The Bookmark No. 108
My January Bucket List + What's Next
I have been feeling like that meme from 30 Rock when Liz Lemon says to Jack, “What a week, huh?” and he comes back with, “Lemon, it’s only Wednesday.” all week.
But instead of “What a week” it’s felt like “what a year” and instead of Wednesday, it’s only January. I feel like I’m going to keep saying this over and over again, but it feels so dystopian and weird to be typing my little words and going to work and cooking dinner with everything going on in the world. LA friends, I am still thinking of you and donating where I can.
The last few years, I used to make jokes about January feeling like the longest month. I do think it can feel that as well make our way back into “normal life” after the hustle and bustle of November and December. In January, there are no excuses. There’s no “I’ll leave it for next year” or “I just need a break.” We had our break (at least I hope you did) and now it may still be dark in the morning and dark early in the afternoon, but we have a lot of work to do.
I wrote last week that I’ve felt inspired again this January. I haven’t felt like it’s an endless month, in fact, I can’t believe it’s already the middle of the month. I want to capitalize on this feeling and make the most of this energy before March rolls around and I’m ready for Summer.
A few things I want to focus on this January:
Baking and Cooking One New Recipe—I got Sweet Tooth by Broma Bakery for Christmas this year and I want to make a new recipe out of it. We’ve also had the same meals on rotation for a bit, so I want to explore some new one cook books!
Go Skiing—We did this last weekend and though the mountain was busy, we had a great time! I want to go at least one more time this month. Going every other weekend has been fun! Last year, I wasn’t allowed to ski so I’m just grateful every time I’m able to be out there.
Write 4x Per Week—It’s always been a challenge for me to balance writing fiction with my other work. Looking at my schedule, I think I have some days that work that I can fit it in and get into a good flow.
Plan an Galentine’s Book Exchange—I loved hosting my Holiday Book Exchange in December so I’d love to do it again, but Romance focused! And maybe a little smaller of an event…I’m not sure yet! If any of my IRL friends are reading this…should we do it?
Pilates/Barre—I used to do Pure Barre and then I had to stop because my doctor didn’t want me doing it prior to my surgery. I got back into solo movement when I was healed but I’d like to start doing some classes again and maybe try Pilates. If you know of any good home Pilates videos, I’d love to try them out before committing to a studio.
Mini 1000—This is a writing challenge hosted by
and I LOVED it. I have her book and am a loyal reader of her newsletter. It happened the first weekend of the year and I’d like to do one a month for the rest of the year. It’s a great way to hold yourself accountable.Read More than I Scroll—I’ve gotten better about my morning and evening scrolling! I think this will be a constant work in progress but that’s okay.
Audio: Iron Flame—Believe it or not, I never read this when it originally came out. Honestly, I didn’t love Fourth Wing enough to commit to the size of its sequel when it came out in 2023. But, my curiosity got the better of me so I purchased an audio copy from Libro.fm. I’m liking it but I’m glad I’m not eyeball reading it. I might read Onyx Storm in two years, who knows.
Kindle: Spiral—I didn’t read Collide, but I am excited for this book because it’s fake dating! It’s out January 28 and I placed a hold for Collide at my library! That’s another quiet goal I have always been trying to improv: don’t forget about the library!
Physical: The Three Lives of Cate Kay—Funny story about this one…I had a physical ARC sent to me and as sometimes happens, I didn’t request it. So onto my pile of Little Free Library ARCs it went. And then, everyone started talking about it!!! I kept thinking the cover looked familiar and I’d like to thank myself for being “too busy” to drop off the pile of books because I still had it in my home.
New Girl—This has been our rewatch lately! It’s special to me cause we were watching for the first time in the time leading up to our wedding, so it feels very nostalgic for that reason.
YouTube—I got a little burned out on Vlogmas but I’ve been getting back into BookTube, especially with the TikTok Ban on the horizon. I’ve been toying about starting a channel for years…maybe this will be the year. If you have any BookTubers you love, please leave them in the comments!
Gilmore Girls—I paused my rewatch earlier in the Fall because November 1-December 31 I only watch Christmas movies and episodes. I’ve been watching an episode every morning while I walk on my walking pad!
The TikTok Ban—I have so many feelings about it. I am pretty upset this is getting passed before Common Sense Gun Reform. But mostly, I’m sad about it. It was a platform I loved to consume on rather than create. I learned so much, especially about women’s healthcare. I found a writing community on there that made me feel seen. I daily vlogged NaNoWriMo over there two years in a row. It’s sad to possibly be losing it.
A Low Spend Year—This is my focus. When I do shop, I want to try to shop local as much as possible.
Creating a Solo Podcast—I miss podcasting a lot and I’ve been wondering if there’s any value in adding an audio aspect of this newsletter. I like chatting about books endlessly with Ashley so I don’t know if I’d be any good doing it on my own! I don’t know, just been bouncing around my brain.
ICYMI on readandwright.com:
That was a lot. I hope you like this new newsletter format! I’m excited to keep going with it and feel it’s more sustainable and fun for me to write each week. Thanks for sticking with me!
Until next time,
Phoebe
I like Jessica Valant’s Pilates for beginners YouTube videos!
I’m with you on this already feeling like a loooong year two weeks in 😣 but we’ll get through it together! Also, IsaWelly on Youtube is a great free at-home mat Pilates instructor that I find approachable and fun!