Tag: new year

I didn’t raise my 2025 Goodreads Goal

I think I mentioned this in my first post of the year. And when I did, I promised more information to come. Well, here it is.

After surpassing my Goodreads goal for the last four years in a row, I’ve decided that for 2025, I’m not going to increase it. My goal last year was to read 50 books, and my goal this year is to read 50 books. Every year I’ve read more books than the year before, and now I’m done increasing this goal. Let’s talk about why, and why you might consider doing the same thing.

I reached a number I like

50 is a good number of books. It’s almost a book a week. It’s also kind of a hard number to reach, while also being reachable. Like, I’ll have to put some effort into it, but not so much that it stresses me out and feels unattainable. At least at this point in my life, I can read 50 books and it feels like a challenge, but not an unachievable one.

I will eventually hit a number I can’t reach and that’s upsetting

There is a limit to how many books anyone can read in a year. Especially someone like me, who frankly has too much going on to read a lot of days. Reading takes time. Time I don’t always have between hospital visits, working and writing. And I swear, the older I get the less time I have to read.

Even if that weren’t the case, no one is adding more time to my day. I will continue to have the same number of working hours, the same number of writing goals, the same house to clean and a husband to care for. There isn’t anything that should make me think I’ll have more reading time.

But if I keep increasing that goal every year, reading will become more and more stressful. I’ll struggle more and more with the goal, intentionally taking shortcuts or just getting overwhelmed by the whole thing and tossing it away altogether. And no matter how many times in a row I reach my yearly goal, you can sure as shit believe that what will stick with me is the year I don’t make it. Let’s not forget the time I failed to reach my Nanowrimo goal and bitched about it for a year.

I want to be able to read longer books without fear

Books I like vary in size. Horror tends to be short, but then I also read Stephen King who writes super long. I also just got the new Grady Hendrix book, and she’s a big girl. Not the biggest I’ve read by far, but at 476 pages it’s no novella. It’s certainly longer than any novel I’ve written.

I like a long book. I need the space and ability to luxuriate in a good long book. I want to read things that take me some time to get through because they’re good stories that are full of detail and depth.

That isn’t to say that short books can’t be deep. Brevity has its perks. But I don’t want to be scared of getting into a long book for fear that it will endanger my Goodreads goal for the year.

All that being said, why am I still doing a Goodreads goal at all? It would seem much easier to just not do one, right? Then I wouldn’t have to worry about stressing myself out, taking the fun out of my reading or fearing to get involved with a long novel.

Well, aside from the fact that I like a challenge, I need a reading goal. At least, if I’m going to read a book for pleasure.

I read a lot of books for very adult reasons. I read books to review here and on Haunted MTL. I read books to learn things. Sometimes I read books because I’m an asshole who can’t keep my eyes on my own work. (I’ll be reviewing The House of My Mother on Haunted MTL soon.)

But I also read for pleasure. For something fun that I enjoy that isn’t productive or efficient. I read to relax. Except, well, in the society we live in relaxing is hard. While hustle culture is becoming less and less acceptable, the effects linger. And reading when there are a thousand other things I could be doing is often hard. What am I wasting time on this book for? The dishes need washing, I’ve got to scrub the salt marks from my boots off the floor, Oliver would like to go outside, and I could always be working on marketing.

I could spend all day working on marketing and still not feel done with that particular project.

So giving myself a reading goal helps to shut up the part of me that needs to be productive all the time. It gives me a pass to read not for any productive reason but a joyful one. Someday, I hope to heal that part of myself and just be able to rest and savor the joys of life. Until I get there, I’ll make reading goals.

So what about you? Are you making a Goodreads goal for 2025? And what books are you most looking forward to reading this year? Let us know in the comments.

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New Year, pretty much same me

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions. I think they set up an unrealistic expectation that we’re going to become completly different people and somehow be able to make different health and productivity decisions just because we’ve just cracked open a new planner.

This isn’t to say that I don’t believe we can make changes in our lives. I think we’re all imperfect works in progress and we can choose something different for ourselves every day. I’m just saying we try to do too much too fast and at an arbitrary time. You can start something new any day. For instance, I’m already 25 days into a Dulingo streak.

What I do believe in is setting SMART goals at the start of the year. Just in case you don’t remember what that acronym stands for, it’s a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevent, and Time Bound.

I do have some slightly ambitious writing goals this year. But I should let you know off the bat that there will be no major launches. At some point Woven will be going wide, so you don’t have to rely on Amazon to get it. But other than that, you will see no novel launches from me in 2025.

I did launch four books in 2024, after all.

My writing goals for 2025 are pretty simple.

– I want to officially join SFWA.

– I want to join another local writing guild.

– I want to write the rough draft and second draft of Aurora, the final Station 86 book.

– I want to write the third and fourth drafts of a secret novel that I’m hoping to tell you more about later.

– Finally, I do want to launch Woven on all platforms.

That sounds like a lot, and maybe it is. But I think I can reasonably do all of those things. And being reasonable with my goals this year was very important.

Many of you, like me, have a word of the year. My word for 2025 is Heal. I decided on this word in early November. I realized that I’ve been putting off dealing with some heavy emotional stuff. I’m also suffering from burnout, and not taking care of my health. I needed to dedicate some time, yes a whole year, to healing myself first.

Then, on December 8th, my husband had a stroke. I don’t just mean a little stroke. I mean a brain bleed stroke. And he’s still in the hospital.

I’m sharing this for two reasons. One, if you see less of me around you know why. I’m not planning on taking any time off, but you never know. And two, to remind you of what I said in the beginning.

January first is a nice day to make changes. But so are the other 364 days of the year. Just because everyone else is making these grand plans right now doesn’t mean you have to if now isn’t the time for that shit.

You can decide next week that you want to start working out and just do it. You can decide in April that you want to start drawing and just do it. You can decide today, right now, that you want to start writing a novel, and just do it.

Or you can decide that what you’re going to do is just your best. And you know what? That’s valid too. Just do that.

However, if you’re stuck on this and you want to make some sort of positive change, may I suggest drinking more water? You’re probably dehydrated.

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My top ten favorite books of 2024

The year is nearly over. And while the events of 2024 might have sucked (it sucked so hard) I read some great books. Like, some really great books.

So let’s focus today on the good books and not on the horrible life and world events.

Here are the top ten best books I’ve read this year. It was a tough decision. I was shocked that Rift didn’t make it, even though I loved that book. But here’s what made the cut.

Also, if the book in question is a horror book, assume that I reviewed it on Haunted MTL. Just in case you want a more in-depth perspective on one title.

You Like It Darker by Stephen King

I can’t believe a King book made the list at the bottom! Don’t worry, he’s coming out with a new Holly book next year, and I’m sure that one will make it higher.

I did a whole review of this one on Haunted MTL. But the short version is this.

You Like It Darker had stories for long-time King fans, like a follow-up to Cujo. But it also had some fantastic stories that any new reader will love. My favorite of the bunch is Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream.

A Well Trained Wife by Tia Levings

This is not an easy read. But it was so impactful. Here’s a link to my full review. But if you’re struggling with an abusive religion or an abusive marriage, this is the book to remind you that you are not alone.

Hekate by Courtney Weber

If you’re interested in witchcraft, or if you’re already practicing and want to deepen your understanding of the goddess of Witchcraft, this is a must-read.

Bad dreams in the night by Adam Ellis

If you’re not already following Adam Ellis on Instagram, do it. These stories were eerie, clever, and fun to read.

Hide comic by Kiersten White

This was a year of comic books for me, starting with Bone and ending here.

Last year I read Hide and loved it. When I found out there was a comic version, it seemed like a great read. And, it was. Whether you’ve read Hide the novel or not, you should check this graphic novel out.

Two sides to every murder by Danielle Valentine

If you’re a big slasher or true crime fan, like you know I am, this is a book for you. It had all the quaint and gorey charm of a good horror movie, with a modern feel.

The Hacienda by Isabel Canas

I read this book in January, and I haven’t shut up about it since. It’s a fantastic little ghost story with a love story built in. And, of course, a witch priest. Love it.

Three simple lines by Natalie Goldberg

I thought this would be a book about writing haiku, and in a way it was. But it was also about traveling to an unknown country and experiencing everything that had to offer. And, it turns out I needed to read that. Some of you might know I had to take a trip by myself out of my hometown alone for the first time in 16 years. But I had courage. Because if Natalie could go to Japan alone, I could go to another city alone.

So thank you, as always, Natalie.

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

This book was brilliant. It was so well thought out. The writing was so clever. It was so meta. The punchline was completely unexpected. I loved every second of it.

Mister Magic by Kiersten White

The fact that Mister Magic made number one on my list should not surprise anyone. This book wrecked me. I mean it led me down such a journey, I can’t begin to tell you.

If you are suffering from religious trauma, read this book. If you just want a beautiful, dark horror story, read this book. If you’re breathing, read this book.

Well, that is it for my top ten list and it for the year. But don’t worry, I’ll be back next Friday to start another year of reading, writing and struggling against the forces of evil.

See you then.

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My 2023 goals

The holidays are over, the new year is upon us, and it’s time to start making goals! 

I mean, technically you can make goals anytime and I as a creative small business owner reevaluate my goals every three months to make sure they still work for me, but hey! It’s January and we’re all making goals now! It’s fun! It’s peer pressure for good, encouraging us all to be better people. Or at least, make some better choices.

So in the spirit of positive peer pressure, I’m sharing my list of 2023 goals today. And I’m hoping that you’ll share your goals in the comments sections. In this way, we can hold each other up, and reach for better things in 2023.

This year, I’m focusing on just five goals. While there are smaller goals I’m reaching for, they all feed into these main five things. While in the past I had very specific goals and used the SMART goal planning to achieve them, these are a little more nondescript. But I think they’re still going to help me. Because these five goals will instruct everything that’s going to end up on my to-do list. If the item doesn’t move me closer to one of these five goals, then it doesn’t belong there.

Goal one, paying off debt. 

We have a mess of debt we need to pay off. I honestly don’t think we’re going to get it paid off this year. But I’d like to take a big dent out of it. 

Goal two, finally learning Spanish

I think I say this every year. But more and more, I feel like I need to learn Spanish so that I can communicate with people in the countries around me.

Goal three, creating good stories

This, of course, is for you. It’s also for me because creating stories is still the best thing I can do with my time. So, it’s really for us. 

We’re launching season two of AA on Haunted MTL soonish, heavy on the ish. I’m also working on the final Station 86 book.

That’s right, I said the final Station 86 book. Everything’s coming to a thrilling conclusion either quite late this year or early next year. Depending on how much hustle I can manage, of course.

I also want to make more for you all on Instagram and Mastodon. I want to make more poetry and word art, so keep an eye out for that. 

Goal four, taking better care of myself

My word for 2023 is self, so I’m working on taking care of myself. I’m making doctor’s appointments, drinking tea, and exercising more. I’m getting towards that age where if I’m going to make any improvement in my health, it should probably start now.

Goal five, make some significant progress on a political topic

I can’t go into much detail here, but there’s one cause I’m particularly interested in. And I’ve decided to get active about it. No, I’m not running for any office. But I am stepping up more. Writing letters, showing up at politicians’ offices to ask questions, and organizing people. 

This is something I encourage all of you to do as well. I am absolutely sure that there’s something you care about enough to want to make a change. So do it. Make your voice heard in your neighborhood. Make the changes you can make, and make sure your local politicians remember that they work for you. 

Now, it’s your turn. What are your major goals for 2023? Let us know in the comments. 

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Link to Smashwords

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My 2022 goals and how I made them

We’ve reached another year, so it’s time to start making some goals. As you know, I don’t do resolutions. I think they’re unhealthy and unrealistic. That doesn’t mean that I don’t take the new year as an opportunity to make some goals. 

Goals are important for everyone, either big or small. And if you’ll recall, in August I committed myself to make better art. This made choosing my word of the year easy.

My word for 2022 is care. 

I want to care more for myself. I want to care more for my husband and my family of fur babies. I want to care more about my art. I want to care more about my fellow man. 

Step one of goal-making is to choose your word of the year.

Choosing a word of the year helps to guide everything else. That’s what the word care is doing for me. If I’m to care more about things, I have to lower the things on my plate. We just cannot commit ourselves to everything. I kept this strongly in mind as I made my goals. When I make too many goals, I become too frantic to get anything done. Or, I get things done but not done as well as they could be.

 So step two of goal making is to be realistic about what you can do, not idealistic.

Next, I make a huge list of all the things I’d like to do. That list is stupidly long and unrealistic. But that’s okay, I’m just brainstorming.

After that, I separate my goals into personal, family, and professional. I tell myself I can only have three goals for each of those categories, nine goals total. This means I’ve got to decide what I care about most. What matters most. After a lot of crossing out, considering, and soul searching, here are my goals for 2022.

Personal

Read the entire Bible.

Reach my Goodreads goal of 42 books.

Take 24 Masterclasses. 

Family

Build our emergency fund. 

Plan a Covid safe vacation.

Get the darling husband’s health back on track

Professional 

Join SFWA.

Make plans to attend a writing con.

Make progress on the two novels I’m working on. 

Now, I have a bunch of other projects I’m going to be working on this year. I want to get out new seasons of Off The Bone and AA. I want to start two brand new podcasts. I want to practice mindful eating, join a proper coven, and about a thousand other things. 

But so long as I get those top nine goals accomplished, this year has been a total win. Everything else is just icing. Though I will say, I love icing. 

So what are your goals for 2022? Let us know in the comments so we can cheer each other on. 

Paper Beats World is a labor of love for me. If you find value in the work I do, please consider supporting the site on Ko-fi. 

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