New Year's Resolution

I consider myself a newbie when it comes to book blogging. I've been tweeting about my favorite YA books for about nine months now and only posting blog reviews for about four of those. So, yeah, pretty new.

One of the biggest problems for me is trying to figure out how to tackle the TBR pile, especially now that I receive ARCs, galleys, and review requests. Previously, I've been in the habit of always putting other people first. I receive a book for review...gotta read it now, even if that means putting a book I really want to read (and have already purchased) on hold. Now, this can't always be avoided. When I only have a week to read an ARC and I've committed to reviewing the book, it does have to be put towards the top. However, I'm starting to learn how important it is for me to read the books I want to read when I want to read them.

Sometimes, I'm just in the mood for a certain kind of book. When a different book is on the top of the TBR pile, I used to just read it. You know what? When I do that, the book is never as enjoyable as it could be and I'm not as in the mood to write that review. But, when I pick up a book I'm in the mood for, I tend to like that book even more than I might have otherwise. Aaaaand, the review practically writes itself. :)

Just like with anything else, it's good to take some ME-time. In the book blogging world, that's choosing what book to read, when I want to read it, because I want to. My New Year's Resolution is to do this more often. Sure, there will always be books I have to bump to the top. Can't change that. But, I can be more flexible on what my TBR pile looks like. This year, if I'm in the mood for book four in my pile and not book one, I'm gonna read book four. I'm gonna keep reading like crazy, but make sure I'm still reading for the fun of it and not for other people's supposed deadlines.

What kind of New Year's Resolutions have you made?