Reading Resolutions for 2025: Part 2-- 2025 Goals

Yesterday I began the process of posting my 2024 reading resolutions by first looking back and assessing how I did on my 2024 resolutions. You can read that post here.

Today, I using what I learned by assessing how last year went, with the knowledge of what I already have planned for the coming year, I present my 2025 Goals-- the ones I will hold myself to for assessment a year from now. I use the term "reading resolutions" to keep the posts as similar as possible from year to year, but really this process is more akin to goal setting. However, since my work is defined by my mission, "training library workers to help leisure readers," reading is at the center of it all.

Please remember, I post both my assessment of the year that was and the upcoming year on back-to-back days to begin each new year so thatchy are easy to find yes, but also I am forced to hold myself to account for it all. Because I am a big proponent of the "lead by example" leadership style. If I am advocating for you to make resolutions and then go back and assess how you did before making the next year's resolutions, I also have to do it myself.

These are my resolutions and goals for 2025. I create these for myself specifically; however, I hope you can use them to help you craft resolutions that will work best for you.

Finally, I want to make a plea to do resolutions or goals for yourself no matter how you are feeling. They do not have to be lofty. I love this post from 2022 in Book Riot, with easily achievable reading resolutions. These are no stress, and may seem silly on first glance, but I think they are great. Having something as a goal gives you direction and encouragement to keep moving forward. Small victories add up to larger advancements. 

I would also like to note, 2025 is the year I turn 50. I know it is just a number, but it is big round one and bound to play a part in how my year goes. I will celebrate this milestone at ALA Annual in Philly, in sight of NJ (where I was born), with all of my library people. Seems fitting.

Okay now on to my 5 official resolutions for 2025:

2025 Resolutions: Read More Nonfiction: This one stems from yesterday's assessment. I hardly read any nonfiction in 2025 and I really love nonfiction. I am missing it in my life, so, I am going to go out of my way to read more. My biggest barrier is much of the NF I want to read is not on Libby in audio, and in my for fun reading, I really like to do audio. I have found that it helps my brain to separate work reading from fun reading, which when you are paid to review over 60 books a year, is important. I did set out to read more NF last year and found myself coming up against this barrier over and over again. But, it is also why I transitioned to mystery so heavily. I had a whole list of NF I meant to read but when it wasn't in audio, I put the print on hold and never got to it and settled for a Mystery instead (a fav audio genre). But here's the thing-- it took my assessment of 2024 for me to realize the actual reason. I saw that I was heavy on the mysteries and then also noted they were all audio. This led me to think about why and all of my reading over 2024. It helped me to remember all the NF I wanted to read but did not. Now I can work to be more aware of the fact that I am going to have to do print if I want to read these titles. Ans I am going to begin with one of the best books of 2024, a title I have wanted to read for months-- There's Always This Year by Hanif Abdurraqib.

2025 Resolution: Update My Signature Presentation: I have a note staring at me here near my work desk to update my 10 Rules and the slides for my signature presentation. Over the last 2 years I have changed what I say and emphasize in my presentation, but I haven't really changed the slides. I am not only going to give the rules a facelift, but I have some new posts in the works. The last time I gave the signature presentation an overhaul was late 2020, so it is time. I gave the Booktalking presentation-- my second most popular-- an overhaul last year. The work for this goal will really be concentrated in the first dozen weeks of 2025.

2025 Resolution: Actively Promote Others Who Can Do This Work: This is clearly the next step after last year's goal of being better at saying no. However, it is also here because if I am going to add things (see the next two goals), I need to start shedding things as well. I have been actively working on encouraging others who do similar work  to take over some of the job inquiries I receive. Last year I passed on a few gigs to others; this year, I anticipate doing more. I don't have to be the only voice in RA out there. I have been around long enough and trained enough people that there are plenty out there who can do this work just as good as me. Also in a few months, Robin and I will have an announcement about you sending us your ideas on trends in RA and new things you are doing to be published in an academic journal. See, I am not kidding. I really want to identify the next stars and amplify their voices. But it is not just my RA training I am referring to here. I have also been encouraging more library workers to review Horror. I don't need to be the main voice in that field forever. In 2024 I read over 60 books for paid review-- 32 for LJ and 31 for Booklist. I can keep up the pace for now, but who knows what will happen going forward. Remember, turning 50. I also have a book with a major publisher coming out a year from now. I need to make sure I don't over do it because if that happens, my work will suffer and what good am I as the reviewer if my reviews are not up to the high standard I set for myself.

2025 Resolution: Start Officially Training Trustees: This comes directly from last year's resolution to start planning for when I am no longer "officially" in libraries. My term ends on 5/20/24 at 7pm. I have dipped my toe in training library trustees over the years but was never very comfortable with going into it head on for 2 reasons: 1. I did not feel like it was right to do this while still serving as a trustee and 2. I did not want to dilute my RA for All brand with work that was not focused on training library workers to help leisure readers. Well in October, I began a conversation about a way for me to take care of both of my concerns and still offer this valuable service. More information AFTER I am done serving in May, but I am happy to start providing this important service to those who choose to serve in this important role. I have 24 years of experience as a locally elected trustee, 3 years serving on the RAILS board, 3 years on the ILA Board, 25 years as a public librarian here in IL, and 15 years working with libraries all over the country. It is time for me to share my knowledge to help in a different sphere, but NOT through RA for All. Again, more details soon.

2025 Resolution: Begin To Think Bigger: Last year I doubled down on myself and it worked because it is has directly led to this goal, my last for 2025 and also my most nebulous, but like last year's vague goal of "doubling down on myself," it might prove to be the most important goal I set. I am going to use some bullet points here because there are a few things doubling down on myself has already led to for 2025:

• The most obvious result of doubling down on myself (discussed yesterday) was that I took my "Why I Love Horror" series, got an agent, sold it to Saga, and have turned in the manuscript. But what comes next? While the book does not come out until January 2026, I will be spending the second half of 2025 promoting it. I will begin in library spaces which are friendly and will get me ready, but I am going to be a published author in a major press (3 books at ALA Editions is not the same as I am already learning). People outside of library and horror writer spheres are going to read this and know who I am. I need to start being open to thinking bigger all year. Opportunities I never could imagine may come up and I need to be ready to embrace them.
• As I also mentioned yesterday, Robin and I will be guest editing a special RA forced issue of Library Trends in November 2026, but the bulk of our work on it happens in 2025. While this is thinking bigger for us, I am most excited for what we will learn by hosting an open call from all of your about your RA ideas. I am going to be exposed to awesome ideas, services, and concepts, the likes of which I have never even considered. Where will that lead me? I am excited that I don't know. I am sure something I learn from reading people's articles in 2025 will influence 2026's goals, but I also know I need to keep my mind open and ready to think bigger in order to do my best as a guest editor and a RA librarian.
• The final bigger thing I have committed to working on this year is a bit more vague and in the exploratory phase. My local library has needed to start a foundation for years but we had so many other things to deal with. Our current Executive Director is 100% all in on this being one of her goals for 2025-26 and since I will no longer be on the board and am already involved in another large charity in the area, I can come in with my connections and expertise to help lead this endeavor.  My current plan is to be the Foundation Chair, but I am also open to taking a supporting role if things get too busy for me. This one has a longer time line as well. Our goal is for it to some together in 2026 as November 2027 is the 20th anniversary of our current building opening-- a building I worked on as a Trustee and for which I was the President of the Board when it opened. Talk about fun circle.
• These are the three things I have planned under this goal for 2025. Will this mean I move away from my core work-- helping library workers be better at helping leisure readers? I don't know, but knowing I have these bigger things planned means I also need to think about how I can't keep doing everything. As I mentioned yesterday, I have gotten better at saying no. I need to come to terms with the fact that I may have outgrown the niche I have created for myself. Thinking bigger is a process, however. I have listed those things I have planned to work on, but I have no idea where all of this will take me. Committing to thinking bigger will help me -- a consummate planner and list maker (aka librarian)-- to be ready to look at new opportunities with as open a mind as possible.

So those are my goals for 2025. We will have to wait and see how the year goes, but I feel good about what I intend to do precisely because I took the time at the end of 2024 to really think about the year that was ending and use what I learned about myself and my work to shape these goals.

Tomorrow I have a post about 2025's Horror books and then all of my January reviews in LJ and Booklist to round out the week. And first thing next week....a guest post by Robin. Lots planned here on RA for All. I also start contracts with some new states for monthly training. Busy, busy.

Make sure you are following along. I have a feedrabbit link in the top right gutter if you want to sign up to get the posts via email. A few have asked but about a substack or newsletter, but since I already have this blog, there is not reason to start another communication. You want the blog in email form, it is available here.

Reading Resolutions for 2025: Part 1-- Assessing How I Did in 2024

Today I am officially back to work for 2025 after a short break, and like I do each new year, I am kicking off 2025 on the blog with my annual 2 part Reading Resolutions posts. First up, I am looking back at the year I just completed by taking an honest assessment of how I did on my 2024 goals. 

I like to lead by example. As the author of this blog, one that I know is used by thousands of library workers all over the country as a trusted resource, I also understand that I must not only hold myself to a very high standard, but also, I need to model the behaviors I think all of you should also try.

This is why every single year, before I set out my own reading resolutions, I publicly assess my resolutions from the previous year. Here is last year's post where I kicked off my 2024 goals by assessing my 2023 resolutions.

Before you run headlong into a new year, any year, I advocate for taking a step back to assess not only the goals you set for 2024, but also taking a hard look at where the goals you set at the start of the year met reality, making those goals harder or even invalid. This is NOT an exercise in feeling bad that you didn't keep resolutions or complete goals. No one ever gets everything done.

Rather the exercise of setting goals is about learning from the past and making adjustments moving forward. I have learned this by living it. This two step process of assessment before gaol setting has saved me from burn out by forcing me to look at long held practices and make real changes, changes that have improved this blog and my professional life in general. In fact, if you have not done an assessment before, I highly recommend going back and looking at mine. I just went through the past 4 years of assessments before writing this post and it made me appreciate how much this process has helped me. I can literally see my growth and improvement. It is clarifying and quite honestly, inspiring. And honestly, when you can inspire yourself, that is a win.

But even if you have never done this before, please considering starting now. It is extremely important to look back at the year that was BEFORE you plan for the year to come, otherwise you are simply making goals in a vacuum, which helps no one. I will demonstrate why this is necessary for you today by using myself as your example. You cannot learn from the past without taking a moment to reflect.

But, before I get to myself, I want to make my annual plea to NOT make resolutions about the number of books you will read in a year. Many people set goals based on a number and in my experience this is never a good idea. It makes many anxious and leads to choosing books based on how quickly you can finish them. It is quality not quantity. Sometimes a book that takes you a month to finish will help you more [whether professionally or personally because it nourished your soul] than 5 that you could have rushed through in that same time frame. I have more to say on this topic here. 

Do what you want, of course, but that is my opinion on this issue.

Now on to the leading by example part. Here is the full post where I laid out my 2024 Resolutions with details. As a reminder those resolutions were:

• 2024 Resolution: Get Back to Reading More Than Just Horror
• 2024 Resolution: Double Down on Myself
• 2024 Resolution: Say No More Often (Without Feeling Guilty)
• 2024 Resolution: Start Planning For When I am No Longer "Officially" in Libraries

What I did well:

• I did read more than Horror this year. I made that goal because after being on the Andrew Carnegie Medal committee a few years ago, I was forced to read everything and I loved it. This year I expanded my reading especially through audiobooks, which I love. But, as you will see below, it was not 100% a win.
• Boy did I ever double down on myself. Right at the end of 2023 I got an agent and by the midpoint of 2024, I sold a book to Saga Press (a division of Simon & Schuster). Here are the details. As of this posting, the manuscript is turned in. The plan is for it to be released in January of 2026. ARCs will be available at ALA Annual in June and I will be appearing on panels to promote it. There are also plans in the works for me to be traveling throughout the Fall to promote the book and generate pre-orders. I am cautiously optimist about what comes next, but no matter what, I did what I set out to do. I bet on me and so far, it is working out.
• This one combines Doubling Down and Saying No. Midway through 2024, Robin and I were approached by the peer reviewed library journal, Library Trends to guest edit an issue dedicated to Readers' Advisory. Robin and I have both been careful about what we say yes to when it comes to the work we do together (see the next bullet point), but this opportunity was something both of us never could have seen coming. What an honor to be THE people to edit this academic journal on RA, an often disparaged area of librarianship that we have both dedicated our careers to elevate. To be recognized in an academic arena to solicit academic papers on the topic of RA, well those of you who do this work know what a big deal this is. Robin and I said yes fairly quickly but it is also because we are willing to say no to others. Coming this spring we will have the call for papers for this issue with a huge push at ALA Annual in June. More soon. The issue comes out November 2026.
• There was one big "No" moment this year that was not easy on me. After a few years, Robin and I decided to part ways with Learn with NoveList as the platform for our Actively Anti-Racist Service to Readers class. It was not an easy decision and the conversation about if we would continue  took up a lot of the year. We parted amicably as we could not work out the details. But saying no to people I gold as friends was hard. However, it did leave space for us to say YES to ALA eCourses where we are not only going to be offering the class exactly how we want to, but we are developing worksheets for people to use AFTER they take the class, with the hope that  we may be developing an entire workbook that people can buy to use with their staff sometime next year. This makes sense as ALA Editions is already Robin and my publisher of our RA textbooks. The first dog of classes for the year (live or on demand) are coming in February and they will come with 6 pages of worksheets as a test run. We have more planned but we want to see how people like what we have created. You can get the full details and sign up here.
• In other No news-- I have been actively courting others who can provide similar training to what I offer and have passed off multiple opportunities to these people in the last year. I cannot keep doing this forever. Not only am I turning 50 this year, but also, all of this doubling down on myself is opening up other opportunities and I don't want to have to say no to those because a library needs some RA training. I still want them to have great training, but it does not always have to come from me. I have also really enjoyed focusing on full state or large system training over the last few years. This train the trainer model is more efficient and I reach more people. In 2025 I have 2 states and a large system already set for the first quarter of the year. Smaller, single libraries, while fulfilling, may have to be sent to others as I have less and less time.
• In late May I will no longer be officially connected to any library as my 6th term on the La Grange Public Library Board will end. As of right now, I am emotionally ready for this to happen. As the deadline to run for reelection came and went, I made sure to check in with myself, and I am happy to report, I felt at peace. Now I still have the election in April and my final few meetings to get through, but I am feeling not only ready, but confident that it was the correct decision. When I left my job at a librarian 2015, I was 100% NOT ready to separate and was very anxious about only being connected the the official library world as a Trustee, but during that years between then and now, I actually did more as a library leader (serving open both the RAILS and the ILA Boards) because I had more time to do it. However, this was not just about my mental health as this transformative moment arrived, I also resolved to make real plans for things I could do when no longer serving on the library board. I will mention them in my goals, but I have had actually meetings and discussions to keep serving and doing more and this makes me excited.

What I need to work on: this list is really where I find my goals for next year.

• While I did read more than Horror, I was really only able to expand my reading to mystery on audio. As I looked at my year end list of books I read (my favorites are posted here), I saw some gaps where I wish I read more-- namely nonfiction which I tend to enjoy. I am also still balancing my have to reads for review with my reading for fun, but this has become less of a burden each year.  2024 felt like the year I managed the stress of my review deadlines the best. But again, it did not leave as much space as I wanted for fun reads. Next year I will build off of my success of coming up with a managing the workload plan with consciously interjecting more non-Hororr reads.
• I doubled down on myself as I planned, but what is the next step after doing that? I think I have an idea and will discuss it in my goals tomorrow. This is no easy task however. What is the next goal, yes, but also, how do I balance going too far in a new direction? 
• I did a great job beginning to plan for when I am no longer officially in Libraries having started a few conversations but now I need to move from preparing for that moment, to seizing it is happening on May 20, 2025 at 7pm. While I will make some tangible goals, I need to be prepared for how this moment will make me feel, especially because I will be attending ALA Annual in June more as an author than a librarian. 
• Speaking of being an author more than a librarian, as I mentioned above, I have turned in my manuscript for Why I Love Horror. From June 2025 into 2026 will be all about promoting the book. What will that look like for my life and my regular library work. The review deadlines I can plan for, but I need to be serious about the fact that my Fall is going to be just as busy as it usually is but it will look a lot different. How can I prepare mentally for something that is so new and different, something I cannot plan for? And I need to reconcile that I asked for this may doubling down on myself. Where will it take me? I guess I need to work on letting go and going with the flow of where this opportunity is going to take me.

Okay, that's a wrap on 2024's goals and how I did. Back tomorrow with 2025's goals.