I definitely share the goal to read from my own shelves more than I currently do. My 2025 word is STRIDE - and will use it in many applications whether to physically move, forward motion, make progress on a goal like decluttering, be less reactive (take things in stride)…and I am sure other meanings will come to me throughout the year. Hope your year of experiment brings lots of good things into your life!
I hope we can all encourage each other to try to read from our shelves this year:) It seems so easy but it's also really easy to get distracted by books we see, hear about, and find elsewhere. I love your word!! This is so fun seeing what words we're all choosing and the reasons behind them. It's fun to think about the different ways that our words might surprise us as the year goes on.
Happy New Year! I also finished the year with the Ina Garten book and really enjoyed it. However, as simple as she likes to say her recipes are, everytime I look at one I find it a little fussy (for lack of a better word) for our style of cooking and eating. Maybe we need to expand our palettes! I'm using the BookList Queen's Reading Challenge as my guide this year. I've used it in the past and find it makes me search out books I wouldn't otherwise read. I'm also doing Simon Haisell's slow read of War and Peace as I've never read it before and I find the slow read concept to be intriguing. My word of the year is Health. 2024 was a challenging year in many respects and I want to concentrate on getting myself together physically, mentally, emotionally, etc before things get away from me.
The Booklist Queen has great challenges, are you doing on in particular? I love their various lists. I'm doing a slow read this year too- Don Quixote with Annie B Jones Patreon and I'm really looking forward to reading something throughout the year, I never do that. Thanks for sharing your word, I'm enjoying reading what words are chosen by everyone
I'm doing her Reading Challenge 2025. It's 52 different prompts covering a range of genres. I've done her similar challenges in the past and I find it makes me search out different books than I would otherwise read rather than just reading whatever I last read a favorable review of or whatever the library has deemed me worthy of having from my hold list. As I usually read 75-80 books per year, I still get to read plenty of those as well as returning to favorite series/authors even with doing the challenge.
I love your word for 2025! It made me smile when I saw it and I will do my best to encourage you to follow that as well as read more nonfiction. Challenger is on my backlist tbr for the first quarter of the new year.
I just finished PONY CONFIDENTIAL 2 hours ago. Audio is excellent but you may want a print copy to underline profound passages. My reading goals for next year is 1 book. I hope the psychology helps me from becoming fixated and reading as many books that I can to reach a goal. I am going to relax on the book challenges. My intention is to use them more as a guide for book recommendations rather than something I need to fulfill. More DNFs are in my forecast also. I do not need to read every single book that sounds good to me. having said that, we shall see. I think I made the same resolution last year. Not sure I stuck with it. I ended up reading 145 books this year so I would say no.
ooh i love that you said "profound passages" for Pony Confidential, I made a good choice in including that one as one of my 6. You had a great reading year- I think you might find not having a reading goal or having one as you said will be freeing. At least it was for me and we're a lot alike haha. Also I'm convinced dnfing is the single best way to improve the quality of reads.
Blue Light Hours has been on my itching to read ever since i heard Sarah talk about it on her podcast. It is on sale for $9 on Audible right now for members. I have only listened to 15 minutes and i think i am going to love it. We are in for the night so it is wine and as my grandson calls them, “pickies” aka appetizers and a good book. Happy New Year!
Hi Everyone. My word of the year is Reverence. There are many different ways this can be brought into my present life and I am looking forward to how many ways I can apply it.
My carry over books are MARGO’s GOT MONEY TROUBLES, ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, HOW TO READ A BOOK, TIME OF THE CHILD, EVERYONE IS WATCHING. I also have many back list I am going to read from my shelves. Authors I’d like to explore are: Joe Nesbo, Dennis Lehane, Tessa Wegert, Joyce Carol Oates, Christopher Bollen, Melissa Larsen, CJ Tudor and T Kingfisher, to name a few who I recently put on my list. I would also like to read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen which will complete my books I’ve read by her. Classics I’m going to read are Don Quixote and The Iliad. I also would like to read more of Edith Wharton.
Thanks for sharing your word! I'll be interested in hearing more about how that shows up in your life and reading as the year progresses. I'm excited for you to read Dennis Lehane - have you read him before? I've never read Joyce Carol Oates, I just got an audio of one of her books from Penguin Random House- Broke Heart Blues
I finished 2024 with reading WE RUN THE TIDES by Vendela Vida; it was excellent on audio with Marin Ireland as the narrator. It is a coming-of-age book about two friends who attend a private girls' school. In print, I finished the year by reading LAST HOUSE by Jessica Shattuck, which was just okay for me. But I am still thinking about it so I may change my thoughts about it.
My reading goals for 2025 are to read more backlist books and fewer new releases. I am weary of reading mediocre new releases and want to look into books by favorite authors that I may have missed. I also want to watch less television in the evenings and to make reading my main evening activity.
This is my list for upcoming reads: LEFTOVER WOMAN by Jean Kwok, HOLLY by Stephen King, THE FLATSHARE by Beth O'Leary, HERE AFTER by Amy Lin, and WE BURN DAYLIGHT by Bret Anthony Johnston.
I'm with you on feeling weary of mediocre new releases, that's very much how my new release reading felt in 2024. I'm cautiously optimistic that there will tons more new releases to choose from in 2025 but I'm going to continue with backlist reading too - Holly by Stephen King is a book I still think about- that man's imagination is something incredible. I'm very excited for Never Flinch coming in May
You have me scrolling through all of these posts now, Renee! ;) I'm excited to see some of the new movies and shows that are expected to release in 2025! I love your word for the new year. I am in the process of redefining what movement and fitness look like for me, what role they play in my life (running has always been such a defining hobby/activity), and experimenting is a great way to describe what I'm doing right now! In terms of reading, I don't often set concrete goals but I have made an intention to read more nonfiction in 2025 (stats were dismal for 2024 at just 10%) and I'm thrilled to hear you're enjoying Ina Garten's book because it's on my list! I did listen to Challenger recently and, while it gets pretty technical at times, I found it fascinating, educational, and eye-opening. I'll be on the lookout if/when you read it! Cheers to you, my friend! Happy New Year!
You know I love my links haha. I had a lot of fun searching for interesting 2025 links but then just had to stop. I'm glad you liked Challenger, I have a feeling it'll need to be a right mood right time book but I really want to read it. I think you'll like Ina's book. Cheers 🥂 can't wait to continue chatting books with you in 2025
I must have had House of Doors checked out at least twice from the library and somehow did not read it, so I may revisit. Susie with novel visits had a great prompt for 2025; to reread at least 5 books! After getting a little burned with some lengthyish buzzy books, I look forward to some rereads. The Poisonwood Bible seems to have resurfaced on many people’s TBRs. I can remember when everyone was reading it. So that is definitely on my reread list. I am in a rut right now, after the holidays. I will pick up speed again when things settle down and I get into a routine. I look forward to doing two walks a day again, once the daylight lasts longer.
Happy New Year Ann! That's an interesting prompt - to reread 5 books, I know one book I'd like to reread for sure - All the Light We Cannot See but I'll need to think about the other 4- might be a fun prompt to try to do this year. I hope your reading rut is short-lived. I'm ready for longer evening light too
Challenger was incredible, I couldn’t put it down. Will probably read his other book on Chernobyl this year.
Margo’s got money troubles was my first book of 2025. I struggle with any sort of book that has a quirky premise etc so I wasn’t sure…this one was charming!
Your reading goals and intentions are so creative! I love the idea of paying more attention to publishers/imprints that you tend to enjoy. Given your intentionality, I bet you'll have an excellent reading year in 2025. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! I'm late responding, but I LOVE this post- It might be one of my favorites so far!
I have so many books I'm carrying over I can't even start listing them. Everyone's end of year lists are blowing up my TBR in a good way; unfortunately, there are also so many coming out this spring that I'm looking forward to I can't possibly get to them all- the grief of a book nerd! I also have CHALLENGER on hold (it will be months) and am looking for BLUE LIGHT HOURS, so far unsuccessfully. I also have HELD by Anne Michaels coming in soon from a hold as well as DON'T BE A STRANGER, thanks to your recommendation.
I never do numerical reading goals, but I do have some reading intentions this year; one is carrying over, and the others are new.
- I want to continue avoiding bookish FOMO and read what is calling to me, which may continue to mean more backlist. This really worked for me, and the few times I ignored this, the reads were fails.
- My first new one: I want to DNF audio when I know I need to! I can DNF on paper, but since I can't skim to the end on audio, I just won't do it. Then I end up irritated and mad at myself. I can find spoilers!
- I also want to read out of my wheelhouse a little more. Not a ton, but some. Literary fiction always works best for me, but this year a mature romance and a fantasy ended up in my top 10. I want to seek out more of both and do research first to make sure I'm choosing as well as possible. I also want to read more non-fiction that isn't memoir.
Renee, I hope you love MARGO (In my very top of the year!) and PONY CONFIDENTIAL. I do think PONY is riskier. People seem to love it or hate it. Having been around ponies for years, it didn't even seem that over the top to me; then I saw that Lynch is a rider and it made perfect sense!
I'm also very excited about more collaboration. It seems like I've been seeing more of that and I love it! I've been so happy to be here in this community with all of you. Here's to a year of great reading!
Thanks LeAnne, I'm glad you like this little mix of everything post:) Your intentions also speak to me- especially FOMO- that is so real when we see books being talked about on so many platforms. Ignoring it and/or filtering it is at the top of my reading intention list too:) I'm very curious to find out what I think of Pony C and Margot, I didn't realize people were hating PONY CONFFIDENTIAL, now I want to read it even more to see what I think haha.
Renee, add my name to the list of people who are grateful for your insights and for this community! I ended 2024 by completing Pardonable Lives by Jacqueline Winspear, her third Maisie Dobbs novel. I love the character and the time setting, so I am working my way through them all. There are 17 total; we will see if I make it.
I was tickled to learn from you about Never Flinch! I hadn’t yet heard when we would get our next book from King.
I read a total of 140 books in 2024, the significant majority were digital since I still don’t have earbuds that work for me. I think for 2025 my word will be “focus”. I have been avoiding some projects in favor of books. I think I will be well served if I focus on my project list, with reasonable incremental progress required before plopping down with my next book for an entire day!
In any case, wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy 2025!
Thank you so much Jennifer❤️ I had Focus as my word a couple years ago and truthfully it could be my word every year haha. The struggle is real to "focus" on what matters and not get distracted by so much of the other things vying for our attention. Good luck with your project list in 2025!!
Renee!!! I’ve missed you on the podcast and I’m thrilled to be a paid subscriber. Can’t wait to hear more from you. ❤️
Hi Mandy! Thank you for the support:) I'm super excited about what 2025 will bring for my Substack content and community, really glad you're here
I definitely share the goal to read from my own shelves more than I currently do. My 2025 word is STRIDE - and will use it in many applications whether to physically move, forward motion, make progress on a goal like decluttering, be less reactive (take things in stride)…and I am sure other meanings will come to me throughout the year. Hope your year of experiment brings lots of good things into your life!
Yes, I am thinking of the winter as book hibernation time. Stay in and read what I have already purchased or been gifted and lent.
I hope we can all encourage each other to try to read from our shelves this year:) It seems so easy but it's also really easy to get distracted by books we see, hear about, and find elsewhere. I love your word!! This is so fun seeing what words we're all choosing and the reasons behind them. It's fun to think about the different ways that our words might surprise us as the year goes on.
Happy New Year! I also finished the year with the Ina Garten book and really enjoyed it. However, as simple as she likes to say her recipes are, everytime I look at one I find it a little fussy (for lack of a better word) for our style of cooking and eating. Maybe we need to expand our palettes! I'm using the BookList Queen's Reading Challenge as my guide this year. I've used it in the past and find it makes me search out books I wouldn't otherwise read. I'm also doing Simon Haisell's slow read of War and Peace as I've never read it before and I find the slow read concept to be intriguing. My word of the year is Health. 2024 was a challenging year in many respects and I want to concentrate on getting myself together physically, mentally, emotionally, etc before things get away from me.
The Booklist Queen has great challenges, are you doing on in particular? I love their various lists. I'm doing a slow read this year too- Don Quixote with Annie B Jones Patreon and I'm really looking forward to reading something throughout the year, I never do that. Thanks for sharing your word, I'm enjoying reading what words are chosen by everyone
I'm doing her Reading Challenge 2025. It's 52 different prompts covering a range of genres. I've done her similar challenges in the past and I find it makes me search out different books than I would otherwise read rather than just reading whatever I last read a favorable review of or whatever the library has deemed me worthy of having from my hold list. As I usually read 75-80 books per year, I still get to read plenty of those as well as returning to favorite series/authors even with doing the challenge.
That sounds like a great challenge!
I love your word for 2025! It made me smile when I saw it and I will do my best to encourage you to follow that as well as read more nonfiction. Challenger is on my backlist tbr for the first quarter of the new year.
I just finished PONY CONFIDENTIAL 2 hours ago. Audio is excellent but you may want a print copy to underline profound passages. My reading goals for next year is 1 book. I hope the psychology helps me from becoming fixated and reading as many books that I can to reach a goal. I am going to relax on the book challenges. My intention is to use them more as a guide for book recommendations rather than something I need to fulfill. More DNFs are in my forecast also. I do not need to read every single book that sounds good to me. having said that, we shall see. I think I made the same resolution last year. Not sure I stuck with it. I ended up reading 145 books this year so I would say no.
ooh i love that you said "profound passages" for Pony Confidential, I made a good choice in including that one as one of my 6. You had a great reading year- I think you might find not having a reading goal or having one as you said will be freeing. At least it was for me and we're a lot alike haha. Also I'm convinced dnfing is the single best way to improve the quality of reads.
Blue Light Hours has been on my itching to read ever since i heard Sarah talk about it on her podcast. It is on sale for $9 on Audible right now for members. I have only listened to 15 minutes and i think i am going to love it. We are in for the night so it is wine and as my grandson calls them, “pickies” aka appetizers and a good book. Happy New Year!
I just finished Blue Light Hours. It is a very nice mother daughter relationship story.
Thanks. Good to know.
Hi Everyone. My word of the year is Reverence. There are many different ways this can be brought into my present life and I am looking forward to how many ways I can apply it.
My carry over books are MARGO’s GOT MONEY TROUBLES, ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, HOW TO READ A BOOK, TIME OF THE CHILD, EVERYONE IS WATCHING. I also have many back list I am going to read from my shelves. Authors I’d like to explore are: Joe Nesbo, Dennis Lehane, Tessa Wegert, Joyce Carol Oates, Christopher Bollen, Melissa Larsen, CJ Tudor and T Kingfisher, to name a few who I recently put on my list. I would also like to read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen which will complete my books I’ve read by her. Classics I’m going to read are Don Quixote and The Iliad. I also would like to read more of Edith Wharton.
Thanks for sharing your word! I'll be interested in hearing more about how that shows up in your life and reading as the year progresses. I'm excited for you to read Dennis Lehane - have you read him before? I've never read Joyce Carol Oates, I just got an audio of one of her books from Penguin Random House- Broke Heart Blues
I’ve never read Lehane before so I’m looking forward to it. I’ll have to put Broken Heart Blues on my TBR. Thanks Renee.
you'll have to let me know what Lehane you end up starting with:)
I love your word. If we all tried to find more reverence in the every day, I honestly think we, and the world, would be so much better.
agreed
I finished 2024 with reading WE RUN THE TIDES by Vendela Vida; it was excellent on audio with Marin Ireland as the narrator. It is a coming-of-age book about two friends who attend a private girls' school. In print, I finished the year by reading LAST HOUSE by Jessica Shattuck, which was just okay for me. But I am still thinking about it so I may change my thoughts about it.
My reading goals for 2025 are to read more backlist books and fewer new releases. I am weary of reading mediocre new releases and want to look into books by favorite authors that I may have missed. I also want to watch less television in the evenings and to make reading my main evening activity.
This is my list for upcoming reads: LEFTOVER WOMAN by Jean Kwok, HOLLY by Stephen King, THE FLATSHARE by Beth O'Leary, HERE AFTER by Amy Lin, and WE BURN DAYLIGHT by Bret Anthony Johnston.
I'm with you on feeling weary of mediocre new releases, that's very much how my new release reading felt in 2024. I'm cautiously optimistic that there will tons more new releases to choose from in 2025 but I'm going to continue with backlist reading too - Holly by Stephen King is a book I still think about- that man's imagination is something incredible. I'm very excited for Never Flinch coming in May
Thanks Renee. Yes, I want to get Holly read so I will be ready for the new Stephen King book. I am looking forward to your January list!
I read We Run the Tides a while ago and I really liked it.
You have me scrolling through all of these posts now, Renee! ;) I'm excited to see some of the new movies and shows that are expected to release in 2025! I love your word for the new year. I am in the process of redefining what movement and fitness look like for me, what role they play in my life (running has always been such a defining hobby/activity), and experimenting is a great way to describe what I'm doing right now! In terms of reading, I don't often set concrete goals but I have made an intention to read more nonfiction in 2025 (stats were dismal for 2024 at just 10%) and I'm thrilled to hear you're enjoying Ina Garten's book because it's on my list! I did listen to Challenger recently and, while it gets pretty technical at times, I found it fascinating, educational, and eye-opening. I'll be on the lookout if/when you read it! Cheers to you, my friend! Happy New Year!
You know I love my links haha. I had a lot of fun searching for interesting 2025 links but then just had to stop. I'm glad you liked Challenger, I have a feeling it'll need to be a right mood right time book but I really want to read it. I think you'll like Ina's book. Cheers 🥂 can't wait to continue chatting books with you in 2025
I must have had House of Doors checked out at least twice from the library and somehow did not read it, so I may revisit. Susie with novel visits had a great prompt for 2025; to reread at least 5 books! After getting a little burned with some lengthyish buzzy books, I look forward to some rereads. The Poisonwood Bible seems to have resurfaced on many people’s TBRs. I can remember when everyone was reading it. So that is definitely on my reread list. I am in a rut right now, after the holidays. I will pick up speed again when things settle down and I get into a routine. I look forward to doing two walks a day again, once the daylight lasts longer.
Happy New Year Ann! That's an interesting prompt - to reread 5 books, I know one book I'd like to reread for sure - All the Light We Cannot See but I'll need to think about the other 4- might be a fun prompt to try to do this year. I hope your reading rut is short-lived. I'm ready for longer evening light too
Challenger was incredible, I couldn’t put it down. Will probably read his other book on Chernobyl this year.
Margo’s got money troubles was my first book of 2025. I struggle with any sort of book that has a quirky premise etc so I wasn’t sure…this one was charming!
Thanks for your feedback on both of these, so glad your first book of 2025 was a winner:)
Love your word “experiment” for 2025!
Thanks!
Your reading goals and intentions are so creative! I love the idea of paying more attention to publishers/imprints that you tend to enjoy. Given your intentionality, I bet you'll have an excellent reading year in 2025. Happy New Year!
Thank you! And fingers crossed I really "intend" to have an amazing reading year:) Happy New Year!🎉
Happy New Year! I'm late responding, but I LOVE this post- It might be one of my favorites so far!
I have so many books I'm carrying over I can't even start listing them. Everyone's end of year lists are blowing up my TBR in a good way; unfortunately, there are also so many coming out this spring that I'm looking forward to I can't possibly get to them all- the grief of a book nerd! I also have CHALLENGER on hold (it will be months) and am looking for BLUE LIGHT HOURS, so far unsuccessfully. I also have HELD by Anne Michaels coming in soon from a hold as well as DON'T BE A STRANGER, thanks to your recommendation.
I never do numerical reading goals, but I do have some reading intentions this year; one is carrying over, and the others are new.
- I want to continue avoiding bookish FOMO and read what is calling to me, which may continue to mean more backlist. This really worked for me, and the few times I ignored this, the reads were fails.
- My first new one: I want to DNF audio when I know I need to! I can DNF on paper, but since I can't skim to the end on audio, I just won't do it. Then I end up irritated and mad at myself. I can find spoilers!
- I also want to read out of my wheelhouse a little more. Not a ton, but some. Literary fiction always works best for me, but this year a mature romance and a fantasy ended up in my top 10. I want to seek out more of both and do research first to make sure I'm choosing as well as possible. I also want to read more non-fiction that isn't memoir.
Renee, I hope you love MARGO (In my very top of the year!) and PONY CONFIDENTIAL. I do think PONY is riskier. People seem to love it or hate it. Having been around ponies for years, it didn't even seem that over the top to me; then I saw that Lynch is a rider and it made perfect sense!
I'm also very excited about more collaboration. It seems like I've been seeing more of that and I love it! I've been so happy to be here in this community with all of you. Here's to a year of great reading!
Thanks LeAnne, I'm glad you like this little mix of everything post:) Your intentions also speak to me- especially FOMO- that is so real when we see books being talked about on so many platforms. Ignoring it and/or filtering it is at the top of my reading intention list too:) I'm very curious to find out what I think of Pony C and Margot, I didn't realize people were hating PONY CONFFIDENTIAL, now I want to read it even more to see what I think haha.
Renee, add my name to the list of people who are grateful for your insights and for this community! I ended 2024 by completing Pardonable Lives by Jacqueline Winspear, her third Maisie Dobbs novel. I love the character and the time setting, so I am working my way through them all. There are 17 total; we will see if I make it.
I was tickled to learn from you about Never Flinch! I hadn’t yet heard when we would get our next book from King.
I read a total of 140 books in 2024, the significant majority were digital since I still don’t have earbuds that work for me. I think for 2025 my word will be “focus”. I have been avoiding some projects in favor of books. I think I will be well served if I focus on my project list, with reasonable incremental progress required before plopping down with my next book for an entire day!
In any case, wishing you and yours a very happy and healthy 2025!
Thank you so much Jennifer❤️ I had Focus as my word a couple years ago and truthfully it could be my word every year haha. The struggle is real to "focus" on what matters and not get distracted by so much of the other things vying for our attention. Good luck with your project list in 2025!!
Whoops… Happy New Year to all!!!!🥰
Happy new year!!!!! I also want to read Margot and Last King of California!
Happy New Year Ani🎉