2018 New Year's Goals:

1. An author you'd like to read (that you've never read before).
Donna Tartt.  I've heard wonderful reviews for both "The Secret History" and "The Goldfinch."  Not sure which one I want to read first.

2. A book you'd like to read.
"Wild Beauty" by Anna-Marie McLemore.  The synopsis on Goodreads says:
For nearly a century, the Nomeolvides women have tended the grounds of La Pradera, the lush estate gardens that enchant guests from around the world.  They've also hidden a tragic legacy; if they fall in love too deeply, their lovers vainsh.  But then, after generations of vanishing, a strange boy appears in the gardens.  The boy is a mystery to Estrella, the Nomeolvides girl who finds him, and to her family, but he's even more a mystery to himself; he knows nothing more about who he is or where he came from than his first name.  As Estrella tries to help Fel piece together his unknown past, La Pradera leads them to secrets as dangerous as they are magical in this stunning exploration of love, loss, and family.

3. A classic you'd like to read.
"The Illiad" and "The Odyssey" by Homer.  In high school, I took Latin as my foreign language of study.  Partially to help bump my SAT scores... the other part because I love all things surrounding Greek history and mythology.  I have the two (Illiad and Odyssey) combined into one book, so it's rather daunting to look at on my shelf.  I suppose that is the only reason I haven't picked it up yet.

4. A book you'd like to re-read.
Such a typical answer for my age group, but this will always be the Harry Potter series.  I've lost count of the number of times I've re-read the books, but I will always go back to them.  They just feel like home.

5. A book you've had for ages and want to read.
"The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well" by Meik Wiking.  I don't actually own the physical copy of this book, but it's been on my to-be-read list for about a year now.  From what I've gathered, it's basically a book to help set an atmosphere of comfort and coziness at all times.  A book that tells me to buy more blankets, candles, and snuggle more??  Sounds like a win to me!

6. A big book you'd like to read.
"Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor.  It has 536 pages.  Nothing compared to the 1,000 plus that "Atlas Shrugged" had, but still pretty substantial.

7. An author you've previously read and want to read more of.
I've got two answers for this one -- Dan Brown and C.S. Lewis.  I've previously read "Angles and Demons" and "The DaVinci Code" by Dan Brown, which I LOVED.  I would like to finish his Robert Langdon series and see I like any of his other works.  I previously read about two or three of the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, but I'm interested in his other works outside of that series like "A Grief Observed."

8. A book you got for Christmas and would like to read.
I actually didn't get any books for Christmas.  BUT, I got some money, which is even better.  So I'll probably make a trip to a book store to pick up some books soon!

9. A series you want to read (start and finish).
I don't know about this one!  I don't really have any set series that I'm dying to read.  Maybe the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer or The Diviners Series by Libba Bray.  Honestly, I think I'd be fine without either one of those though.  I need to be on the look-out for one that really appeals to me.

10. A series you want to finish (that you've already started).
"A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin.  I powered through the first four books pretty quickly through 2016-2017, and then I started fizzling out on the fifth book around August 2017.  I'm about 600 pages in, which mind you is only 55% of the way through the book, but haven't made much progress on it in awhile.  It's been collecting dust for a few months now.  I just need to finish the current book and wait for George R.R. Martin to release the final books in the series.

11. Do you set reading goals?  If so, how many books do you want to read in 2018?
My goal was 20 books in 2017, which I met just by the skin of my teeth.  However, I would like to read more this year.  I think bumping it up to 25 is a safe bet, even if that still feels low.  Maybe someday I'll be a speed reader who can fly through 6-7 books a month.

12. Any other reading goals?

As much as I like including non-fiction and self-help, I recognize that most people currently interested in reading don't sway towards that genre.  I also had one or two comments that people didn't recognize the books I was reading.  So I want to be more "on trend" and read some more current books.