A new year, new goals

It's time to sit down and focus. It's early in 2012, and already I have several lofty goals.

No. 1 I'm applying to grad school, with the hopes that I can one day get a job in book publishing. Take a look at that "about me" section on my blog. It says, "one day I'm going to get my dream job in book publishing." I'm never going to make my dream come true unless I take some action. It took losing my job at the newspaper to make me focus on what I really wanted. If I wasn't laid off maybe I wouldn't be doing this. But I've come to the conclusion I will never get my foot in the door if don't go back to school. I could apply for a lesser program, but I think I will get more out of getting my masters degree. It's going to take three to four years for me to finish. Hopefully, I can find full-time employment soon because grad school ain't cheap. Of course, I have to get accepted first. I refuse to believe that I won't. It's a new year and I have to think positive.

What other goals do I have in my mind?

No. 2 I want to read more. I especially want to read more books from my own shelves. I'm not talking about ARCs that have been sitting on my shelves for a while (although I want to get to those too). I'm talking about books that I bought. I have hundreds of books collecting dust on my shelves. Starting next month, I'm challenging myself to read at least one book per month from my personal reading pile. Last year I only read one book from my personal pile. I think I got too caught up in review copies, I forgot I had my own books. I bought the hardcover set of Harry Potter last February. How many of those books have I read? ZERO. That's why Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone gets the honor of being the first one off my TBR pile.

My official reading goal, set via Goodreads, is 70 books, but I want to read at least 80. Will it happen? I don't know. I also don't want to shy away from long books. I just finished a biography on Jane Fonda, which was more than 500 pages. Page count, in addition to the plot and cover art, influence whether or not I will accept a book for review. I accepted the Jane Fonda book because I thought she would be an interesting person to learn about. She was. The book was great. Despite how long it might take to read 500+ page books, they are not the enemy. I'm contemplating reading Under the Dome by Stephen King. That one is more than 1,000 pages. The thought alone is already scaring me!!

What kind of goals does everyone else have?