I know I said I don’t do memes much anymore, but this one keeps catching my eye. This week, it’s Bookish/Blogging Resolutions.

I dislike making resolutions. It’s nice to have a plan, maybe even something as informal as an outline. But when I think of resolutions, I think of rules and mandates and neither of those sound like they allow much for creativity, productivity, and flexibility.

For me, I keep thinking of a line from a movie:

“Hang the code, and hang the rules. They’re more like guidelines anyway.”

Ah, the pirates life for me! Arrrrrrrr. Ahem. I mean here is my list of “guidelines” for reading and blogging this year:

• Read more library books. I have an eReader and I love the convenience of checking out books and never having to worry about returning them on time.
• Read more essays.
• Do not pressure myself to review every book I read. I found that it creates a sense of obligation that should only apply if I’m reading a book I asked for from a publisher.
• Cull my book stacks more often.
• Fix minor issues with my blog that have been driving me nuts. Some are easy to do, but one involves going back through every single post and I find it easier to procrastinate than just hunker down and get it done.
• Comment more. My goal is to comment on at least five blogs a week. I know that doesn’t sound like much, but I work now and still maintain a presence on Twitter, Facebook, and this blog. I’m not that good a juggler.
• Save for, and plan on attending BEA in 2012. In fact, I would like to attend at least two events related to books. If one of them is on the West Coast, it’s doable. Especially now that I have a regular income.
• Continue a trend I began last year in reading outside my genre comfort zone. More mysteries, thrillers, and some Sci-Fi are on my list and I look forward to reading them.

That’s not quite ten, but that is the great thing about this particular meme. It’s not required. Like the pirate code, more like guidelines.