Hi everyone! How has 2021 shaped up for you so far? It seems much like a repeat of 2020, but there are definitely positive signs that our future is looking more hopeful, don’t you think?
I ended December not completely satisfied with my reading year. There were a lot months where not much reading was done. Or where I read books that didn’t really align with my mood and whim. But I think many of us felt out of sorts last year (understandably!) so I have decided to shake it off and try for something more fulfilling in 2021.
At the beginning of January, I pondered exactly what I would like out of my reading life in the new year. Ideally, I would love to read whatever I feel like reading and read entirely by whim, but I don’t think that will happen until I retire from librarianship. However, I have never been able to create a comfortable balance between reading for my job and reading for my life. For some librarians, they are one and the same. But it’s never been the case for me because I do prefer reading classics more than I do contemporary books and I also enjoy reading British authors who don’t have much of an audience in a suburban Arizona library.
So, what to do, what to do? I have ultimately decided that life is short and I want to read my favorite things now – not wait until I don’t have work obligations any longer. Over the past 4 years I have had a series of health troubles that seem to be continuing this year and who knows what the future will bring. At the end of the day I would rather have been loyal to my own passions and pleasures than to my job. And, really, I can be a good librarian without personally reading all of the hot, buzzy titles that seem to come and go with every new season. Also, just to be clear, I am the only one putting this pressure on myself – my boss and colleagues don’t think I am shirking my duties by not reading every single trendy book out there. It is purely self-generated guilt and obligation.
Those of you who have been reading here for a while now (if anyone is still out there!) know this conflict has been a theme for me for many years. But I am finally ready to let it go and lose all the guilt about reading what I want to read. So here are my goals for 2021:
- Read what I want
- Read from my own shelves
- Don’t read as many galleys (mainly because I love books in print format so much better than digital books)
- No guilt, no guilt, no guilt
- Read some (not all) of the popular fiction in my library
- Be happy with my reading life and my choices
I know I might struggle for a while ( I already have) with the thought that I need to read every book that receives a starred review in the professional journals, but my aim is to let that all go this year. I need to read for me.
Did you set any reading goals for the year?
Also – I do want to blog more often this year (something you’ve also heard before, haha) and share some of my gardening successes with you all. If I have any. I am learning just how difficult it is to grow things in pots in the desert!
Happy 2021!
A Certain Fondness 