TGIF! Reading Resolutions

Found this meme (hosted by Ginger at GReads!) through Justin (who is doing THREE awesome giveaways! [How generous is this guy, doing 3?!] January New Releases Giveaway, 400-Follower Giveaway and his New Years Giveaway), and it's perfect since I was going to make a post about this today anyway :)

Reading Resolutions

What are some of your Reading Goals for the new year?

>Track My Reading. I've been on GoodReads for awhile, but haven't been great at keeping up with it. I was starting to get into a rhythm last year, then started working 50+ hours/week, and everything fell by the wayside. I like having a record of what I've read, in a general timeline of when I've read, and I hope to be better about that this year.

>Read 100 books. In accordance with my lack of tracking, I think I missed adding a few of the books I read last year to my Goodreads profile - but I still have 70 on record. That's 70 books (possibly more), without really trying or forcing a number, done unknowingly while having a 50+ hour/week job for 10 of those months. While still maintaining blogs, some writing schedules, and lots of hanging out with family&friends time!  100 feels like a monumental, unattainable goal, but I figure: what's the point of a goal if it doesn't feel near-impossible?  If I can do 70 without a blink of an eye, I sure as hell hope I can do 100 with a bit of pushing.

>Give vampires another chance.  This one sounds weird, I know. I do read Cassandra Clare books (Simon is adorable!), but that doesn't count in this. Twilight ruined vampires for me. I really liked Twilight, and then the rest of the series just...bombed. HARD. I couldn't stand it or the idea that vampires sparkled in sunlight (that is all kinds of wrong), and nothing else, not even Taylor Lautner's body (which I have seen in real life) could save it. I have not read a vampire-centric novel since. I tried The Vampire Diaries since so many people were into the TV show, but I found Elena so weak and whiny and self-centered I don't even know if I made it 100 pages in. I've been reluctant to try any others, but I've been getting prodded for awhile to try the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. I can't help but feel like I'm missing out on an important chunk of YA literature. So this year, I will give it another shot.  (If you have any others to recommend, please let me know!)

>Open up Discussion on Books. I've lamented for years how I don't have anyone to discuss books with. I read obsessively, always, and I haven't quite found anyone I know in real life who 1) reads as much as I do, 2) reads as voraciously as I do, and/or 3) reads the same books I do.  And then I found one book blog, and it just...ballooned from there. I realized that it's not my friends that are the problem for not discussing with me - it's ME. I'm the one who's closed off from a world of others who read with the same enthusiasm I do, much more than me! And so, this year, I hope to really connect with other readers (in real life, through blogging, twitter, meet ups, anything) and start talking about books.  Which is actually why this blog began :)

>Blog. Though this isn't directly a reading resolution, I'll count it anyway since it pertains to this Book Blog. I started this to track what I've read and how I felt while reading, recording some notable quotes, and, most importantly, to reach out to others and talk about something so near and dear to my heart: books. Words. Stories and characters and that heart-wrenching feeling when you finish one and you realize it is not your life, no matter how much you wish it were (or weren't, as the case may be).  To agree with people on how great books were, or argue why I loved something, or be told someone hated a book I loved, or any of the vice-versas that could apply.  Books are so personal to me, and I love the idea of opening it up into a public forum.

What are your resolutions? Have any suggestions? Leave your link in my comments and I'll check it out!