Hi pals, welcome to my 2025 bookish goals post! Today I am sharing with you allllllll the details about everything bookish coming in 2025. First we’re going to go through how I am breaking down what I am reading this year, and then I’ll share with you my spreadsheets and my physical book journal. Overkill? Maybe, but I really don’t want to miss the things I am excited for again, so this is the way my brain said to do it this year.
So what’s the main goal?
Less ARC’s more TBR’s
If you want to check it out, I have an entire video going over all of this, plus showing you exactly how I am setting up my February book journal pages. And if you happen to be interested, hit the subscribe button! I am trying to hit 2,000 subs by March and would mega appreciate it!
I read a lot in 2023 (70 books) and 2024 (68), and I feel like the pace I was at wasn’t too tough to maintain so I think I am going to stick with that (plus a little bit) into 2025, with a goal of 72 books for the year. That breaks down to about 6 books per month, and I have a pretty fun way I am breaking it down into a few more detailed sections.
Here’s how I am attempting to break that down:
Book One: Physical “Mystery” TRB
At the end of 2024 I went through my bookshelf and sorted everything out. Things I am selling to the used book store, things I am keeping as shelf trophies, and things I really want to read. Those things I really want to read totaled up to 20 books. I don’t anticipate getting through all of them this year, but I wanted to make it fun so here’s what I am doing.
I gathered all the books and I am wrapping them up in brown craft paper, then numbering them. On the first of every month I am rolling my d20 (I have a ton of dice so this one just worked out with the numbers) and that’s the book I am reading for the month. Whatever I don’t finish will roll over into 2026 and I’ll add in anything I have gathered from this year to do it again if this works out well enough. :)
Book Two: Preorder of the month
I don’t technically have one preorder for every month of the year, at least not yet, but these are what I have coming up for the year so far.
- January:
- Onyx Storm – January 21
- (Book Club)Flirting with Disaster – January 22
- February:
- Scythe & Sparrow – February 11
- Rebel Witch – February 18
- March:
- Sunrise on the Reaping – March 18
- Summer in the City – March 25th
- April:
- (Re-read) Lights Out (CE) (Book 1 of the Into Darkness Trilogy) – April 22
- May:
- Nothing yet
- June:
- Caught up (Book 2 of the Into Darkness Trilogy) – June 10
I may or may not preorder more as the year goes on, but either way I’ll do an update in July and give you a breakdown there. I do think I am going to try and leave May open so I can have space to “catch up” on anything delightful I wanted to read, but if it’s a 5 book month, its a 5 book month, and I won’t be upset about it.
Book Three: Fairyloot Book
I have been on the waiting list for an adult book box from Fairyloot for almost a year and FINALLY got into the subscription. I love that these are surprises and I am so excited to have a little present coming every month.
*if the box comes in share, if not write about why I’m excited for it*
Book Four: Book Club Book
I joined my first “more than just one book” book club and I am SO STINKING EXCITED ABOUT IT. This is a really neat one, where we read one book a month focusing on books from marginalized authors in all genera’s.
For January our theme is Memoirs, and we are reading Know My Name by Chanel Miller, so be on the lookout for that review in February.
Here are the themes for the year:
- January – Memoir
- February – Romance
- March – Sci Fi / Fantasy
- April – Poetry
- May – Historical Fiction
- June – Young Adult
- July – Graphic Novels
- August – Short Stories
- September – Mystery / Thriller
- October – Horror
- November – Non-Fiction
- December – Holidays
Isn’t this a fun concept? I am so thankful to EmilyIsOverBooked for inviting me to be a part of this one.
Book Five & Six: Open
This is a fun space because this is literally anything. An ARC, Kindle Unlimited, random book I grabbed from the shop around the corner, and I love not knowing what it’s going to be until I start reading. I do have the first 3 months or so fully booked with ARCS I was approved for in 2024, but I am excited to toss in some other ones too.
Spreadsheet Layout
I mentioned this on BlueSky in earlier in the month, but I wanted to give y’all a breakdown of how I have my tracking spreadsheets broken down. I currently have 4 tabs in this one, and I’ll share with you what they look like.
This is page one, where I keep track of all of my reading plans for the month. If I read something else I can just add in rows and for “source” I can fill that in with wherever it came from, but this is what I have lined up for 2025 so far.
Tab 2 looks like this: “Releases I am excited about.”
Tab 3: Physical TBR
And Tab 4: 2025 ARCS
This post about my book journal does contain affiliate links. They are just links I use from Amazon or other sites that allow me to make a small commission off your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me keep the website running and the patterns free. Thank you for using them!
So what does this mean for my physical reading journal?
Well, I’m glad you asked! If you didn’t see last years layout, you can check that out here!
Last year I kept it really simple. Each book I bought/was approved for/was gifted landed in this journal. I kept track of when I started it, what I rated it, and where I got it from. That was a really good way to start my intro to book tracking physically, but this year I wanted to add a little bit more freedom and space to include other things I may find useful in the future.
I am still working from the back of the book forward, because my “daily journal” started in the front and is working towards the back, but here’s how it’s going to break down. Each month will get two pages. The right will have the books, so the first 6 I already planned on reading, and then anything else that gets added to the mix. Same tracking details under the books, but this time the left page is left open. This is where I will crown my “book of the month”, keep track of any quotes, notes, thoughts, approved arcs, and book mail. I had things stored in a few spots last year, so I think this will help me remember to write things down in one spot, and just write things down in general.
If you missed last years post, here are all the items I use to make my journal:
Canon Ivy Mini Thermal Printer
TLDR: This printer is thermal so it doesn’t use ink. Long version: I LOVE THIS PRINTER. I’ve owned the same one for over a year now and I use it weekly. I print photos for my book journal, personal journal, my partners wallet, my corkboard at work. I just really like this a lot and recommend it to everyone. It charges with a usb-c and prints 2×3 inch photos. It does pick up black the strongest, so if the photos are dark that’s why, but its a really good little printer and I will shout about it until I need to upgrade lol.
Zink Thermal Printer Sticker Paper
This is the sticker paper I use, but I think it’s like the only kind you can use? Idk, it’s what comes with it so it’s what I buy. The sticky is sticky, and the quality of the photos is actually pretty decent, full size or broken into 4 spots. They also haven’t faded or anything either.
Erasable Highlighters
I use these erasable highlighters. I have had them for a year now and they haven’t worn out yet. I use them for this journal and my planner, so they get a decent workout.
Sharpie Pens
I love sharpie pens, I use them for everything.
Scissors
These are the ones from my yarn stash that wouldn’t cut yarn anymore, because I cut paper with them a few times, but they still work great for cutting these photos!
Book Journal
This is my favorite journal. The pages are thick enough that my markers don’t bleed through (unless I am REALLY getting in there). The back cover has a little pocket so I can keep future photos in there. And it’s like 160 pages, so I have 2024 in there, started 2025, and will probably fit 2026 in there before it’s full.
Alright pals, I think that covers everything for my bookish shenanigans for the year. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below, or send me an email at sam@sambartley.com. I love having chats with you so keep them coming. <3
Xx,
Sam
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