Goals and Reading Habits for 2023

I had a great year in 2022! I went to England with my husband, Jared, and we toured London, the Cotswolds, Bath, and Dover. I was so inspired by all the great bookstores I visited. I wanted to come home and watch anything and everything British and read British literature, my favorite class at UNC-Chapel Hill in college.

I’ve been away for a bit from my book blog, Draws & Reads, and my bookstagram account on Instagram, @karenmarie_draws_and_reads due to some life changes. I started my book blog, Draws & Read, a fun, passion project to combine my love of drawing and reading, which fit in perfectly with my brand, Southerly Design, since I illustrate all my favorite books. However, I slowed down a bit with reading towards the end of 2022 when I found out I was pregnant (yay!), and felt too nauseous to read at all.

As I went into 2023, I started planning out what I wanted to accomplish in my business, along with personal projects and hobbies, and unfortunately reading took a backseat for a bit. I’ve been itching to get back into reading. After reflecting on my reading habits from prior years, I realized I wanted to focus more on quality over quantity in 2023.

Here is a stack of all of the books I somehow managed to cram into my luggage for my return trip to the States! I picked up some beautiful books! Some are new and some are favorites I picked up simply because they had UK covers!

Re-Read Favorite Books

While I was in England last summer, I visited several amazing book stores. It made me realize I love having favorite books I read over and over again. When I would go into a bookstore in London or the countryside, I mentioned to the bookseller that I loved books like Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, or The Maid, that had a bit of mystery and centered on eccentric characters. This helped the booksellers recommend books to me that I hadn’t heard of which is always a major bonus! I came back from England with so many books (literally, my suitcase was packed!) and a desire to dive back into books that I had missed in the past few years, as well as re-read those favorites.

I read Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine when it came out and listened to the audiobook last year since it was a favorite and I want to continue this practice. I feel like every seasoned reader should have a few titles they can mention when asked what type of books they read. I am definitely not always best at describing the genres I read, so having this in the back of my mind makes it easier on the spot.

One goal I wanted to focus on going forward is to read more of my favorite books again! I love Little Women and have read it several times, which never gets old. I also love watching the movie versions of it. Having these titles in mind makes conversing with booksellers and book lovers easier! I always love a word-of-mouth review or recommendation over a bookstagram one!

Read the Classics

I also realized how many classics I’ve missed! I visited the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, Somerset this summer. I want to finish reading all of her books now. I read Pride and Prejudice in high school, college, and for fun a few years ago, which again never gets old!

There are so many classics that I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface. I picked up How To Be Well Read at the London Review Bookshop to help guide me on which books to focus on going forward in my reading life.

Even the restaurants were more fun in London with a classic, bookish theme. We loved the food at The Dickens Inn. The Great Expectations Eating Parlour was a fun piece of artwork inside the restaurant.

Read What Interests Me

I’m on a major British kick right now after visiting England. I started watching The Crown, Call the Midwife, and Downton Abbey prior to the trip. I saw Buckingham Palace in London and I even got to visit Highclere Castle, the name of the house where Downton Abbey is filmed. I love finding books that match my favorite shows. I will often look up lists for book recommendations based on shows I love.

Since watching Downton Abbey nearly 5 times in one year, I’m interested in the history of the early 20th century that occurs on the show, e.g. World War I and the sinking of the Titanic. This is one of the best parts of having an affinity for reading since I can look up books about these events and read historical fiction or accounts of the events. Reading makes you a voracious learner as you unintentionally become interested in topics you may not have thought of prior. When I was in Bath, Somerset this summer, I picked up an out-of-print account of life during WWII! I can’t wait to dive into that one.

Focus Less on New Releases

I also listened to an episode of the podcast, What Should I Read Next? by host Anne Bogel of the blog, Modern Mrs. Darcy. In this episode, she interviews James Mustich, author of 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List. Mustich mentioned we do a disservice to our reading life when we focus solely on new releases. I love seeing what books are out each week and month, but get quickly overwhelmed with the thought of reading all of those books.

One of the purposes of starting my book blog was to recommend great books that stand out over time, whether new or old, that do not have the buzz of being a bestseller that week or month. Sometimes, the best books are New York Times Bestsellers, like Where the Crawdads Sing. I loved that one. Other times, books get lost in the stacks and we have to search a bit to find them. I realized my bookstagram and book blog are never going to be about reading every buzzy book or new release, and I am okay with that. I want to be someone who recommends a book that is still great years after its release. I am always inspired by Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy since she recommends both old and new books. I highly suggest subscribing to her newsletter, it is well worth it!

DNF Books

I think a lot of readers have strong feelings about whether they will completely finish a book or will DNF (do/did not finish) it. I’m moving into the category of DNF-ing any book I don’t care about. I typically will not write a bad review, because a writer poured their heart into it, but that does not mean I have to spend my time finishing it. If I were eating food and did not like it, I would not finish it. Same with books. Not everything is for everyone.

Have Fun

Obviously, the most important thing about reading is to have fun. I read what I want, when I want and how I want. I may read a hardback I paid full-price for, wait for a Kindle deal, or do an audiobook from the library. There are no rules.

I love reading and I love sharing what I read. I can connect instantly to someone who reads and brings it up in conversation. I once mentioned I loved reading in a new group and a stay-at-home mother mentioned she does not have time to read, which just saddened me. My instant impression was that we make time for what matters, and reading matters to me. I value friends I can share my love of reading with in a genuine manner. I struggle to connect when someone who makes me feel as if I am wasting my time by reading, which I am most definitely not wasting my time by reading. Ever.

Looking Forward

Now that I am an expectant mother, I am vastly aware that my time is a commodity I want to use wisely. My reading may be shifting to pregnancy and childbirth this year and shift to more kid-friendly genres in the future, but I am okay with that! I definitely hope to raise a reader and look forward to reading more children’s books in the future! I can’t wait to read The Chronicles of Narnia or the Paddington series with my kid! Even if the subject of my reading changes or the amount I am able to read is less, the habit of reading is the important part.

Up next

I have a book/Netflix movie recommendation for February, perfect for Valentine’s Day! Then, my next review will be a book I had on my TBR list forever and finally read!

I also plan to share some of the bookstores I visited in England since they were so good!

I’d love to hear your favorite books and classics you recommend! Comment below with your favorites! Connect with me on Instagram here for book recommendations.