I’m still on a blog hiatus till February, but I couldn’t resist joining in with Top Ten Tuesday to share some thoughts about where this blog, and my reading and writing life in general, may be headed this year.
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature/meme now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. The meme was originally the brainchild of The Broke and the Bookish. This week’s topic is Bookish Goals for 2025.
Read more freely
I’ve decided, for the time being, to refrain from joining any challenges. I might spontaneously jump into some of the blog events I’ve enjoyed in the past, when they roll around (The 1952 Club, Reading the Meow, Nonfiction November) but I won’t host any myself (that means no Reading the Theatre or Summer in Other Languages this year).
Read more seriously
In the last few years, I’ve tended to do a lot of light comfort reading, especially in terms of fiction. I would like to grapple more with serious themes and stories, so long as I can keep myself from becoming depressed by the bad news.
Reading seriously also means reading thoroughly, rereading books, taking notes … not always moving on to the next thing as quickly as possible.
Read more languages
I would like to read books written in languages other than English, either in languages I am learning (French and German) or in translation. I want to hear voices from more corners of the world.
Read more books I own
While I depend a lot on e-books from the library, and am very grateful for that convenience, I want to read more of the hardcopy books I keep buying and not reading. At bedtime, I’ll try to stick to paper and slowly make my way through some that way. I also have started keeping track of owned but unread books on StoryGraph. I do not have a numerical goal, but perhaps I’ll count up at the end of the year and see how I did.
Read Ursula K. Le Guin
Relevant to the above, I have started rereading the Earthsea books, finally cracking open my complete Saga Press illustrated edition. I also have the urge to read fiction by Le Guin that I have not read yet (like The Eye of the Heron and Always Coming Home), to reread some I don’t remember well (Lavinia, The Lathe of Heaven), and to sample her nonfiction and poetry. She’s one of my favorite authors, and though I don’t love all her books, I always find her writing beautiful and thought-provoking. She was a champion of the power of imagination to change our world, and I can’t think of anything we need more right now.
While I am loath to make an official readalong, if anyone has a similar interest, I hope we’ll find a way to share our thoughts.
Publish less
In the past, I’ve tried to write a post once a week or so. I’m going to reduce that minimum to once a month, keeping up my month in review posts, focusing particularly on my reading life. If I feel moved to do a book review, discussion post, or other kind of update, I will do so, but I won’t feel obliged.
In the last few years, I’ve also been seeking publication beyond the blog. 2024 was my most successful year in this regard; see this Substack post for everything I had published last year.
I’m so thrilled and grateful to have been able to share my love of words with the world, overcoming the blocks that kept me from writing for so long — due in no small part to the support I found through blogging. But now, ironically enough, I feel a desire to pull back and do more inner work, less outer expression. There’s a reason we have two ears and one mouth, as the saying goes. With so many words wildly flying around right now, what is truly essential?
I do have an idea for a long-term project to occupy me over the next year. If it comes to anything, I will surely let you know.
Learn and engage
Why, then, am I still bothering with this blog at all?
The world is turning in a very scary direction, yet I still believe in the power of language to help us through challenging times. What is essential, to me, is to remain open to transformation while strengthening our sense of what is real. The deepest reality I hold, the foundation of my faith, is that we are all connected, all part of a greater whole. Words aim to be a bridge that let us retain our individuality, while engaging with each other in freedom.
Words are not enough, though; there has to be a wordless attitude of desiring to understand with the heart. Only then can the tools of language do their job.
When things get too overwhelming, it is tempting to me to want to disengage and simply not even try to understand. But I know from experience that that is only a temporary solution. I have to find a way to feel safe, and still engage with what confuses or distresses me. Books are wonderful because they let me stay in a safe space, while bringing me news from a wider world. So many times, that has led to changing the way I engage with the world, with other people, and with myself. I get to try out experiments in living, and then I bring back what I learn into my reading life again, to refine and extend the experiment further.
So although this book blog may seem like a trivial sort of hobby, really it touches into the things I find most important and valuable in life. By keeping it going, even though there are many other things demanding my time and resources, I’m asserting those values. The journey will continue!
And I very much value the connections I’ve made here, too. I look forward to engaging with you and finding out what is important for you this year.
A social media aside: I’ve left Facebook but joined Bluesky. Find me there as @enterenchanted.bsky.social.
Many warm wishes for a wonderful reading year in 2025!
Reading in more languages is a great goal – something I am trying to do more of as well but don’t do it often enough!
Focusing on writing beyond the blog is so so exciting! Good luck with that 🙂 And loved your last point about learning and engaging.
I’m trying to read more of the physical books that are stacked up on my shelves. Once I have I’m trying to be ruthless and decide if I’m ever like to read it again and unless it’s special in some way then it goes in the bag for the charity shop. They may need to devote a shelf just to the books I’ve donated recently!
I am grateful to you for continuing to blog where you can share what you are learning with us.
Bonne année et Good luck with your wonderful goals! Here are mine: https://wordsandpeace.com/2025/01/14/my-top-ten-bookish-goals-for-2025/
Read more freely – what a wonderful motto for year ’25. I think that’s very important for bloggers to keep in mind, no pressure, just the good ole joy of reading
Good for you for working to get published elsewhere!
Reading more freely is a great goal, I spent last January joining challenges that then I either forgot completely or stressed me all year! But it doesn’t mean just reading lightly, which takes me to your next goal of reading seriously which I think is important too, we have so much to learn from books and often they need time! Best wishes for your goals in the year ahead.
I hope you’re enjoying your hiatus! Congrats on your publications, and I appreciate your thoughts about blogging and connecting with others around books. I’m glad to hear your blog is still feeling meaningful to you. I look forward to following your reading in 2025!