Last year, about this time, I came up with my Good Intentions Book Tag.  Put bluntly I’m not very good at sticking to resolutions so instead decided to come up with a tag based around the most popular ‘resolutions for this time of year.  Today I’m going to look back at that list and also come up with some new intentions for the next twelve months.  This is my Good Intentions Book Tag – after all you can have good intentions at any point in the year:

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Exercise more : This is a book that is a real chunkster, in fact you will need help to even pick this book up:

Last year I came up with a great chunky book for this prompt.   Empire of the Vampire by Jay Kristoff – and unfortunately I still haven’t got round to picking this one up.  Whoops.  I did squeeze in a backlist read that was also something of a chunkster though so I’m going to say that things even out.  Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky.  Guess I’ll have to make Empire of the Vampire this year’s book.

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Lose weight : A book that is not a chunkster; a short story or novella.  A book you could probably read in one sitting:

Last year I read Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne M Valente.  This year I’m going to go with a book that I really enjoyed by an author that I really like.  Western inspired with demons and angels. Tread of Angels by Rebecca Roanhorse.  I would be overjoyed if this is a world that the author decides to revisit.

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Eat healthy : A book that is good for you.  This is a book that made you feel so happy that you wanted to give it a big hug:

The book I highlighted last year for this prompt was The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E Harrow which I will say, one more time at least, is a beautiful book.  This year, one of my reads that gave me all the gooey vibes (well I did have more than one but have decided to go for just the one)  Miss Percy’s Pocket Guide to the Care and Feeding of British Dragons by Quenby Olson

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Fulfill your ambitions : A book that has a lot going on.  Plenty of different threads, points of views and action but everything eventually comes together in a very satisfactory fashion:

For this prompt last year I went with The Empire’s Ruin by Brian Staveley (#1 Ashes of the Unhewn Thrown).  Which was a fantastic read and on my ‘best of‘ list and likewise the book I’ve chosen this year was also one of my favourite reads of 2022. Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandell

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Spend more time with the family : A series of books that you love and that has developed more than you ever anticipated:

I used the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs for this prompt.  It’s a series that I’m loving although I need to check and see if I’m uptodate or not.  The latest series that has a great ‘found’ family feel and I just love it is the Stranger Times Series by CK McDonnell.  I am adoring this series and can’t get enough of it.

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Tick off an item from your bucket list : Reduce the tbr.  Choose a book from Mount TBR that you would like to read this year:

Well, I admit I failed with this particular prompt.  Last year I highlight two books – and to be perfectly honest I’m going to choose the same two books.  I’m absolutely determined to read both of these.  T

These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant.  I’ve seen some excellent reviews for this one and I’m excited to read it.

And, December Park by Ronald Malfi because I read and loved his latest book Come With Me (in fact it’s on my ‘Best of’ list this year and so I wanted to check out some of his earlier books.

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Save money : A book that was an absolute bargain – you would have to be crazy in fact not to have bought this book:

I bought The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher last year for the bargain price of £1.99 for kindle.  I’m loving this author and so would like to pick this one up this year.

This year I managed to snag a few bargains and one that I’m very keen to pick up is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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Get Organised : A book with a glossary, maps, useful words, lists of people – this book is one helpful book, it wants you to know ALL the things and it’s not afraid to use footnotes and other devices to help you do so:

I choose a great book for this last year and one that I heartily recommend Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke.  This year I’ve gone for the second in series. The Hunger of the Gods by John Gwynne – not only a fantastic second instalment but it also includes a list of characters and a map.

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Start a new hobby : A book that is outside your comfort zone.  Perhaps everyone was raving about this book, maybe it was over-hyped, you hesitated to pick it up in fact, but when you did – you loved it:

Finally, a book that is outside of my comfort zone.  To clarify, for the most part I read SFF, I also like to read a little crime/thriller/horror and also some history.  So, I’m not really going to include those in books that fall outside my usual reading zone.  I’ve gone for romance.  Last year I chose The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons.  I loved this book when I read it and still have lovely memories of it – it would be interesting to reread it actually to see if I still feel the same way.

This year I chose a lovely book, A Restless Truth by Freya Marske.  I loved this, and whilst I’ve chosen it for the romance elements it also has fantasy and murder mystery with it’s pages.

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That’s my top ten Good Intentions Book Tag which compares last year to this.