Hello there 2015!

Happy New Year, everyone!!

I say this every year, and maybe every month and almost every season, but I am always frightened by how fast time goes. Gone are the days when I measured time by when my next birthday would come, and now it only gives me pleasure when there is still a lot of time left before the next one. Nevertheless, January 1st is always a beautiful day - it's the day of new promises, new hopes, new dreams and wishes, and at least in theory, the end of all the bad habits we have. Of course, January 2nd puts an end to most of that.

2014 has been a tricky year for me and also at this blog. That is the year I finally understood why many leave blogging after a few or several years of continued posting. The face of blogging has changed so much since I first started posting about books, but more importantly, what I wanted to talk about has also changed. There were days when I didn't have any interest to blog, and then days when I just wanted to holler out loud. While some bloggers have found a way to balance out their new interests, I am still without an answer on how to do so in a way that makes sense for me. I guess 2015 is going to be a year of exploration, just like 2014 was, in many ways.

2014 was also a year of several ups and downs. On the personal front, we had some disappointing stuff happen, but we have also had some good stuff to cheer us up. I expect 2015 to be a very busy year personally, and it's good to know that at the beginning of the year because then I won't make any lofty promises and goals to accomplish this year.

Picture source

On the reading front, 2014 wasn't my best. I wanted to read more books from several other countries, and while I did read more diversely than before, it wasn't enough. Part of the problem was accessibility. The other part of the problem was being a mood reader and not much of a list person. I found that I enjoyed my reading best when I randomly picked a book without any plan or commitment to it. I want 2015 to be that year. The year I finally let go of lists and review commitments, and read whatever I want to read. It is a beautiful thing to not know what my next read is going to be. I don't think I've ever completed a reading list. No, that's not true. I have finished a couple of challenges. One was a Person of Color reading challenge, and the other was a Graphic Novel reading challenge. The first one was during my early days of blogging, when I was a lot more methodical about my reading. I was all about plans and lists and order. The latter was when I was more whimsical and random with my reading. I was just going with the mood and reading whatever I wanted. I've had the most fun with books when they come to me unbidden. Sure, there are some review books I've liked, some hyped books I've enjoyed, some tour books I've rated high, but I didn't read any of them because I wanted to read them. I read them because I had to, whined a lot during the process, and luckily for me and the book, the journey happened to be worth it. But that has been happening less often lately. I get pretty annoyed nowadays if a book found a place on my list just because I had to read it. And that obviously isn't a good sentiment to have. No wonder I had a crappy 2014 in reading. My whole reading was planned out for me and I had more ruts last year than ever before.

So here's to a year of no goals. I like not having a list to follow for the year - it makes me feel free to do whatever I want to do and hopefully discover the books I may not have come across otherwise.

What book are you reading to welcome in the new year? I am about 70% through Letters in the Attic, which is a seriously beautiful book I knew nothing about until I started reading it. I am looking forward to continuing with it and then pick up something entirely random next.

What are you hoping 2015 will be for you?