2021 Resolutions

January 20, 2021February 22, 2021 / b.steffens / 10 Comments

Let me preface this post by saying I’m hesitant to make any resolutions this year. While I did a pretty good job of obtaining my 2020 goals, hindsight also warns me to saunter into the year rather than dive in head first. Last year taught me to take it easy and not put too much pressure on myself. But I’m also one for self-improvement, so I can’t help but make a few resolutions in this year, which will certainly be better than last … right? RIGHT??

Although I don’t have any crazy projects on the horizon like I did in 2020 or literary goals just spewing out of me, there are a few things I’d like to accomplish this year. Let’s take a look.

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2020 Resolution Review

December 28, 2020 / b.steffens / 1 Comment

I’ve had an interesting year of reading. There have been a few lows and some definite highs. I’ve read blissful and entertaining books, as well as downright depressing ones. The full year has been a whirlwind, but I did manage to get in some solid reading. Let’s take a closer look at my stats as of Dec. 26, 2020:

Read 10,230 pages from 30 books — Goodreads for the win again — compared with 10,904 pages across 31 books the year before (though I’m trying to finish one more before Jan. 1, which would put me at my goal for the year).
Averaged 341 pages per book.
Explored 14 different genres with three new ones on BLL — short stories, essays, and environmental fiction.
Dug into two authors twice — Jojo Moyes and Jasmine Guillory — and read 22 authors for the first time in my literary life.

The above stats do include one book that I’ve finished but haven’t yet reviewed (coming January 2021). Once, I include that one, my average flameworthiness for the year will be 3.9 flames, just higher than 2019. Now let’s take a look at the individual rankings:

Read my first one-flame book with The Book of Lost Friends.
Flipped through one two-flame book, which is a huge improvement from 2019’s five.
Finished six three-flame books, which matches last year’s total.
Enjoyed 14 four-flame books, which is more than 2019’s 11.
Indulged in seven five-flame amazing reads, which is two less than last year.

Anybody else love stats and data and totally nerding out on it, especially when it’s related to books? Nope? Just me? Well OK then. In that case, it’s time for the most important part of my 2020 bibliophile review: assessing my resolutions that I set for myself back in January. Did I hold myself accountable and obtain my goals?

Here are some of my most-liked photos on Instagram for the year.

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Thankful

November 25, 2020 / b.steffens / 2 Comments

Nobody will ever forget 2020; it’s one for the history books unfortunately. Yes, things have been a garbage fire, but — with everything — there’s always a silver lining. For example, in 2020, I finally decided to go to therapy and invest in my mental health; being quarantined together has been the ultimate validation that Kyle and I are true partners and can get through anything together; and the world has even given the environment a break — albeit a small one.

With so much self-reflection, it’s impossible to not reflect on all of the positives in 2020. One bright spot is that all this time at home has given me a new appreciation for books and allowed me to see new literary themes that bibliophiles and the world over need. With Thanksgiving coming up, I wanted to express my literary gratitude to the books, the authors, and the readers who made a difference this year.

Some stellar book photography from and of yours truly plus one heck of a design.

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2020 Resolutions

January 8, 2020 / b.steffens / 6 Comments

Resolutions definitely guided my reading choices in 2019. Even if I didn’t fully succeed, I was at least conscious of them while picking out some of the books I read. I’d like to keep on this resolution road because it’s changed my mind about memoirs, forced me to think about diversity when choosing authors, and influenced me to dabble in other genres. (I’d also be remiss if I didn’t give resolution-making the credit for five straight years of flossing every day.)

This year, though, rather than thinking about the types of books I want to read, I’m focusing my resolutions on my baby, Big Little Literature. My greatest joy is sharing my thoughts and feelings about books with you all, so for 2020, I want to think of new ways (and revisit some old ones) on how to grow our community and improve the BLL experience. Check out my 2020 resolutions below.

2020 Books

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2019 Resolution Review

December 31, 2019 / b.steffens / 6 Comments

Let’s look at my specs for the year. In 2019, I:

Read 10,904 pages across 31 books — thanks, Goodreads!
Averaged 351 pages per book.
Explored 10 different genres with contemporary fiction winning most popular.
Only read one author more than once — Kristin Hannah.
Read five two-flame books (more than the number of the previous year-and-a-half) and six three-flame books.
But I also had the joy of experiencing 11 books with four flames, and nine garnered a whole five flames. I’d call that a success!

But how did I do with the resolutions I set for myself in January? Let’s see how I scored (and check out the books I said I’d read at the beginning of the year in the picture below and compare them to my fully ranked list of 2019).

2019 Resolutions

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2019 Resolutions

January 8, 2019 / b.steffens / 11 Comments

I’m a little behind on New Year’s resolutions, but I needed time to really think about what I wanted of 2019 and of myself. I still don’t really have that answer, but I do know one thing that I want to define the year: books. To read a plethora of books and to share my thoughts about them with all of you.

Oh and travel. A lot of traveling. So that’s two things I want from this year.

You could say those have become annual resolutions for me. In 2019, though, I yearn to do more. I want to expand my literary presence and stray a bit from my normal genres. I want to tap into the titles that make my family and friends come alive. I want to know authors whose passions and backgrounds might differ from my own.

Here, I present to you my 2019 reading resolutions.