Read what you love, forget the rest.

I recently shared (you know.. a few weeks ago) that I was planning to read Red Rising, Brave New World, and The Great Hunt in February. As these things go, of course, I haven't finished any of these. I have, however, read two books that I didn't have on my radar whatsoever, so there's that.

But you know what? Who cares.

I can do my best and plan for the month ahead and try to follow a schedule, but I can't plan for migraines.

I can't plan for dips in my energy level that have me laid up on the couch after putting the kids to bed.

I can't plan for the kids to catch Flu A or RSV. At the same time.

I can do my best to avoid it, but I can't plan for the morning headlines to send me into a spiral.

You and I are out here doing what we love, reading books that give us joy, and we're doing our damn best to keep our sanity while the world around us is trying to steal our attention. It's okay if I don't get to the books I wanted to this month. It's okay that this one book (that I love, by the way) is taking me a long time to read.

I'm starting to see that I'm setting myself up for failure by putting so much pressure on myself to decide what I'm gonna read in the next month.

So I'm going to try something different. Instead, I'm going to truly let my mood guide me.

Yes, I'm still going to try to read more Wheel of Time. Yes, I'm definitely going to get to Mistborn this year. And yes, I know the banned books are important to read as book bans become more and more common in 2025.

But I'm not going to shame myself for not getting to the books I wanted to this month. And I'm not going to pressure myself to read books that I'm just not feeling right now. In this chapter of my life, my energy dictates what I spend my time on. And if I decide to reread a fave instead of diving into something new, then so be it.

Who's with me?