I can help you out with those books. You know... I could... take them off your hands.... Lol, and then I'd be drowning in pages. I already had to pack away a few boxes because my bookcase is full. One day, when I'm rich and famous, you know, I will have a giant library. And do you know how you will get into the library? Through a door shaped like a TARDIS. Because I'm just that cool.

    Speaking of, a Library Card is EXACTLY what you need. Because you can get a metric ton of books... and then return them! Hehe.

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    1. Hence my mystery box giveaway! :D

      A TARDIS DOOR WOULD BE MIND-BLOWINGLY AWESOME. That is the best idea ever. Basically, my dream library is the one in Beauty and the Beast. I will expect nothing less from my future house.

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  3. I can recommend getting a library card. It's a good way to try out books before you consider buying them. And you save a lot of money! I'm also trying to read all the YA books that are becoming movies this year simply because I want to see what all the hype is about.

    My TTT: http://thebookvoyage.blogspot.com/2013/01/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-bookish-goals.html

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    1. I really need the library card. I go so over budget buying books its not even funny. And yes, I want to see what the hype is all about also!

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  4. I've seen quite a few folks mention a library card this year and tackling the TBR piles is a real common goal among most of us. Yes, you do write and finish your book. Have a great year.

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  5. Going to BEA would be SO MUCH FUN! Haha, I totally wish I could go. And reading books that are being turned into movies is a great idea! I really want to reread Mortal Instruments and read Beautiful Creatures before seeing the movies. Great goals :)

    Here's my Top Ten!

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    1. CROSSING MY FINGERS I get to go to BEA. I also plan to reread City of Bones before seeing the movie and read Beautiful Creatures, Warm Bodies, and The Host for the first time.

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  6. Once I read over how many books you had I did a double take. I am so jealous, I want more books! I know what you mean about the library card, I just got mine a week ago and I am loving it.

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    1. Again, 80,000 is probably a bit high of an estimate, but the basic idea that I was a metric ton of books still stands. I'm kind of a book pack rat. I don't like to let them go, and I always buy more, and I have at least three versions of the same books because they came out with new, shiny covers or something.

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  7. Hahaha, you never fail to make me smile! Number four is SO ME. I swear, I buy so many books and then I'm like OH SOMETHING NEW and then they pile up and I never read them. Also, I love your books that are being made into movies idea! I'm really hoping to read Beautiful Creatures because I want to see the movie, but of course I HAVE to read the book first.

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    1. IT'S SUCH A PROBLEM. And we should read Beautiful Creatures together! I thought I was the only person who hadn't read it.

      Glad to make you smile :)

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  8. I love every animated gif you use. *saves them all*

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  9. I know what you mean about jumping on board with all of these series. People always talk about their book boyfriends and I have no idea who these people are. I finally figured out who Puck and Ash are from finally reading The Iron fey series. I feel like I live under a rock sometimes!
    But I like your goals, I think they are great. And I love your gifs (I know I said that already in another post).
    Check out my TTT if you'd like: http://meganm922.blogspot.com/2013/01/top-ten-tuesdayreading-goals.html
    Megan @ Love, Literature, Art, and Reason

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    1. That's another series I need to read! Haven't read ANY Julie Kagawa books even though everybody I know has.

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  10. I love people who love organizing because I am really, really bad at it. My attempts at organization leads to more messiness. And I don't even know what I'd DO if we met at BEA. Like, I'm not even sure how I would form words with my mouth.

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  11. :) your list made me smile..i do not have that many books but i do still have lots that i am not going to read anymore or get around to reading.. :)
    love the gifs..and following you now..
    here is my TTT http://myrandrspace.blogspot.com/2013/01/yummy-tummy-tuesday-falafelwhere-i-eat.html

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  12. I'm not generally a huggy person (I get teased about my propensity to go stiff as a board all the time), but I do believe I would hug you.

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  13. #1 is simple. Just relieve yourself of them by handing some over to Shelver and I. Mostly this blogger sister. Because, you know...I'm wonderful?

    #2 I want to go SO BAD. All I need to do is persuade Shelver (and my parents, but they're easier) and I can go to my rightful city and have the best dream ever come true with all the books and authors and bloggers!

    #7 Yes! Agreed. I feel like I'm scrambling to keep up with all the books, especially series.

    #8 I am in shock. Literal shock. The library is my life! That's where I get ALL my books because I'm a technical broke girl (all money goes to the "I want to go on a trip, mainly BEA" fund).

    #9 I wish I could group hug every blogger friend. They might not be my friend after that for the spontaneous group hug, but I wish I could.

    #10 DO IT! Gosh, when your book comes out, I want to read it!

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  14. Yeah, I'm butting it on your conversation, but I go stiff when people hug me too! Like when my best friends hug me, I awkwardly pat them on the back. XD We should hug sometime and see how it goes!

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  15. ... Are you sure you wrote this? Because I swear, this post was MADE for me! While I don't exactly have 80000 books lying around, I do have this latest bookshelf, which I now dub my "dumping bookshelf" where I dump all my latest books. I need to organize those, lest I break my toe like you. XD

    And BEA... I wish I can go there someday. And yeah...

    Teehee, #9 made me laugh, especially with the GIF. (Yep, GIFs are awesome! XD)

    And on your reply on Undeadly- I LOVE YOU TOO! (Wow, Jen. Now you're proclaiming your love for random people in the internet! *facepalm* Though you love GIFs like me, so I feel that it is necessary to do so! ;)

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    1. I had a think for several long moments, and while I'm not positive about it, most of the evidence does point to me as the author of this post. Only fifty-fifty on it, though. A dumping bookshelf is a GREAT idea!

      Don't even worry about the proclaiming-your-love-on-the-internet thing. That's a thing I do, like, on an hourly basis. PARTICULARLY FOR THE GIF LOVERS OF THE WORLD.

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  16. Oh my gosh. It'll be like two pieces of driftwood bumping into each other along the shore... in low tide.

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  17. Gillian <3 I will be attending BEA, no doubt about it. It would be amazing to meet you there, though I'm sure I'll be running around like a nutjob due to the sheer awesomeness of it all!

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  18. Wow, your apartment sounds like my house!!! I have soooo many books. I work at a library too...so that really does not help!!!!

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  19. I hope you get to attend BEA! I've always wanted to go, but I never seem to have time or the money to make the trip.

    hahaha Book Hoarders. I went abroad about 4 years ago so my most of my books were given away prior to my move and those that I kept put in boxes. When I came back I vowed to stop buying books, etc and now I've slowly been adding more and more books. I need to stop.

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  20. I did not actually make a top ten bookish goals list, but if I did, we would definitely share #4 and #6. I have so many books we had to buy two more bookshelves to expand onto the adjacent walls of our full wall bookshelf! And as someone who absolutely has to read the book before seeing the movie, I have some catching up to do. First up is Beautiful Creatures. I just finished reading Warm Bodies and it was much better than I expected.

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