My 2017 Resolutions!

With the New Year comes new resolutions, and while I usually either don't bother with resolutions or give myself ones that get abandoned, I've given myself some resolutions for 2017 that I'm confident I can keep to!

1) Read AT LEAST twelve poc authors.

I'm hoping I can read way more than twelve, I'd like to eventually be at a point where I'm reading as many authors of colour as white authors, but setting this goal makes sure I'm reading at least one author of colour a month throughout 2017.

2) Read a series.

I'm in the mood to get stuck into a series from start to finish - 2016 has been a year of standalones, which isn't a bad thing, but I'm craving an epic series with a world and characters I can fall in love with. Plus I'm a bad finisher, so I'd be very proud if I could start and finish a series in one year!

3) Read the rest of Shirley Jackson's novels.

This is a fairly simple one! I've really enjoyed everything I've read by Shirley Jackson so far, but of her six novels it's her two most famous works I've read so far: The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. I loved both of them but I own her four other novels - The Road Through the Wall; Hangsaman; The Bird's Nest and The Sundial - and I'd really like to read all of them because they all sound amazing, and I've neglected my new-found love of Modern Classics that I discovered in 2015. I think I'm going to start with The Road Through the Wall because it was Jackson's debut and I'm looking forward to it!

4) Don't buy any books that aren't published in 2017.

Okay, so this one is going to be my most flexible goal because I don't like extremes and as 2016 has been such a rubbish year I really want 2017 to be a great one, so if I see something that wasn't published in 2017 that I really want and I really think I'll read straight away I'll let myself buy it. Books which are a continuation of a series are also allowed, especially if it's a series I want to finish! BUT the main reason this goal is here is because I recently put together an excel spreadsheet of the physical books I own that I haven't read and there are over 200. Basically, I want to read more books I already own in 2017, because there are some books I've owned for far too long that I really want to read and I want to get to as many of them as I can.

5) Have a better work/play balance.

As I've mentioned before on my blog I started a very busy job at the start of 2016, and while it's still a very busy job I don't want to let it take over my life. I want to do well at my job, but I also need to get better at switching off and get better at meeting up with friends as often as I can and not over-working myself or stressing myself out. Life's too short for all that.

6) Go cruelty-free.

In 2017 I want to go entirely cruelty-free with my makeup and shower products, because if there are cruelty-free products out there why should I give my money and support companies that still test on animals? I'm going to use up products I already own that aren't cruelty-free, but I'm not going to buy anything that isn't for myself.

So these are my resolutions for 2017! Have you made any New Year's Resolutions or do you prefer not to?

My New Year Resolutions!

I set myself some reading resolutions for 2015 that were a tad optimistic. For me 2015 was a fantastic reading year; I read 55 books in 2014, and 97 in 2015. I know it's quality over quantity, but I was really proud of myself for almost reaching 100 books, and the majority of them I enjoyed. I developed a taste for graphic novels and non-fiction, and I'm really excited for the reading I'm going to do in 2016.

I've already talked about some of my reading/bookish resolutions for this week's Top Ten Tuesday post, but I thought I'd talk about a few of my other resolutions this year!

1. To make more use of Instagram when it comes to promoting my blog. This is something I've already started doing, and I'm having a lot of fun with it!
2. To use my 2016 diary. Every year someone buys me a diary for Christmas - usually a very pretty one, too - but I always forget to use it. This year I have one which my Nanna bought me for Christmas, and I'm determined to keep it updated, keep it in my bag and use it. I know a lot of people store information on their phones, and it's something I sometimes do too, but I think having a diary in my bag that I can scribble in will help me a lot!
3. To do some kind of craft or bake something. I love to read and write and I love to watch great films and shows, but I want to try my hand at something else arty, too. I have no artistic talent whatsoever (even my stickmen come out wrong) but I still want to do something, particularly if I'm having a lazy, rainy Sunday.
4. To write as much as I can. As I've said before, 2015 was a brilliant reading year but not a particularly good writing year; in 2016 I'd like to write as much as I can as often as I can, instead of worrying about whether or not I'm good enough. There are plenty of competitions and anthologies to send work to, so I want to make sure I do just that!
5. To pass my driving test. I started taking driving lessons again in 2o15, something I'm very proud of myself for considering driving used to terrify me, and I was hoping to pass my test, but it was something I didn't get around to. Hopefully soon I'll have my license!
6. To move out. I'm very lucky. Some people leave uni and aren't able to move back home with their parents. I'm lucky enough to still have a room in my parents' house, and to be able to stay there rent-free. This year I'm hoping to find a permanant job back in England; I currently live in Wales, where my parents moved while I was at uni due to my dad's job, and while Wales is lovely it's never quite felt like home to me. I'd like to find myself a permanant full-time job, in either writing or editing, and set myself up in a little flat. It's time to be a grownup!

Have you made any resolutions this year? Tell me about them!