This Year: Make A Difference

It's the start of a brand new year, A brand new decade and you have a fresh start, there is a whole year ahead of you filled with possibility. Our This Year: Make a Difference category is aimed at what we could do to improve the world around us.

We all know how easy it is to be dragged in by the riptide of 'new year, new you' posts and advertising. Seeing gym posts, green plates and reflective quotes that lead you to contemplate personal, physical and mental changes that can leave you feeling adrift, under pressure, disappointed or worse if you don't meet your own expectations. We wholeheartedly wish success to anyone who has set themselves a goal for 2020 or is using the new year to kickstart a major change, but not all of these changes need to be about becoming the social media standard of health and wellbeing.

My personal goals are to read lots (obviously), learn to embroider, put myself out of my comfort zone a little bit more and be more conscious about "fast fashion" (i.e. stop buying clothes I really do not need just because they are pretty or on sale). I have also vowed to go to the gym more - see, even now I've been sucked in by the propaganda.

So, for people with a much stronger will than I, for those that find the "new year, new me" message rubbish, damaging or just downright annoying, we think we've come up with a twist. Our This Year: Make a Difference category is aimed at what we could do to improve the world around us. Not just in January but all year round. If there's going to be a push for change each New Year, push towards a goal that would benefit everyone. Spend time reaffirming the changes you've already made, or have been in the process of making for some time.

We're trying to ignore the fads and the diets. If your focus this year is improving the world around you, doing your bit to help combat climate change, reduce your use of plastic, reduce your waste in general, or perhaps you want to read up on the ideas behind Veganism, we have some amazing recommendations for you.

Here is a link to our LoveReading Loves Section. Scroll through our recommendations, come back here and let us know what you think, let us know what you hope to achieve this year, or if there are any books you think should be in our category.

Happy New Year!