At the end of December, I wrote about my yearly goals in my Evaluating My 2022 Goals post. At the time, I settled on six goals and one challenge-related goal. However, I’ve decided to make some changes. My NEW goals for 2023 are:
Read at least 50% of the Book of the Month choices I didn’t get to last year.
I got rid of two goals and my challenge-related goal. All three of those goals were tied to the Play Book Tag Goodreads group I was a part of. While I enjoyed reading a book based on a specific topic each month, my reading tastes were so different from the main contributors that I wasn’t enjoying my experience. I finally decided to leave and focus my reading elsewhere.
A few people from my IRL book club are participating in the Pioneer Book Reading Challenge (hosted by a local independent bookstore) and the POP Sugar Reading Challenge this year. I was considering joining them, but I really don’t feel like doing the Pioneer Book Challenge and I’m still on the fence about the PS Challenge. I’ll probably participate in the PS Challenge because I can always change my mind later if I’m not enjoying the books I’m reading.
Anyway, I’ll keep track of my reading progress on my 2023 Reads page if you’re interested in seeing what I’ve put together.
How about you? Do you ever adjust your goals, reading or otherwise, during the year?
Can you believe 2022 ends tonight? I feel like this year flew by! Anyway, I thought I’d evaluate my 2022 reading goals. Last December, I made four bookish goals. They are:
Read at least 24 books.
Read at least 50% of my IRL book club books.
Read a book for 50% of the monthly tags hosted by my Goodreads group: Play Book Tag (PBT).
Read every Book of the Month book I selected before the end of the year.
I also made two challenge-related goals. They are:
Participate in the Narniathon hosted by Chris (Calmgrove).
I’ve kept track of my reading on my 2022 Reads page. (You can read my review of each book below by clicking the cover. I don’t have a review yet for THE HUNDREDTH QUEEN. I’ll be posting that next week.)
Yearly Goal
My goal for the year was to read 24 books and I read 32.
I’ll share my favorite books of the year on Tuesday for Top Ten Tuesday. My least favorite book was KEEP MOVING: NOTES ON LOSS, CREATIVITY, AND CHANGE by Maggie Smith. I didn’t hate it; I just didn’t love it either.
Reading Stats
New Reads: 21
Rereads: 11
Pages Read: 11,447
Source
Own: 10
Library: 22
Format
Hard Cover: 12
Paperback: 4
Kindle: 12
Audio: 4
Age Group
Adult: 13
Young Adult: 9
Middle Grade: 7
N/A: 3
Pages
0 – 99: 0
100 – 249: 6
250 – 499: 22
500 – 999: 4
1000+: 0
Primary Reason Read
Book Club: 7
Book of the Month: 3
Personal Interest: 8
PBT: 4
Read-alongs: 7
Unofficial Trim: 3
Primary Genre
Contemporary: 1
Fantasy: 11
Historical Fiction: 3
LGBTQ+: 1
Mystery/Thriller: 4
Non-Fiction: 3
Romance: 8
Science Fiction: 1
IRL Book Club
I made a goal to read at least 50% of my IRL book club books this year. I read seven out of 12. Here are the books I read:
Play Book Tag
Each month my Goodreads group votes on a “tag” (theme) and share, discuss, and review books that fit the tag. I wanted to read one book for at least 50% of the tags. I read books for six of the 12 tags. Here are the books I read:
Book of the Month
I joined Book of the Month in January and I made a goal to read every book I selected by the end of the year. Unfortunately, I only read three out of 12 books. Here are the books I read:
Unofficial Trim Challenge
Each of us created a list of 24 books on our TBR. Each month, a participating member randomly picked a remaining number between 1 through 24 and we’d read the book associated with that number from our lists. Because there are 24 books, this challenge will continue into 2023. I read six out of 12 books. (I read two as book club books, but they still count because they’re not on my TBR anymore.) I’m counting this as a win because I read half of what I set out to do. Here are the books I read:
Narniathon
The Narniathon started in December 2021 and technically ran until July so participants could read an extra book if they wanted to. My goal was to read all seven books of the Narniad and I did.
Conclusion and 2023 Goals
I’m really happy with my reading this year despite it slowing down in the latter half. I read more in 2022 than I have for the last seven years. I’m excited that my reading mojo seems to better. It’s been a lot of fun to discover so many great books and authors. I can’t wait to discover more next year.
Next year, I have similar goals. While I want to make reading a priority, I’ll be in school again and I need to make it a priority as well. Because of school, some of my reading goals are lower than they’d normally be after such a fantastic year of reading. Hopefully, I’ll be able to exceed my expectations. My goals for 2023 are:
Read at least 24 books.
Read at least 50% of my IRL book club books.
Read a book for 50% of the monthly tags hosted by Play Book Tag (PBT).
Read every Book of the Month book I select before the end of the year.
Read the backlog of my Book of the Month picks from 2022.
Read the backlog for the Unofficial Trim Challenge hosted by PBT from 2022.
I also have one challenge-related goal:
Participate in the Unofficial Trim Challenge.
I’ll keep track of my progress over on my 2023 Reads page.
How did you do on your goals this year? What are your goals for 2023?
At the end of each year, I like to reflect on what has happened, how I’ve grown, and what’s to come.
I graduated from Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) in May. DBT changed my life. Because of the skills I learned, I can navigate my emotions rather than fall apart and shutdown. I can now cope instead of wanting to get out of hard situations and feelings.
I started Prolonged Exposure therapy (PE) in August. PE focused on helping me heal from my past trauma and resultant PTSD. I graduated in November. It was the most difficult work I’ve ever had to do AND my trauma no longer controls me thanks to the time and effort I put in to heal.
I was interviewed by a Huffington Post writer about Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) and the stigma surrounding it in May. It was such a rewarding opportunity to talk about my experience with BPD and to help others learn that perpetuating myths are harmful to everyone.
In June, Corey and I sold our townhome of 13.5 years and moved in to a rental property. I really like our new digs despite it being a rental. The floor plan’s laid out logically with wide halls and stairs, 10-foot ceilings, big walk-in closets in each bedroom, and our first garage. We’re extremely blessed to live where we do.
Sadly, we said goodbye to our beautiful Dax in August. She was almost 19 years old and her kidneys decided they’d functioned long enough. Her passing was bittersweet as Izzy, Corey, and I miss her dearly and we’re happy she’s no longer suffering.
We adopted Luci, a four-month-old kitten, in November. She’s very energetic, friendly, and cuddly. Corey and I are smitten and Izzy’s still making up her mind.
My health took a ride on the proverbial roller coaster, having lots of ups and downs:
a bacterial infection in January;
suspected C. difficile in March which turned out to be a chronic case of acid reflux;
COVID in June;
injured shoulder, arm, and ankle from October until December;
and chronic hives that started in November.
I had LASIK done on both my eyes in August. Sometimes I have buyer’s remorse and wish I’d only had one eye done so I’d be able to see both near and far. Most of the time, however, I’m just glad I had LASIK because I only need glasses for reading when I’m extremely tired. I love being able to wear real sunglasses instead of my old transition lenses. I’m especially looking forward to being able to see when I go swimming in the summer.
I had a lot of great opportunities to make new friends and strengthen my relationship with old ones. I befriended so many wonderful bloggers who I always look forward to connecting with. I went outside of my usual group of friends to make new relationships with people I wouldn’t have in the past. I also learned to weather difficult situations and changes in some of my established friendships, helping strengthen them rather than dissolve them.
I learned to accept my family’s strengths and weaknesses, and create healthy boundaries. For the first time in more than a decade, I look forward to spending time with those who aren’t toxic.
School was hard due to my health and I nearly gave up, thinking I was going for the wrong reasons. I learned, however, that school helps me regulate my emotions more easily and boosts my self-efficacy. When I’m productive, learning, and not isolating, my depression and anhedonia are only memories.
I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished in 2022 and how much I’ve grown. I’ve improved so much and I’m no longer the same person I was in March 2021. I feel hopeful, content, and I’m looking forward to the new year and its opportunities. I’m glad I’ve been able to weather life’s hardships and I know I can cope with whatever’s thrown at me. I’m grateful to everyone who helped me become a stronger person, and I’m looking forward to continuing to connect with this amazing online community and the people I love IRL.
Here’s to many wonderful possibilities! May your 2023 be merry and bright!
Are you looking forward to 2023? Do you have any resolutions?
It’s time to evaluate how I did with each of them:
I only read 12 books this year.
This is the lowest number of books I’ve read in a year since 2007.
I read five out of the 15 books we read in book club.
I only read a book for two of the 12 tags for 2021.
I only read one of the 12 books I chose for the Unofficial Trim Challenge.
As you can tell, I didn’t accomplish any of my goals. This year wasn’t a good reading year. It started out good, though. I read four books in January and two books in February. And, then it all just kind of got thrown for a loop in March because my priorities changed.
Even though I only read 12 books this year, I’m not upset because I accomplished other things. I also enjoyed most of the books I read, as my most common rating was four stars, which I think is the most important thing to remember.
My favorite new read of the year was THE FLATSHARE by Beth O’Leary. It garnered five stars. I also reread my all-time favorite book this year, DUNE by Frank Herbert, after watching the new movie a couple of times.
My least favorite read was THE WIFE UPSTAIRS by Rachel Hawkins. It’s her first foray into adult mystery. It’s a retelling of JANE EYRE. No spoilers. I’ll just say that I only gave it two stars.
Next year, I have similar goals. While I want to make reading a priority, I’m in school and I need to make it a priority as well. Because of school, some of my reading goals are lower than last year. Hopefully, I’ll be able to exceed my expectations. My goals for 2022 are:
Read at least 24 books.
Read at least 50% of my IRL book club books.
Read a book for 50% of the monthly tags hosted by my Goodreads group: Play Book Tag (PBT).
Participate in the Unofficial Trim Challenge hosted by PBT.
I’ll keep track of my progress over on my 2022 Reads page.
How did you do with your goals this year? What are your goals for 2022?
May your new year be merry and bright and full of wonderful books!
At the end of each year, I like to reflect on what happened during the year. Trigger warning. Only continue reading if you’re in a good space.
On March 1, I overdosed on Lithium and ended up in the hospital for a week. I was very lucky that with the amount of Lithium I took, I didn’t damage my kidneys. It was touch and go for many days. It was also a very hard recovery, but it opened my eyes and I realized that I never wanted to end up in that situation again.
My psychiatrist and therapist at the time pushed me to find a Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) program as I had been diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder about seven months prior. Thankfully, I found a program fairly quickly and I’ve been working with Doug since the end of March.
DBT and Doug have been the greatest blessing in my life. Without DBT, I wouldn’t have been able to navigate this year. With Doug’s guidance, I’m back in school working toward finishing my BS in mathematics and I’m moving toward several of my other values (compasses that guide me in building a life worth living). It has been hard. It’s still hard. Sometimes, I want to quit. Sometimes, I still want to hurt myself AND I now have the skills to help me not act on ineffective urges.
I still have 4 to 4.5 months left in the program as DBT usually lasts for a year. I have a lot of anxiety that I won’t be ready to navigate the world by myself at the end of the program and like the DBT manual says, I try to be mindful and:
Rivet [myself] to now. Be completely present to this one moment. Throw [myself] completely into activities of the current moment.
It’s hard to do, and I know I can do hard things.
I’m really proud of what I’ve accomplished this year. I’ve come a long way from where I was on March 1. And, for the first time in a long time, I’m looking forward to the new year and the opportunities the future holds (better mental health, progress in school, quality time with family and friends, etc.).
One of the opportunities I’m taking advantage of is resurrecting my book blog. Well, I’m starting a new one, anyway, as there’s nothing left of the old one. I’m looking forward to connecting with other readers and bloggers.
Are you looking forward to 2022? Do you have any resolutions?
Here’s to many wonderful possibilities! May your new year be merry and bright!
