#BookishThoughts ‘Happy New Year!’

Well it is that time again, when we make ourselves ridiculous promises that will be broken within days, leaving an overwhelming sense of failure as, yet again, we let ourselves down .

With books, it is tricky as authors will insist on writing new books so our bookish thoughts are always turning to what our favourite authors will do next.

Our toppling piles of books, our groaning e-book readers all give us a  knowing side eye as we earnestly promise not to buy any more books.

But why do we impose this purgatory on ourselves?

Shouldn’t books be something we enjoy , not as a guilty pleasure, but as an escape from the real world, into realms of fantasy, places where the bad guys always get caught, or the monsters which plague us in our dreams are trapped between the pages of a much read book?

Some people use spread sheets, some use prompts, others set themselves goals such as on Goodreads where they aim to read a certain number of books over the forthcoming months of 2022.

What sets us up for failure , apart from the smell of shiny new books?

In my humble opinion, it is a joy to have books around you whether new, old, e-book or tree book. No one will give you a medal if you don’t meet your targets. No Book Police will knock on your door if you enter a dreaded slump and are unable to read for days, even weeks. At least I hope they don’t exist other than in my fervent imagination!

Most of us are lucky in that we have book friends to talk to, to encourage us through this, especially given the nightmare of the last couple of years, where escaping a terrifying reality of living through a pandemic, has become increasingly important for our mental health.

I am as bad as anyone else for having a larger collection  of books than I will likely ever be able to read.

However, I would like to draw your attention to the wise words of author, Ronan Hesion (aka Mumblin Deaf Ro on Twitter)

He said, or rather, tweeted-

I said this before, but I try not to think of it as a TBR pile but more like a wine cellar. You try & time the right combination of mood, energy & interest, so that you pick a book when you have the best chance of getting along with it. That’s what the writer prefers too.

Reading this was so cathartic, as people get ready with their ‘What to read in 2022′, or,’My Best Books of 2021‘ posts.

I would dearly LOVE to be that organised, I would!

This year I cannot in all conscience create a ‘Best Of’ list because it would be a million lines long.

Thanks to the wonderful and generous publishers, blog tour hosts, publicists, bookish people on Twitter, Instagram and so on, I have been able to read my fill this year. And each and every book was a pure delight, a privilege to read and then pass to the charity book shelf (none were sold, they are stacked in our local Tesco with a charity box for optional donations attached to it. I love this idea, and when we donate books, we always put a couple of quid in to cover anyone who wants a book but doesn’t have money on them. The recommended donation is 50p and works on an honour system, it is a grand idea if you don’t have much space for storage)

All my 2021 books have been a contribution to my mental wellbeing and , as this year ends and I think about where to go next, I decided to randomly write down all my books and add them to the Goodreads ‘Want to Read’ shelf.

My aim is to collate audiobooks, e-books, e-arcs, physical books and put them all in one place. If they are my purchased copies, or finished copies of books kindly sent by publishers, they can be passed on.

I have been creating what is akin to a bookish wine cellar (e-books don’t count do they, as they live in your phone or e-reader?!?) on my stairs, the landing, the hallways. There are piles in the bathroom, in the downstairs toilet, and in the corner by the dining table. There are books in the bookcase, in a wheeled book cart, down the side of the TV, under the games shelves, and between the book case and the settee. And behind the settee. And then on multiple shelves….it’s a bit of an issue.

Without creating any pressure, this shelf is one to dig away at over the coming year, and I will try my utmost not to buy lots of books. It will be as close to a one in, one out policy as I can get, with an amazing opportunity to dust off books which, no word of a lie, have been in my possession for more years than I care to remember.

I have set a timer on my phone and a wellbeing monitor so that I don’t use social media after 10 p.m. The shocking amount of time I wasted online rather than reading, spending time with family and so on was quite shocking. In week 1, it told me I spent 30 hours less that week on my phone just in one small move. 30 hours! That is a big amount of time that could have been used much more productively. And this is not a lecture, I am merely pointing out, if you have read this far, how beneficial removing apps, setting boundaries and so forth have been to my mental wellbeing.

A sense of calm and not feeling overwhelmed by this task is so lovely.

So, if you plan on getting that fabled 80% on Netgalley, or higher, go for it, you can do it!

If you set a goal on Goodreads, well done, I love reading about how happy it makes readers when they fulfil a goal!
If you have a special notebook or a spreadsheet or anything like that, fair play to you, I hope you really enjoyed putting the finishing touches to the year aheads goals!

I honestly feel like I am heading into 2022 with a weight lifted off me, mostly because 2021 was 2020 part 2, a complete ballsup of a year most of us will be happy to toast the demise of.

And I would like to thank each and every person who took the time to visit, comment, share their thoughts or share a blog post this year. Your support has been outstanding, your achievements even more so, and I cannot wait to read through all your posts next year as well!