Reflections and Ideas
Looking back helps to understand what one might want for the future, but one can only affect change in the future, so focus on it
Hi friends,
What a year last year was, personally and across the country and the world. The end of one year and the beginning of another allow for reflection on what happened and a desire for what the coming year will hold for us. I won’t spend too much time on what happened as I’m more interested in what has yet to happen and how I can affect that. I do have a few stats from 2023 that I’d like to share, so hang with me, and I’ll get to 2024 quickly.
As most readers who have been here for a while know, I retired from a 40+ year career in public accounting, and I also chose to move across town in the same week as my last day of work. Note to self—I need to plan a little better in the future when a move is involved—it was a rough several days of stress and little sleep. I survived, and I’m happily retired. I’m still finding my footing in my retired life, but I’m sure things will continue falling into place in the coming months.
I was surprised when I counted the number of newsletters I wrote in 2023 and found 46 of them; it didn’t seem like I had written that many. I also gained 800 new subscribers during 2023; thank you to all the readers for being here—I appreciate you. Most of the time last year, I felt like I was “phoning it in” as my mind and strength were focused elsewhere. I wrote about authors and their books, shared hundreds of links, and introduced readers to other bookish newsletters and Bookstagrammers that create fun and interesting content. I wrote about many of the new books published in 2023, the joys of listening to audiobooks, and reading goals.
The most fun I had with this newsletter was Peeks!—guest writers giving readers a peek into their reading lives. I had six wonderful writers share about journaling, obsessions with reading, reading tropes, fitting reading into busy lives, books that make a reader want to be a writer, and what a week looks like in a reader's life. I had such fun working with these writers, and from the comments, readers enjoyed peeking into their lives, too. Thank you again, writers; you helped me last year so much when my attention was elsewhere. Stay tuned next week when I circle back to guest writing and bookish creators.
I had goals for my 2023 reading, and I failed most of them, but that’s o.k. I read many good books and enjoyed my reading life during the year—it kept me sane amid all the changes. I wrote about reading ideas and goals last year, and these ideas are evergreen; you can put them into practice anytime, and you don’t have to wait for a new year to start. I’m not one to choose a “word” for the year, but I do see a word that runs through everything I want to accomplish in the next twelve months. I want to be “intentional” in everything I do in my life this year, and below are several areas where intentionality can lead to joy—great books to read, fun travels, and, hopefully, friendships.
When writers enjoy their writing, readers see that and enjoy what they read. I can’t expect others to enjoy what I write if I’m not finding pleasure in the writing. I’m still unclear most of the time on what to write about next, but I have a very different outlook this year on SoNovelicious than I did last year. I feel excited about what this year holds and can’t wait to share the bookish parts of my year with readers.
When I started on Substack in May 2021, there were a few dozen bookish newsletters on the platform. Bookish content has exploded since then, and there are several hundred bookish newsletters now (maybe even more), and I subscribe to all that I can find. I enjoy reading about books and what others are reading, and the comments section in some of the newsletters is a joy to be a part of. I want to be more active in the comments on the bookish newsletters I read and enjoy, and foster community through those comments.
I joined a few local IRL (in real life) book clubs since moving, and even though my introverted self would rather stay home, I won’t allow that to happen. Readers are some of the best people in the world and the people I have the most in common with, and I’m going to read the books that interest me and participate in person in the monthly discussions. I’ve started keeping a digital planner to keep track of the books and meetings, so I know what I need to read next and don’t have to rush to finish a book in time for a get-together.
I’ve been a member of a paid online book community (Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club) for several years and a member of several Patreon groups for a few years. There is so much good bookish content from all of these groups, but most of it has been just out of reach for me because I worked full-time. Now that I have the luxury of retirement, I’m prioritizing all this bookish goodness in my reading life. Not only is the content interesting and fun, these groups foster friendship, and I’m here for that and everything else they provide.
I’ve done very little US traveling in my life, and literary festivals and book events are at the top of my list of things to do this year. I want to see so many places and things across the country, and if I can combine that with some bookish events, I can make the most of my travels. I have three literary festivals on my schedule for this year, and I’m planning on driving so I can visit places along the way. I’m having fun researching things to do and see, along with planning my schedule at the bookish events.
And lastly, even though I read many good books in 2023, I’m still not satisfied with my “reading life,” and unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure what I mean by that. I jump from book to book, trying to read everything that interests me. I don’t know the solution to this problem as I don’t want to schedule my reading. I want to retain more of what I read (it vanishes quickly), and writing in a journal about each book after I read it would help, but I know I wouldn’t keep it up. I know I don’t want a reading “challenge” as I don’t want to have to read certain books to check a box to be a completist, but I have set a “number” goal of books to read in 2024. Maybe I need to take my own advice and do what I suggested to readers in last year’s ideas and goals newsletter (linked above), and dig deep into Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Reading Life Challenge and choose a couple of the ideas that I presented to expand my reading life. Oh, the woes in a reader’s life.
I know it probably sounds like all I do is read books and newsletters, and that is a big part of my life, but not the only part of my life. I’m looking forward to adventures with family (local), trips to visit out-of-town family and friends, and whatever else presents itself in my life. I love jigsaw puzzles and received a few for Christmas that I want to start on. I’ve joined a couple of local women’s FB dining groups, and I’m looking forward to meeting people through food and fun. The city I live in has an extensive, varied program of activities for all ages, and now that I have time on my hands, I’m excited to check it out to see what might interest me. I’m sure I will have no problem filling my time now that I’m no longer working.
Now that I’ve shared my reading life ideas and goals with you, I’d love to learn about yours. Did you accomplish your reading goals from 2023? Have you set any reading goals for 2024? Do you enjoy “challenges,” or are those too restrictive for your reading life? Do you keep a reading journal, and if yes, what specific things do you write about the book in the journal? I’m full of questions, and readers are full of answers to help other readers out. Share your tried and true methods and tips with other readers in the comments below.
Bookish Fun Fact
Today, January 9, is National Word Nerd Day. Words can be funny, serious, sometimes “foot in your mouth” embarrassing, tender, important—you fill in the word. The first Oxford English Dictionary was published in 1857, and today, there are too many dictionaries in all languages to attempt to count how many exist in total. Celebrate National Word Nerd Day doing puzzles, riddles, Wordle/Connections, and other fun activities like Elizabeth and Freddy did in the popular middle-grade Winterhouse series, where anagrams were featured prominently, and fun and mystery keep the reader turning the page.
I hope your year is off to a great start and your reading life is full of good books to read and share with others. Have a great week, a fun and relaxing weekend, and I’ll be back next week with an opportunity for other bookish creators and authors. Happy reading!
Some of the links in this newsletter may be affiliate links. That means that if you click through and purchase anything, I may earn a small commission. This costs you nothing and helps me feed my voracious reading habit, and for that, I thank you.
I've never thought about goals for my reading life. A reading life is...life. Usually, I read books that interest me, that someone has recommended, or that I feel would be good for me to read, and I listen to books that are easy and don't require a lot of thought. But, you said you want to retain more of what you read, and I resonated with that! Sometimes I think I've got too much information coming in and I don't really process it all. Thank you, Gayla!
Gayla, at the moment I am overwhelmed by the titles in my TBR, including so many books I’ve already bought and haven’t yet read, especially suspense titles. But many years ago, when I was looking for new reading ideas, I had fun with several self-created challenges. One was compiling lists of “best books” of the century from many sources and creating a master list of classics I’d overlooked. Another quirkier one was reading books that were extremely popular decade by decade (but not popular now, necessarily) and reading those chronologically. It was amazing to read books that have been entirely forgotten AND to discover that way back, 75-150 years ago, there were relatively few books published (so Americans who read a lot were reading the same books as their peers) and to realize how many early 20th century bestsellers were not all that good! The authors we still read have endured for a reason. It changed my ideas about how books and publishing have changed. Anyway: I prefer DIY challenges to those created by others and I’m happy to drop them the moment they stop being fun.