I don’t do resolutions for the new year, but I do like to develop a list of goals for the year. Mostly, they’re achievable, but sometimes I don’t accomplish them. Oops.

So here are some of my 2019 goals. Some are bookish, some are not.

Reading Challenge:

Goodreads has not asked me to set a goal for 2019 reads yet, but I will probably set it at 100 again. I haven’t had a problem achieving that for the past couple of years. Indeed, I’ve exceeded it by quite a lot- 123 books in 2017 and 160 in 2018. But 100 is a nice, round number and if I’m only at 50 books come June, it’s not anything I’ll have to stress out about later on. Not that I really stress out about these things. It’s mostly a way to encourage me to keep reading. Like I need that.

I’ve already talked about the rest of my 2019 plan, which includes adding more poetry, reading unread books from my own shelves, and continuing to read works in translation. If you want to read more about my overall reading plan, you can find it here:  Reading Plan: 2019.

 

Cruelty-Free Beauty:

I don’t wear very much makeup in general, but I would like to ensure that what I do wear, along with other products like hand lotion and shampoo, do not come from companies that test their products on animals. There’s no good reason for testing on animals, and the products I already use from cruelty-free companies actually work better than ones that don’t. This shouldn’t be a difficult thing to do, as my hairdresser’s products are from a cruelty-free company already so I can just buy products from her, and I can buy the rest of what I need from Target. Will it cost me a little more? Yes, but a) I’m planning to use fewer beauty products in general so it balances out, and b) it’s worth it to know that some dog or cat isn’t being kept in a tiny cage so a makeup company can try out some new, weird chemical on them.

 

Use Less Plastic:

I can’t remember if it was in September or October, but National Geographic had an issue about the obscene amount of plastic that is choking our waterways and killing the animals that live there. It was absolutely revolting to see rivers completely filled with one-time use plastic bags and birds that died because they ate plastic bits instead of real food. Plastics do not break down the way other things do. They last for decades, if not centuries, and we don’t need most of the plastics that we use. I’ve already been trying to cut down on my plastic use, but I plan to step it up in 2019.

 

Travel to Iceland:

I’ve already been to Iceland. I went there in August of 2017, but I explored very little of this beautiful island. Now that I have some experience driving there and have discovered that the dreadful driving stories that other travel bloggers had seem to have been greatly exaggerated (that, or they were city-dwellers who were unaccustomed to long, empty highways and rough, gravel roads), I feel like I could explore more of Iceland. I would like to go to the eastern side of the country that I didn’t see at all in 2017. I would also like to be there when there is actually night so I might have a chance of seeing the aurora borealis.

 

Attend More Live Theater:

Nebraska isn’t exactly the center of American theatrical life, but we do have a decent number of plays and other theater events going on throughout the year. There are two colleges, an independent company, and a Shakespearean company that put on numerous plays every season. We also have a large theater that hosts touring companies of Broadway musicals and plays, but ticket prices there can be high.

 

Get Caught Up With My National Geographic Subscription:

I’ve had a National Geographic subscription for the past couple of years, but I rarely read the new issues the month that I get them. Right now I have ten back issues sitting on my shelf, just waiting. It never takes me long to read a full magazine, so I don’t know why I haven’t just sat down with one each week and finish. I will do that in 2019.

 

I will undoubtedly think of something else I would like to try in 2019, but these are the things I’ve been thinking about over the past few weeks. If I come up with something I will let you all know, so watch this space for updates!