Posted in Fiction

Looking forward to 2025!

Posted on by TravellinPenguin
Happy New Year from Tasmania

I have spent the last two days at home deciding what to do with my reading and blogging next year. I listen to A Good Read podcast almost daily on BBC’s Books and Authors. Harriet Gilbert has hosted it for several years and is still going. Each episode consists of her and two guests with a range of backgrounds. .

Each person picks a book then the three people read all three books and the 30 minute podcast has them discussing the books for about 10 minutes each. What I like about it is the complete variety they read. Could be a selection of poetry, a children’s book, a crime thriller, a Booker prize winner and all things non fiction. Once in a while a participant puts up a text book!

They are very good at staying on task and the listener learns what three people think of three books. They have no idea what everyone will pick until they receive the book. Completely random outside their own selection. I have collected some recommendations from this show.

I have decided to really focus on my very large assortment of books I have at home.

The other thing I have embraced is the BookBuddy app. You can scan your books or manually add them. BookBuddy is free but I got BookBuddy Pro. It is $2.00 a month with a 10 day free trial. Pro lets you input more books but the best thing after easily scanning all 1000 of my books yesterday (yes, I removed all of them from shelves, cleaned shelves, scanned them all and reshelved) is it has a random selector. You hit the little icon, and it tells you what book has been picked.

That Pam 49 license belonged to my scooter. It travelled a lot of miles. Some of my books.

I have a very eclectic assortment of books. Everything from current literature to classics to graphic to mystery to popular (airport reads) plus much more. I even scanned my cookbooks.

I need to get serious about the TBR pile so I will not be reading according to mood. I’m going to use the random selector and if a book comes up I will read it. If I decide I don’t want to read it, it leaves the house.

Once a book is read, for the most part, it will leave the house. The only books I will pick up outside of the house will be for reading group. That could either be a book or a Kindle or an audible.

I have quite a few cook books and to make it fun, if a cookbook comes up randomly I must make a recipe from it and share the results with you.☕️🥮

I also have many kindle books I have gathered over the years. I will choose them randomly too. So the plan will be:

  1. Book club book must be read
  2. Random selection from BookBuddy
  3. Kindle
  4. Repeat
  5. I might do a few challenges and memes as they arise if they sound good but no commitment.

Last year I wasted a lot of time on social media. Binging on streaming services, etc. I am a terrible binger if involved with a show. My resolution is to read. I feel better mood wise when I read. I also don’t eat as much reading as I do watching tv.

So clean slate.

More rules.

1. If I pick a book of short stories I will choose one and talk about it.

2. Poetry? Will choose three poems to talk about.

3. Coffee table type book or photography book I will share photos from it and mention something about the topic.

What I want from 2025 is a healthier lifestyle for mind and body. Much more reading. Less streaming, less social media. More participation with other bloggers. I need to sharpen my brain. I need to keep my mood up. 2024 was often sad for a number of reasons and as Harris and Walz said in the American election: I’m not going back.

I will continue to share travel and photography as it happens but getting back to books more.

Now having said all of this I will randomly choose the first book for 2025 (drum roll):

This will make you laugh. This is the book that was selected randomly a minute ago:

Dear Friend You Must Change Your Life. Haha How funny.

How apt is that. Now I have to find it on my shelf and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Happy New Year everyone. I am looking forward to all the posts that go up at end of year.

Let’s get reading!

Unknown's avatar

Author:

I live a retired life in Tasmania, Australia. I love books, travel, animals, photography, motor biking and good friends. I indulge in all these activities with the little Travellin' Penguin who has now shared five continents with me. We love book shops, photography walks and time with friends as all our family is in USA and Canada. I enjoy visitors to my blog so hope you'll stop by.

24 thoughts on “Looking forward to 2025!”

  1. Great post and I love your plans for 2025. If I weren’t overwhelmed by review copies I would seriously consider your approach. I love your rules for short story and poetry collections. And for cookbooks. Woo hoo… can’t wait for the first of those to be picked.

    I’m sorry this year was tough aka sad for you so I really hope your plan makes a difference in 2025.

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    1. I might have regrets about the cookbooks. Haha. Especially as I have two cookbooks by the Two Fat Ladies with their motorbikes. I loved them but their recipes are something else.

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  2. For sure a good reading year, and it seems, a good outlook for 2025. I am also on a quest to read from my TBRs. However, it seems, at the end of the year I end up with around 200 books on my TBR, although I have read around 50 from there. Just shows how the books sneek into the shelves without me realising it.

    I love the way you put the books on your shelves. I just stand them straight up. But I tend to organise them as; nonfiction not read, fiction not read, nonfiction read and fiction read. I only save books that I really love. Mostly, for the fiction section. Most of the nonfiction tend to stay on.

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    1. I would like to stand them up but I can put more on a shelf this way. No wasted space. I have the problem that I think must happen in the night while sleeping. Elves or munchkins or someone sneaks into the house and adds more books onto my shelves. I must work out how they get there. Happy 2025.🤭🤭🤭

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  3. Way to go! Sounds like a good plan, especially the “once it’s read, it goes back into the world” part. I love recycling!

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  4. What a great idea! I love the idea of the Book Buddy app (though I suspect a lot of my books are pre ISBN so can’t be easily added!) But it sounds like a great way to tackle the TBR – will look forward to following your progress (and also hearing about the first book which came up). Happy 2025!

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  5. This is a great post and I am impressed to removed the books and scanned them. What a funny first pick title you received wit the book org app! As I am getting older I have vowed to read what is on the shelf and get it out of the house. Let someone else enjoy and let there be less for someone to clean out when I am gone.

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  8. I used the Library Thing app to scan all my books when we moved earliler this year and I just checked – it doesn’t have a randomiser option!

    Good luck with your reading and blogging and photography and cooking plans in 2025 🙂

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  9. That is a very impressive stack of books! I have recently culled “quite a few” from our shelves and I’ve boxed most of the remainder to come with us when we go to NZ. But I am trying not to buy any more, rather relying on libraries and saving the pension pennies!

    But I’ll be reading your blog(s), too. Thank you and here’s to a better year ahead!

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  10. I am not fussed by my TBR, but I am seriously impressed that you could remove and replace all the books on your shelves. I would love to do the same so I could put in new carpet (or timber flooring) but I feel the effort is beyond me.

    And here’s to a new year not wasted on social media!

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    1. Thanks for that. All the best for the new year. I have the Helen Garner book to send you. Not a pristine copy but happy to send. Send me a mailing address and full name to. psbparks at ymail.com. Not gmail

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  11. Yes indeed, it did make me laugh!

    I’m impressed by your ambitions, and relieved to know that we will still be able to enjoy your wonderful photography:)

    Happy New Year to you and all creatures great and small!

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