I Set the Goal, the Goal Didn't Set Me!

So, last year I set a reading goal of 100 books. And I totally did it. It was such a great feeling too. I loved looking back at all the books and remembering them, some I loved, some I REALLY loved and then some I read because I had set a goal of reading 100 books.
When January 1st rolled around, I needed to set my new goal and of course I wanted to challenge myself and go for more than 100 books. Using a very scientific method which consisting of totally picking a number from out of the air, I decided to set my goal at 115. A nice round number. A nice doable number. This will be fun.

I track the books I want to read, am reading and have read on goodreads.com. I also set my goal on goodreads.com and so it tracks that for me as well. And it does it in such a nice way too. Currently, it is letting me know that, at my current pace, I am 4 books behind schedule. FOUR BOOKS! See, I had the flu, and my daughter had the flu and so I really didn't feel like doing anything at all, but I still had to take care of my sick child and then take care of myself and so I really fell behind in my reading. And now I feel incredible pressure to catch up, which has me thinking I need to give up sleep, give up taking care of my kid, give up going to work, until I have caught up and am back on my reading schedule. This sounds totally reasonable, right?

Yeah, maybe not so much so. So, instead, I will choose some shorter books, some graphic novels (always great to increase your reading total) and will just keep pressing forward, ever vigilant in my ongoing quest to read 15 books more this year than I did the last. But most of all, I will ENJOY the books I am reading. I will not rush through them, not really reading them because I am too busy reading them. I set the goal, the goal didn't set me. So I will take each book one book at a time. Well, actually, 3 books one at a time, because it's totally normal to be reading a book-book while also reading an e-book and listening to an audio book, right? Totally normal, right?

Thoughts on New Year 2013

The end of another year...I know this sounds so cliche, but it really does feel like we were just celebrating New Year 2012. I know a lot of things happened in the past 365 days, but I don't know that I can remember them all without looking at Facebook. I know I started working at the library, the first job I have had that I really WANTED, I just didn't have to take it because I needed it. That was a nice first. It was the year Clare started going to school for full days every day. I saw Duran Duran again this year (always a good thing). I did my first play in around 8 years (another really good thing) and Clare was in it with me, which was her first play ever (a really great thing!). We added to our animal family (2 new dogs, 2 new cats). There have been lots of other things, but those are the ones I remember without any prompting. 
So what will 2013 bring? I think this will be the year I apply to grad school to get my Master's in Library Science. I will be doing at least one more play. One of my best friends is getting married in a few months and both Clare and I are in the wedding, so we will be going to AUSTIN TX soon (this is a WONDERFUL thing). I have kept up with this blog pretty decently, so I think I will stick with that. No followers yet, so it's still kind of just like a diary, but that's okay for now. 
I read 100 books this year...can I break that number this year? Of course I can! What number should I try to hit this coming year? Thoughts anyone? Increase by 10%, by 20%? 
Really, I just hope that this is a year that my family does well. That we are all happy and healthy and safe. In this crazy world, that last word - safe - means so much more. It's not just happy and healthy anymore. Please let my family be safe. And I hope that for you and your families in the new year - be happy, be healthy and be safe.