2017 Challenges

Hello everyone! Happy 2017! I really hope you have a great year!

Last year I attempted to partake in the #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks Challenge. I failed. I couldn't do it. But I did learn a lot from it and it's going to fuel my personal goals for 2017. For 2017 I'm going to Stop and Read the Roses.

In 2016 I read over 28,000 pages. Seems like a great thing, but I worry that I read so much because I rushed through all of my books. I didn't take my time with so many books and enjoy them as much. I worry that I downgraded some great books to good because I didn't give them the time that they needed.

In addition, I let reading take over pretty much all of my free time. I wanted to do more with my time: video games, learning Russian, learning coding, working out. I did so very little other than reading. If I chose to do that much reading it'd be one thing but I often felt that I HAD to keep reading. This is because of how many books I requested from NetGalley and accepted from authors. I kept feeling rushed in my reading, that my hobby was actually a job. This is NOT what I want.

So, for 2017, I'm slowing down my reading and enjoying books again.

Here's my plan for doing that:

1) No page counting until the end of the year.

2) Only 1 NetGalley request a month.

3) I will read one book at a time.

4) At least one book a month will be from my physical TBR list and another from my digital list. 

Yes, this is going to be tough but I really want to slow down and try other things. I want to play the games in my Steam library I have yet to touch. I want to learn JavaScript. I want to get healthy. I want to enjoy reading again. 

So that's my reading challenge for the year: Stop and Read the Roses. Wish me luck!

I'm also considering streaming with the video games I've never played before (at Fluxxdog's suggestion) but I'm not completely sold on the idea.