Reading, Blogging, and Life Goals for 2014!

Well folks, we have made it to 2014.  This means that there are more resolutions to be made and goals to be accomplished!  I thought I'd list my goals for my own life, this blog, and goals for reading.  Feel free to tell me your own down below!

Reading Goals

1. Read 50 books in a year.  For the past couple of years, I have come really close, but I haven't reached 50 yet.  I'm determined to find time to do a lot of reading this year (which will be a challenge, being an English major who is assigned books all the time).  As I read, I will list these books below so that I can easily keep track of my progress.

1. The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2. A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

3. Holes by Louis Sachar

4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

5. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby

6. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

7. My Life As A Book by Janet Tashjian

8. Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
9. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg
10. Frindle by Andrew Clements
11. Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
12. She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Jennifer Finney Boylan
13. The Unbearable Book Club for Unsinkable Girls by Julie Schumacher
14. Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan
15. Thumped by Megan McCafferty
16. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
17. Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon
18. Witches!  The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salem by Rosalyn Schanzer
19. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
20. Love's Labour's Lost by William Shakespeare
21. Dear Diary, I'm Pregnant by Anrenee Englander
22. Witches! by Rosalyn Schanzer
23. The Paris Wedding by Kimberley Petyt
24. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
25. Radio Shangri-La by Lisa Napoli
26. The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth
27. The Wolves in the Walls by Neil Gaiman
28. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
29. Macbeth by William Shakespeare
30. This Star Won't Go Out by Esther Earl
31. Wonder by R.J. Palacio

2. Read more Sci-Fi.  My partner is a physics/astrophysics major, so it really bums him out that I don't really appreciate science fiction more.  My goal is to read at least five books from the science fiction genre.  Again, these titles will be listed below to keep track of my progress.

3. Read more Graphic Novels.  I achieved this goal last year, but now I want to do better.  My goal is to read 10 graphic novels in 2014.

1. The Lost Boy by Greg Ruth

4. Listen to more audio books.  My goal is to listen to 15 audio books.

5. Read more of the books that I already own.  I aim to read 10 of these books this year.

1. A Year in the Merde by Stephen Clarke

2. Holes by Louis Sachar

3. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Blogging Goals

1. Post one review a week.

2. Post more about the things going on in my life (outside of reading).

3. Chronicle my study abroad experience (before, during, and after).  In August, I will be leaving for a four month stint in the Netherlands.  I created a different blog about this, but I think it'll be much simpler to use this blog to keep my friends and family updated and still keep talking about what I'm reading.

4. Review more movies.  My goal is to review at least 15 movies this year.  They will be listed and linked to below.

Life Goals

1. Do more Yoga.  This is one exercise that I truly enjoy.  But I'm really bad at finding a consistent time to do this.  So I'm going to put more of an effort into making this my routine exercise.  Maybe I'll talk about this on this blog.

2.  Learn basic Dutch.  Read children's books, practice in and out of a classroom setting, practice pronunciation whenever you can.  Throw in Dutch words into English conversation and confuse people, it'll be great.

3. Take more photos.  Document life as it's happening.

What are your goals for 2014?

Thanks for Reading and Happy New Year!

--Jude