New year resolutions are often easy to come up with but then become increasingly harder to maintain as the year goes on. I remember years ago making a 10/20 item-long list totally telling myself I would stick to them all – depsite not having done so any of the years previously. It then just got to a point where I stopped making them. But then, one of the numerous good things about the blogging/bookstagram world, I kept seeing people posting about their new years resolutions and people were really focusing on realistic, consciencious resolutions. So I thought to myself, why not give it another try this year?
On my instagram – evmb_creatives for any of you who wish to check it out – I came across a new hastag movement in the bookstagram world – #tbr2020project – the to be read 2020 project. Now I came across this on @mamasreadingcorner page but I have noticed a lot of boostagrammers are now doing similar resolutions. This particular movement encourages making a to be read pile for the year from the books already owned and on the shelf, instead of constantly buying new books. Now if, by some miracle, you are an avid reader and have NO books on your shelf waiting to be read – well congratulations, I don’t know how you’ve done it but there you are. On the other hand, if, like me you cannot walk anywhere near a waterstones without coming out with 10 books, this might be the perfect resolution for you as well.
I set myself 21 books to read – a very doable number as it means less than 1 every two weeks. This is perfect for my student schedule because it means I won’t feel a massive pressure to read when I have multiple deadlines as I know I can take my time, and enjoy the reading I am actually doing in my leisure time. You of course may wish to set more or less, no matter what your number is, the most important thing is make it a doable one. That way you can go out there and smash your goals and feel brilliantly for doing so!
So what are the books I am going to be reading? Well check it out below (not in reading order, which will be random for how I feel/what I’m in the mood for at the time, like this list is)
- Elton John: Me
- Jodi Piccoult: A Spark of Light
- You Jeong-Jeong: The Good Son
- Oyinkan Braithwaite: My Sister. The Serial Killer
- Frances Hardinge: Deeplight
- Hallie Ribenhold: The Five
- Tomi Adeemi: Children of Blood and Bone
- Billy Connolly: Tall Tales and Wee Stories
- Michelle Obama: Becoming
- Ann Patchett: The Dutch House
- John Grisham: The Reckoning
- John Grisham: The Innocent Man
- Holly Jackson: A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder
- Annoymous: Diary of and Oxygen Thief
- Deborah Rorigues: The Zanzibar Wife
- Rachel Clarke: Your Life in my Hands
- Annoynmous: The Secret Barrister
- Heather Morris: The Tattooist of Auschwitz
- James Patterson: 19th Christmas
- James Patterson: NYPD Red 1
- Bill Clinton and James Patterson: The President is Missing
Therefore, if you see on my social media any book hauls, or if you see me deviating from this list then by all means please point it out and hold me accountable! One of the things I especially liked about this resolution, besides the fact it would get me to finally read some of the books on my shelf that I haven’t even looked at for ages, is that it has a really good impact on the larger picture. Buying less new books just because they are pretty or sound good helps to curb out consumer-driven ways that have become such a large problem in the 21st century. Less books being bought and left to collect dust on shelves = better for the environment, better for ourselves and just all over make a good contribution. Along with the tbrproject2020 resolution I also made two more resolutions in relation to the evmb creatives aspect of my life.
The second resolution I set myself was to update the blog regularly for a whole year. This ties in with my first resolution because at least with 21 books, I will have 21 reviews for you all! However, do not worry, I plan to be a lot more active than just with book reviews, this is afterall a lifestyle blog that covers lots of things. I have multiple ideas for the year so stay tuned to see them play out.
The third resolution I set myself, again ties in with the first, and that is to diversify the bookstagram world. I follow a lot of other book reviewers/bloggers on instagram and their blogs, and I have noticed that I end up reading multiple of the same types of reviews, or seeing the same instagram posts about the same books from them all. Whilst you can never have too much conversation about topics in books, or too many reviews, I am hoping by reading and reviewing through the tbrproject2020 there will be automatic diversity. I will be reading and discussing books that are not brand brand new because they have all been on my tbr shelf for varying different amounts of time. I hope through this, and through all the other accounts doing similar challenges, that you will all get some wonderful, refreshing, varied content.
So that concludes my three resolutions. I’m keeping it short and sweet, not too much pressure, and all totally do-able goals. Have you set any resolutions? I’d love to hear theme either on here or thorugh my social media channels.
Evmb Creatives 