10 Booky New Year's Resolutions we might have to make in 2017

New Year's Resolutions suck don't they? Every year it's the same old stuff. Eat healthier (poo to that), lose some weight (yawn), get fitter (waves hand indeterminately in the air). We'd much rather make some resolutions about books so here's 10 resolutions (five of the best from both of us) that we're going to try and make in 2017.

From Charlotte first...

1) Finish more books

Little Madam can't resist diving into a new book the minute it arrives. The problem with that is that I virtually have to hide ALL NEW BOOKS until the current favourite is done and dusted.

To be fair, Charlotte gets through a ton more books than I do, and definitely far more than I did at her age so this should be a really easy new year's resolution for her to stick to. Picture books? Pah, easy peasy, bring on the big thick wordy stuff!



2) Read less at the table

Hmm, this is a tough one as Charlotte nearly always likes to read over breakfast, mostly through
lunch, over dinner.

Food and books can be fun, but food on books? Not so much! Also it means that sometimes it can take her half an hour to eat a bowl of cereal and enjoy her morning mug of cocoa - while the rest of the house are frantically trying to get themselves together for the school run and work run.

This is going to be a tough one, because if there's one thing I really hate doing it's discouraging reading - even while you're scoffing!


3) Ditch the junk books

You know the ones. Those books (and magazines / comics) that your child will always make a grab for in the bookstore or supermarket.

Most of them don't hit the blog for one reason or another but we might just dig a few of them out for 2017 as I'm determined that we're going to balance the good and the bad a bit more.

As much as I hate those really awful plastic tat or TV / Movie based mags, Charlotte still has a guilty affinity for them so I'm going to try and wean her off them and onto cooler stuff during the year.



4) Unleash my creativity

I love drawing and painting. Charlotte loves drawing and painting. We draw and paint a lot but 'real life' has a habit of getting in the way (have you seen the insane amount of homework kids get these days?)

The pressure is on at school to achieve greatness in everything related to sport and other subjects but art always gets shoved to the back of the shelf. Along with Charlotte I'm going to put aside more time for drawing and painting, and hopefully do some classes or courses together outside of school. Hooray!



5) READ MORE BOOKS!

Well this one's going to be the easiest of all. Polishing off more than 600 books last year, and with the overall number of books reviewed on the blog fast approaching 3000, it's going to be a breeze to better that number next year.

(The only problem is poor Daddy having to type all those reviews up!)


Now Daddy's 5 New Years Booky Resolutions

1) Read outside my comfort zone


I am notoriously bad at this but one or two books have fetched up this year that are books that I normally wouldn't have touched with a 50 ft barge pole but have enjoyed immensely.

Sticking to a fairly rigid diet of Sci Fi and Fantasy stuff, but also dabbling with crime noir, I could do with reaching for something outside those genres from time to time just to remind myself that the greatest stories are often the ones you least expect to find a path through.

I probably still won't read any more Dan Brown though. Sorry, but that ship has long since sailed.


2) Get out and meet more book folk

I probably make this booky new year's resolution every year and work / life always has a habit of getting in the way.

We did manage to meet some lovely folk in 2016 (was awesome to finally meet Neill Cameron, Author / comic illustrator of such awesomeness as Mega Robo Bros and Mo-Bot High) but we could do better in 2017, we will do better and we might even brave the massed throngs at a book fest or three.

3) Get podcasting

Vlogging? Hah that's for prettier folk than me but for a while we've been talking about putting some Podcasts together for the blog.

Would anyone want to listen to us talking about books?

I've been slowly piecing together some bits and bobs to use in a podcast or two so early in 2017 we're going to give it a go, and work through a pile of books talking about them, being silly and serious about them, and hopefully you might just tune in!

4) Less tweeting, more Dadding


Sometimes in the evening, our scene of domestic bliss consists of Mum (on her phone), me (on my phone) and Charlotte (nose buried in a book). I made an attempt to switch my phone off as soon as I got home from work last year but it dwindled off into the mists of good intentions.

I (well, WE) need to get back on that in 2017 because it's no way to spend the few precious hours we get in an evening when work and school are on the go. Ditch the mobile, stop tweeting rubbish, get on that dad thang!

5) READ MORE BOOKS!

Yeah, we can do this. I can do this too! I've covered a few "Daddy After Dark" books on the blog as well as the children's books, so I can stop procrastinating and start polishing off my own booky pile of shame too.

I'd imagine quite a few children's book bloggers often neglect their own reading because they're working their way through children's stuff (particularly when you start covering chapter books), so making more time for books that I haven't read yet that are still on my 'to do' pile is a must!

I hope you've enjoyed our New Years Book Resolutions - have you got one? Feel free to tell us about it in the comments below!