In the past, I have never been a big public goal setter. Maybe because I have not been a big goal setter in general. I have always hesitated to declare New Year’s Resolution and won’t do so this year either but I think I am ready to go public with a few goals. I’m still shying away from from publicly declaring that I will get up every day at 6am, that I will stop over consuming sugar or that I will handwrite in a journal every day for at least five minutes although it’s possible that I am considering these goals.

What I am willing do is to go public with my reading goals. Reading is something that I make time for every single day so I think it is realistic that I can set and then meet my goals.

I have a few different types so here goes…

1. The Great New Books 2015 Reading Challenge

Our wonderful team at Great New Books has created a new page with our 2015 Reading Challenge. Please go check it out and add your goals to ours.

My Great New Books 2015 Reading Challenge is to read 52 books in 2015.

2. The Book Riot Read Harder Challenge

The folks at Book Riot have created an amazing list of challenges to push readers out of their comfort zone. There are 24 challenges included in the list. Examples include, read a book written by someone when they were under the age of 25, read a YA novel or read a book that is a retelling of a classic story. I haven’t narrowed down which challenges I will accept but I plan to tackle a few. I am guilty of reading an awful lot of realistic fiction set in the present day.

3. Broke and Bookish’s Bookish Tuesdays

It was just a few weeks ago that I discovered the Broke and the Bookish and I am hooked. Each Tuesday, the Broke and Bookish team host a Top 10 Book List link up. Their themes are really fun and have already pushed me to think about what I’ve read and what I hope to read. I plan continue participating with Top Ten Tuesdays this year spending time listing both adult and children’s books depending on the theme.

4. Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit

I began participating in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Twitterature link up around two years ago. It has become my way to list the books I’ve read every month. Recently Anne changed the title of the link up to Quick Lit which I just love. I plan to continue participating in 2015.

5. Goodreads

I have been on Goodreads for a long time and  I do a reasonably good job of keeping track of my adult books read. This year I would like to find a better way to organize the children’s books I read along with books that I want to read.

And there they are. My 2015 Reading Goals. I’ve gone public. Help keep me honest.

After participating in Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Quick Lit link up last week, I discovered a great new-to-me blog called The Broke and the Bookish. There are many fun aspects to this blog but my favorite is their Bookish Tuesday link up which features a great, weekly top ten list.

I decided to jump in this week with….

The Top Ten Books I wouldn’t Mind Santa Bringing This Year

1. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen. I have read and loved many of Quindlen’s non-fictions books but somehow I never read this one. Nina, one of my Great New Books colleagues has great things to say about this book so I’d love to give it a try.
2. The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp. I first heard about this book on Linda Urban’s site as she hosts #writedaily30. She describes Twyla Tharp as a person who would sit on her own personal board of directors. How great is that? I want a personal board of directors…
3. Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown. A couple of reader friends have recommended this one so it seems like a no brainer for a vacation week. It has been described as a page turner which is just what I am looking for.
4. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler. I don’t remember who recommended this one or anything about it but the title sells it in my opinion.
5. One Day by David Nicholls. I am reading Nicholls’ latest, Us, right now and loving it. The premise of One Day looks really interesting so this one seems like a good follow up to Us.
6. The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant. With The Red Tent mini-series playing right now, I keep thinking about how much I loved that book. Diamant has a new book out now and while it seems awfully different from The Red Tent, it still looks pretty good.
7. Redeployment by Phil Kay. While I don’t typically like short stories, two of my Great New Books colleagues, Julia and Jessica, chose Redeployment as their favorite read of 2014 so I would definitely like to try this one.
8. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. Nelson’s recent book ,I’ll Give You the Sun,  was one of my favorites this year, so I would love to read her earlier work.
9. 11/22/63 by Steven King. I have heard about this book recently from lots of different types of readers. While really long, I think it would be worth a read.
10. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson. I haven’t read one of Anderson’s YA books in a long time and I miss her beautiful writing and amazing story telling ability.

I feel so very lucky to be a part of Great New Books. It was over a year ago that I was asked to join this team blog and I have loved every minute of my time with this amazing group of women.

Each week, one of us recommends a favorite new book on our site. We do not accept books for review so all of the books we talk about are titles that we have found on our own and loved. I knew I would love being a part of a group that talked about books but this group has become so much more than that. After the weekly post goes live, our fantastic leader, Jennifer King, sends out a group e-mail. This e-mail is part business but it is also friendship, support and humor. Each week I look forward to our check in and I truly love to open my e-mail each Wednesday morning. I know I will learn more about the women behind Great New Books, their families and what they are loving and what is scaring them in their lives. We have become a sounding board, a support group and a cheering section. Of course, we also share the books that we are currently reading so every Wednesday you can be sure my to-be-read pile grows taller.

As we reach the end of the year, we will be sharing group posts, the first of which runs this week.

Please head on over to Great New Books to discover our favorite book of the year and share your own and maybe learn a bit more about these women who I am proud to call my friends.

Anne of Modern Mrs. Darcy has re-named her monthly reading link up and I love the new name, Quick Lit. So each month, check out my reads under the title Quick Lit instead of Twitterature. 

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. I read this book for my book club and probably wouldn’t have read it if it weren’t for book club. I liked it and am glad I read it and it reminded me of why I like being in book clubs. They really do push you to read beyond your comfort level.

We Are Called to Rise by Laura McBride. I liked this book about how the paths of strangers come to cross until I couldn’t stand it. The ending ruined this book for me. That said, I really, really liked it until then so I think I might still recommend it!

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. After meeting Elizabeth Gilbert this summer, I was very excited to read this book. I began reading it and then some book cut in line. I don’t remember what it was but it must have been for book club or for a Great New Books review. Regardless, when it was time to get back to Signature of All Things, I didn’t feel compelled to do so. Until… two of my reader friends asked me recently if I had finished Signature yet. I decided it was time to do so, so I did and I am so glad. This book is truly the saga that it is described to be and well worth the time it takes to read all 500+ pages.