Hi! Thanks for being here! Do you have any reading goals you would like to share? I would love to know! And would you be interested to see a video with potential books for the reading challenges I mention in the video? Are you participating in any of them as well? 😊✨
LOL! "The books won't go bad...." that's so true! They are like true friends - they just sit and wait patiently for you to get around to them. I love that! Keep your goals in mind, but follow your heart! It knows what it wants you to read!
I enjoyed learning about your bookish intentions and goals! I admire all of the challenges you do, and hope that one day I can get to a challenge 😆 Yay to keeping this fun (just like you recently reminded me to do)! 😉♥️
I'm trying so hard to keep it fun haha! It's my first time joining the challenges, and there are way too many haha but I like having some kind of game to help motivate me and help me choose the books, so hopefully it works out. And if not, it's not the end of the world 😊 Thank you for watching! 🥰💜
I love how intentional you are about your reading goals and desires! I think adding structure can really help you be intentional about what you want to read so you can let your mood take you to the books when it's the right time to read them. I'm excited to be participating in diversity book bingo this year!! Looking forward to all the adventures the books will take us on in 2025 ⭐
Yes! That's exactly it! This is just laying out the playing field so that I don't have to think too much later on and can just go for what seems fun in the moment. I'm so excited and curious to see what everyone will read for the Diversity Bingo! 😁 Thanks for participating!
Good luck with all your plans! I like the way you divide up the things you want to achieve into different categories, and I'm impressed you are doing so many challenges. I detect a spreadsheet incoming to work out how you'll fit books to them all :) I only ever mood read and would find it hard to commit to specific criteria, even though the challenges sound like fun. It's interesting that so many of your 2024 books had a blue-green colour scheme. I wonder if that's a coincidence or an aesthetic preference and if will change this year. Like you said at the start, my main goal is to enjoy what I read. I want to get to some new releases, finish series, read what I own, take some chances, read from authors I love, broaden my experience, try new genres, read translated books and try recs from people I watch on booktube, but they're all loose intentions. I'll hopefully get to them by chance rather than any plan. I get what you mean about book club. I've enjoyed the ones I've participated in but it's easy for me to pick and choose, whereas it's a lot of work for you and it's a commits you to books you might not be in the mood for in the moment. I hope you have great reading reading year and achieve your goals!
Thank you so much! 😊 We'll see how I do with the challenges, but so far I've puzzled in a lot of books that double up on two or more prompts from the different lists (I think three of them have a "water" prompt) and I have a mix of books from my want to read-list and new additions that I found thanks to the prompts! So hopefully it will work out! And if it doesn't, no matter, it's just a fun way to make a game of it and get a gold star for a finished book! 😄 I also think there's some wiggle room since they are only prompts, and I can always change the books out if I find something else that fits. I noticed the blue-green colors as well, I'm not sure if it's me choosing those covers, or if the publishing industry have all agreed that the books that intrigue me should be that color... I do like it though, so it could just be me! We'll have to wait and see what the 2025 color way ends up being! And then you go on listing 10 intentions of your own! 😆 I get what you mean though, and I think once you're aware of those things, it's easier to get that variety in you reading. Although I tricked myself into something that wasn't true, which is why I need the challenges to keep me on the track I want to be on. Yes, exactly. I think I have some general resistance to doing "what I'm told", so even if it's me telling myself to do it, I still lose motivation 😆 It's been a lot of fun though, and I really appreciate your participation and thoughtful questions! I hope you have a great reading year too, and that you happen to achieve all of your goals :)
First of all, congrats on 500!! 😀🎉 Love that the emphasis here is on fun, because that’s the point, right?? Reading or BookTube should not be a burden or a chore to accomplish! I also want to read more diversely, as you know, and try not to buy many books since I already have way too many! Which goes into another goal of focusing on reading my physical TBR, which is difficult because I’m always checking out tons of books from the library 😂 I feel you on the backlist versus new releases thing too, I often feel like I need to catch up on older books in order to earn the new releases which is silly! Braiding Sweetgrass is on my Libby holds list 😊 Dang girl, so many reading challenges!! I thought two was a lot for me 😆 I think one video with ideas for all of the challenges would be fun, if you’re able to do some overlap so it doesn’t feel too long and complicated for you! And it seems like taking a pause on the book club is a good plan for now (or forever if necessary), you need to do what works best for you! ❤️
Thank you so much! 🥳 Haha yes, I do indeed think that's the point! 😄 It's so hard to resist the free books haha and sometimes you have to take the chance when your turn comes up. 😊 It is silly. And I don't even mean I need to read the backlist of the same author, I just need to read some not new books to "deserve" the new ones! So no point whatsoever, other than some old limiting belief that needs to go in the trash! 😆 Haha the challenges are out of control, but I think I can double up on a lot! And if I don't complete them all within the year that's fine, it's just a way to make a game out of it. We'll see how it goes! I'm trying to figure out how many books it would be in total, to see how long a potential video would be! Thank you for understanding about the book club, and thank you for participating and supporting so much! I still have The Winners left to do, and then it will be nice with a break and just read for fun for a while 🥰💜
Taking on a reading challenge isn’t just about finishing books-it’s about expanding your mind, stepping into new worlds, and growing as a person and I think your passion and determination will take you far. Really resonated with your video here :)
Yes, that's exactly how I see it! I like the satisfaction of filling out the prompts, but the best part is that they push me out of my comfort zone and guide me to new books that I would never have found out about otherwise. The Storygraph pages alone are a great resource to find new gems! Are you participating in any challenges this year? Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts, I'm glad it resonated with you! 🥰
@ellenmadebookclub I'm going to try, a lot of my time is making youtube and tiktok content. I read a lot of cosmic horror because it's both my interest as a reader/writer and brand. Just trying to push myself out of my comfort zone! Anyway great content, looking forward to more.
I really like the differentiation between intentions and goals here. You're participating in so many challenges! My hope is to complete diversity bingo and buzzwordathon. I have a hard time sticking to challenges, but I'm certainly going to try 😃
Haha I know, there are too many! We'll see how it goes ^^ It's fun so far at least and I'm finding new books to read for the prompts, but I'm trying to go off of my 25 in 2025 list as much as possible. Are you sticking to the months for the buzzwordathon? I feel like that would be doomed to fail for me! 😄
Hi Ellen. I really enjoyed hearing about your intentions, goals, and plans, and I can appreciate the distinction that you made between each of these larger topics. I, too, tell myself that I need to use my library more. I go to the library all the time, but I still buy many more books than I check out from the library. Congratulations, too, on reaching the 500-subscriber milestone! I also liked the frequency with which you used the words "joy" and "fun" in this video. I'm all for that! Lovely video, my friend.
Hi Pat! Thank you so much! You certainly helped me reach that milestone 💜 You still do good by donating so many books to the library, so I think it evens out! 😄 Although your wallet might disagree. I'm really determined to have a fun reading year! I feel like that's a good starting point that will hopefully spill over to other areas in life as well. More joy and fun for all, I say 😊
These are great intentions and goals! I love how you framed everything as to not put too much pressure on anything. I really need to spend less on books this year- I have a wedding to plan 😅😳 I really am excited to do your Diversity Bingo- hoping to get blackout 🤞 But 7 challenges?!! I'm glad they overlap a bit 😂 I don't think I have the capacity to track multiple challenges at once so I am focusing on yours haha I gotta check out Mariandrea's challenge since that will probs help with my read around the world personal challenge 😊 Excited for your future plans!!
Yes, no pressure is the theme for this year! 😁 The challenges are a lot, but it's like my version of a puzzle haha it's my happy place to sit and figure out where everything goes! And if I don't complete all of them, that's fine too, it's just for fun. Definitely check out Mariandrea's book club! Are you signed up to any read around the world challenges on Storygraph? Lots of ideas there too :) Thank you for watching and cheering me on! 😄💜
Ooooh, congrats on hitting 500 subs! So exciting! I'm seeing so many channels I love hitting those kinds of milestones just now, it's so cool! Wow, 7 reading challenges! That's ambitious for sure! ^^' Best of luck with that - I hope you find a lot of new favorites that way (my 2 favorite books of 2024, I read for Neurovember!!! It was such a nice surprise - I hope you have the same success with your diversity bingo)
Thank you so much! 🥳 I agree, and it is fun! Although I'm probably more excited about the fact that I've stuck with it for a year! I'm having a great time with it :) Haha yes, ambitious or ludicrous, not sure which 😆 But it is making me look for books outside of my comfort zone, so that's good. Hopefully I'll find some new favorites, I love that Neurovember did that for you! 💜
first of all, CONGRATULATIONS ON 500 SUBS!!!!!! it is so completely deserved!!! it's so funny you mention mood reading more as a goal, because i feel like one of my goals should be to mood-read LESS!! Like i do want to read more purposefully and intentionally this year, but i just cannot NOT mood read, so i think maybe a happy medium is allowing myself a range of books that are purposefully chosen (i.e. only borrowing certain books from the library instead of overloading with any remotely interesting book i see haha) and then mood reading from that! So maybe you could do something similar and prepare a selection that you then mood-read from so you can still read based on feeling but ensure that it's going towards your goal of reading more diversely/broadly! mindful spending is a BIG one...im still scared to check my spending of last year for books specifically, but i also know i saved an absolute shit ton of money by using my library so liberally so i highly recommend taking FULL advantage! Such a great video, i love hearing others' goals and intentions because it makes me consider and re-shape my own!
Thank you so much! 😁💜 Haha I know, we all have such different approaches! I feel like I'm doing the same though, selecting some priority books to choose from and then I can get to them in the order I like as I go. I've been mapping out which books could go where and which ones fulfill several prompts etc, it's my happy place to puzzle it all in ^^ It's hard to resist the library books though haha they're just THERE! And for FREE! 😂 I say keep using your library, that way you can still have lots of new and exciting books, without spending. You have my permission 😌
I love planning but I don't feel bound to plans, they're more like north stars rather than SMART goals as they say. Love the way you explain your line of thought.
Yes that's a good way to think of it! I feel like I'm mapping out an area to play in, like putting up a fence around some forests and meadows, just so I won't get lost ^^
I was just about to turn off my TV when your video popped up 😊 Excellent intentions and goals. I also spent too much on books last year, got a bit of a shock when I looked at the numbers 😳 I'm not on a book buying ban but definitely need to be more intentional. I completely understand your decision with your book club, it will be fun to see what you will get up to instead 😊 I would love to do a buddy read with you, maybe one of the six classics?
Haha thank you for staying up for me ^^ Yes, I don't want that shock again! No matter the number, I don't like the feeling of not having chosen it. I think we both have enough books to sustain us for a while! 😄 And there's always the library and audiobooks. Thank you for understanding about the book club! A buddy read would be fun! I'm still trying to figure out which classics I would read, but let me know if any that I choose are on your tbr. Or House of Fortune?
Hi! Thanks for being here! Do you have any reading goals you would like to share? I would love to know! And would you be interested to see a video with potential books for the reading challenges I mention in the video? Are you participating in any of them as well? 😊✨
LOL! "The books won't go bad...." that's so true! They are like true friends - they just sit and wait patiently for you to get around to them. I love that! Keep your goals in mind, but follow your heart! It knows what it wants you to read!
Yes exactly! 😊 Thank you, I will keep that in mind!
Good for you for recognizing what you want to do going forward and not forcing to continue something that isn't serving you anymore!
Love all the plans and goals!! And I’m so happy that you’re staying on UA-cam!
Thank you Maeve! Of course I'm sticking around, I love it here! 🥰
I enjoyed learning about your bookish intentions and goals! I admire all of the challenges you do, and hope that one day I can get to a challenge 😆 Yay to keeping this fun (just like you recently reminded me to do)! 😉♥️
I'm trying so hard to keep it fun haha! It's my first time joining the challenges, and there are way too many haha but I like having some kind of game to help motivate me and help me choose the books, so hopefully it works out. And if not, it's not the end of the world 😊 Thank you for watching! 🥰💜
I love how intentional you are about your reading goals and desires! I think adding structure can really help you be intentional about what you want to read so you can let your mood take you to the books when it's the right time to read them. I'm excited to be participating in diversity book bingo this year!! Looking forward to all the adventures the books will take us on in 2025 ⭐
Yes! That's exactly it! This is just laying out the playing field so that I don't have to think too much later on and can just go for what seems fun in the moment. I'm so excited and curious to see what everyone will read for the Diversity Bingo! 😁 Thanks for participating!
Good luck with all your plans! I like the way you divide up the things you want to achieve into different categories, and I'm impressed you are doing so many challenges. I detect a spreadsheet incoming to work out how you'll fit books to them all :) I only ever mood read and would find it hard to commit to specific criteria, even though the challenges sound like fun. It's interesting that so many of your 2024 books had a blue-green colour scheme. I wonder if that's a coincidence or an aesthetic preference and if will change this year.
Like you said at the start, my main goal is to enjoy what I read. I want to get to some new releases, finish series, read what I own, take some chances, read from authors I love, broaden my experience, try new genres, read translated books and try recs from people I watch on booktube, but they're all loose intentions. I'll hopefully get to them by chance rather than any plan.
I get what you mean about book club. I've enjoyed the ones I've participated in but it's easy for me to pick and choose, whereas it's a lot of work for you and it's a commits you to books you might not be in the mood for in the moment. I hope you have great reading reading year and achieve your goals!
Thank you so much! 😊 We'll see how I do with the challenges, but so far I've puzzled in a lot of books that double up on two or more prompts from the different lists (I think three of them have a "water" prompt) and I have a mix of books from my want to read-list and new additions that I found thanks to the prompts! So hopefully it will work out! And if it doesn't, no matter, it's just a fun way to make a game of it and get a gold star for a finished book! 😄 I also think there's some wiggle room since they are only prompts, and I can always change the books out if I find something else that fits.
I noticed the blue-green colors as well, I'm not sure if it's me choosing those covers, or if the publishing industry have all agreed that the books that intrigue me should be that color... I do like it though, so it could just be me! We'll have to wait and see what the 2025 color way ends up being!
And then you go on listing 10 intentions of your own! 😆 I get what you mean though, and I think once you're aware of those things, it's easier to get that variety in you reading. Although I tricked myself into something that wasn't true, which is why I need the challenges to keep me on the track I want to be on.
Yes, exactly. I think I have some general resistance to doing "what I'm told", so even if it's me telling myself to do it, I still lose motivation 😆 It's been a lot of fun though, and I really appreciate your participation and thoughtful questions!
I hope you have a great reading year too, and that you happen to achieve all of your goals :)
First of all, congrats on 500!! 😀🎉 Love that the emphasis here is on fun, because that’s the point, right?? Reading or BookTube should not be a burden or a chore to accomplish! I also want to read more diversely, as you know, and try not to buy many books since I already have way too many! Which goes into another goal of focusing on reading my physical TBR, which is difficult because I’m always checking out tons of books from the library 😂 I feel you on the backlist versus new releases thing too, I often feel like I need to catch up on older books in order to earn the new releases which is silly! Braiding Sweetgrass is on my Libby holds list 😊 Dang girl, so many reading challenges!! I thought two was a lot for me 😆 I think one video with ideas for all of the challenges would be fun, if you’re able to do some overlap so it doesn’t feel too long and complicated for you! And it seems like taking a pause on the book club is a good plan for now (or forever if necessary), you need to do what works best for you! ❤️
Thank you so much! 🥳 Haha yes, I do indeed think that's the point! 😄 It's so hard to resist the free books haha and sometimes you have to take the chance when your turn comes up. 😊 It is silly. And I don't even mean I need to read the backlist of the same author, I just need to read some not new books to "deserve" the new ones! So no point whatsoever, other than some old limiting belief that needs to go in the trash! 😆 Haha the challenges are out of control, but I think I can double up on a lot! And if I don't complete them all within the year that's fine, it's just a way to make a game out of it. We'll see how it goes! I'm trying to figure out how many books it would be in total, to see how long a potential video would be!
Thank you for understanding about the book club, and thank you for participating and supporting so much! I still have The Winners left to do, and then it will be nice with a break and just read for fun for a while 🥰💜
Taking on a reading challenge isn’t just about finishing books-it’s about expanding your mind, stepping into new worlds, and growing as a person and I think your passion and determination will take you far. Really resonated with your video here :)
Yes, that's exactly how I see it! I like the satisfaction of filling out the prompts, but the best part is that they push me out of my comfort zone and guide me to new books that I would never have found out about otherwise. The Storygraph pages alone are a great resource to find new gems! Are you participating in any challenges this year? Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts, I'm glad it resonated with you! 🥰
@ellenmadebookclub I'm going to try, a lot of my time is making youtube and tiktok content. I read a lot of cosmic horror because it's both my interest as a reader/writer and brand. Just trying to push myself out of my comfort zone! Anyway great content, looking forward to more.
I get that! A little goes a long way. Good luck 😊
@@ellenmadebookclub You're up super early ^^; And yes, cya around
I really like the differentiation between intentions and goals here. You're participating in so many challenges! My hope is to complete diversity bingo and buzzwordathon. I have a hard time sticking to challenges, but I'm certainly going to try 😃
Haha I know, there are too many! We'll see how it goes ^^ It's fun so far at least and I'm finding new books to read for the prompts, but I'm trying to go off of my 25 in 2025 list as much as possible. Are you sticking to the months for the buzzwordathon? I feel like that would be doomed to fail for me! 😄
Hi Ellen. I really enjoyed hearing about your intentions, goals, and plans, and I can appreciate the distinction that you made between each of these larger topics. I, too, tell myself that I need to use my library more. I go to the library all the time, but I still buy many more books than I check out from the library. Congratulations, too, on reaching the 500-subscriber milestone! I also liked the frequency with which you used the words "joy" and "fun" in this video. I'm all for that! Lovely video, my friend.
Hi Pat! Thank you so much! You certainly helped me reach that milestone 💜 You still do good by donating so many books to the library, so I think it evens out! 😄 Although your wallet might disagree. I'm really determined to have a fun reading year! I feel like that's a good starting point that will hopefully spill over to other areas in life as well. More joy and fun for all, I say 😊
@ an excellent plan!
These are great intentions and goals! I love how you framed everything as to not put too much pressure on anything. I really need to spend less on books this year- I have a wedding to plan 😅😳 I really am excited to do your Diversity Bingo- hoping to get blackout 🤞 But 7 challenges?!! I'm glad they overlap a bit 😂 I don't think I have the capacity to track multiple challenges at once so I am focusing on yours haha I gotta check out Mariandrea's challenge since that will probs help with my read around the world personal challenge 😊 Excited for your future plans!!
Yes, no pressure is the theme for this year! 😁 The challenges are a lot, but it's like my version of a puzzle haha it's my happy place to sit and figure out where everything goes! And if I don't complete all of them, that's fine too, it's just for fun. Definitely check out Mariandrea's book club! Are you signed up to any read around the world challenges on Storygraph? Lots of ideas there too :) Thank you for watching and cheering me on! 😄💜
Ooooh, congrats on hitting 500 subs! So exciting! I'm seeing so many channels I love hitting those kinds of milestones just now, it's so cool!
Wow, 7 reading challenges! That's ambitious for sure! ^^' Best of luck with that - I hope you find a lot of new favorites that way (my 2 favorite books of 2024, I read for Neurovember!!! It was such a nice surprise - I hope you have the same success with your diversity bingo)
Thank you so much! 🥳 I agree, and it is fun! Although I'm probably more excited about the fact that I've stuck with it for a year! I'm having a great time with it :)
Haha yes, ambitious or ludicrous, not sure which 😆 But it is making me look for books outside of my comfort zone, so that's good. Hopefully I'll find some new favorites, I love that Neurovember did that for you! 💜
Congrats on 500 subs and I wish you the best of luck on your goals! ☘️
Thank you so much Kelly!
first of all, CONGRATULATIONS ON 500 SUBS!!!!!! it is so completely deserved!!!
it's so funny you mention mood reading more as a goal, because i feel like one of my goals should be to mood-read LESS!! Like i do want to read more purposefully and intentionally this year, but i just cannot NOT mood read, so i think maybe a happy medium is allowing myself a range of books that are purposefully chosen (i.e. only borrowing certain books from the library instead of overloading with any remotely interesting book i see haha) and then mood reading from that! So maybe you could do something similar and prepare a selection that you then mood-read from so you can still read based on feeling but ensure that it's going towards your goal of reading more diversely/broadly!
mindful spending is a BIG one...im still scared to check my spending of last year for books specifically, but i also know i saved an absolute shit ton of money by using my library so liberally so i highly recommend taking FULL advantage!
Such a great video, i love hearing others' goals and intentions because it makes me consider and re-shape my own!
Thank you so much! 😁💜
Haha I know, we all have such different approaches! I feel like I'm doing the same though, selecting some priority books to choose from and then I can get to them in the order I like as I go. I've been mapping out which books could go where and which ones fulfill several prompts etc, it's my happy place to puzzle it all in ^^ It's hard to resist the library books though haha they're just THERE! And for FREE! 😂 I say keep using your library, that way you can still have lots of new and exciting books, without spending. You have my permission 😌
I love planning but I don't feel bound to plans, they're more like north stars rather than SMART goals as they say. Love the way you explain your line of thought.
Yes that's a good way to think of it! I feel like I'm mapping out an area to play in, like putting up a fence around some forests and meadows, just so I won't get lost ^^
I was just about to turn off my TV when your video popped up 😊 Excellent intentions and goals. I also spent too much on books last year, got a bit of a shock when I looked at the numbers 😳 I'm not on a book buying ban but definitely need to be more intentional. I completely understand your decision with your book club, it will be fun to see what you will get up to instead 😊 I would love to do a buddy read with you, maybe one of the six classics?
Haha thank you for staying up for me ^^ Yes, I don't want that shock again! No matter the number, I don't like the feeling of not having chosen it. I think we both have enough books to sustain us for a while! 😄 And there's always the library and audiobooks. Thank you for understanding about the book club! A buddy read would be fun! I'm still trying to figure out which classics I would read, but let me know if any that I choose are on your tbr. Or House of Fortune?
@ellenmadebookclub House of Fortune is also a good idea for a buddy read 👍