Bookish Goals!
Happy Tuesday! Every year is a new opportunity to reflect and set new goals. I have been pleased with how far I have come since I first started blogging, but I suppose there is still room for improvement. It looks like it has been quite a while since I did one of these posts which is good because I know I will repeat myself. But you know, goals are not always met, so we must try, try again.
- Read your books, Sam! - I say this every year, and one of these days, I am actually going to do it.
- Listen to more audiobooks - I used to listen to a ton of audiobooks. That was back when I was reading in the 400s per year. I loved that I could multitask, but I find I don't have as much time where I can listen thoughtfully. In fact, there are books I listened to that I struggled to recall what even happened in the story.
- Request less ARCs - I have actually done really well with this one. I set my monthly limit to 8, but I was considering lowering that to 6. What I have found is that many of the books I request are usually available at my library. I can borrow the book and not be ruled by the publishing date. I can also wait for more reviews to roll in and make more informed decisions to read. Some authors really disappointed me last year.
- Don't be intimidated by book length - I have a habit of checking a book's page count before requesting or adding to my TBR. I have a thing with looooong books, and I seem to be really slow these days. But I also feel like I am missing out on some great books. I am not making any promises here, but I will be more open minded.
- Write the review - My life was so much easier when I just wrote the review at my earliest opportunity. My reviews are better and I am not be haunted by 6 books listed as "currently reading" in Goodreads. It's awful when I fall behind. I just tend to procrastinate more.
- Log those reading challenges - I always swear I will do this weekly, and then I am scrambling at the end of the month trying to see if I completed my monthly prompts.
- Make the graphics - When I was drafting my year end reading challenge update, I wanted to have a graphic for all my challenge to show off all the books. It was easy enough for the challenges with monthly prompts, but Literary Escapes (51 books) and the Alphabet Soup Challenge (26 books) would have been really time consuming. I feel like if I update the graphic weekly, it won't be as overwhelming.
- Manage my library loans better - Everyone knows that library loans all come through as a tidal wave, but there is the option to "deliver later". I really need to use that more. I have found myself in quite a pickle a few times where I was a bit too ambitious and had to scramble to get those books read before they were due. I don't need that stress.
- Find some new meme or create new features - I was pretty happy with some of the newer features I implemented last year (Library Loans) and new memes I started participating in (5 on My TBR, Six Degrees of Separation), but some are getting a bit stale. I want new ways to feature books I read and loved, so if you know any fun blogging memes, let me know.
- Don't discount celebrity book club books - Maybe you know this about me, but I am not a fan of celebrity culture. I roll my eyes when they are hyping book releases. I can honestly say that I have passed on books that I knew were picked by a "star". I may have kept myself from reading some books that were worth reading because I have read quite a few books which I later found out were "picks", and they were great. Going to tone down my snobbiness on that.
What are some of your bookish goals?
Let us know in the comments!
Let us know in the comments!
Great goals, Sam! I am the same way with reviews; I need to write them sooner! And I agree about celebrity book club picks. Most of the time I have never even heard of the book, which makes me even more leery, but I should try to look into them more. Good luck with your goals!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I should be less snobby LOL
Delete"Read your books, Sam! - I say this every year, and one of these days, I am actually going to do it."
ReplyDelete🤣
It's hard to find new memes these days, especially since less and less people seem to have a "regular" blog. And creating new ones is time-consuming (not to mention, it's also hard to come up with new ideas). I hope you'll met all your goals this year...or most of them at least!
Really, what is it about ignoring your own books? It's such an odd illness I have. I know people out on TikTok and YouTube have memes and stuff, but I don't go there.
DeleteWell I love celebrity book clubs! I found that Reese Witerspoon usually has good recs!
ReplyDeleteI have read a few without knowing they were her picks (until they redid the covers in GR), and I really should appreciate that they get people who will not normally read to read.
DeleteI've been requesting less ARCs as well. I like having more freedom to read what I want when I want. Plus, like you, I'm not worried I'll miss out because most of the books are at my library. I do try and write the review right away. It's tough sometimes though, but it helps to keep things under control. I hate creating graphics because I'm just not well versed on the programs to do it. I'd like to take some sort of course/tutorial on Canva. Good luck on on your goals, Sam!
ReplyDeleteI had gotten much better with reviews but have fallen behind lately. I hope to reset this weekend. I can handle Canva, for the most part, but I am lazy and not inspired. I usually can coerce my kid into whipping me up something. She has an MFA, she should use it. LOL.
DeleteI am trying to log my challenges after each book is finished. I have been pretty good about it so far this year. Fingers crossed I have developed a habit with it. I can so relate to your number10! And I can also relate to your number 3, but from the past. I stopped accepted ARCs at all that come with a must read by date. I just don't need that kind of stress in my life. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI am already so far behind. These goals seems big for me at this moment. I am going to have to buckle down. Do ARCs really come with a "must read date"? I felt that urgency more when I committed to book tours, but I stopped doing those in 2020. If the date passes, I am usually good with it, I just try to be near publication. Honestly, I have not fallen behind since. I capped my monthly ARC to 8 (2 per week). It's feeling bad if I don't like the book that I am still working on. I have gotten better about that.
DeleteGood luck! I also need to do better with library loans. I check out so many books that I neglect the unread books I already own.
ReplyDeleteYou are pretty good about reading your books too. The fact that you can count your unread books means you have it under control. I have so many unread books on my kindle. It's criminal.
DeleteI always have an audiobook going, but I'm choosy about what I listen to since certain genres or narrative styles just don't work for me on audio. The books I listen to can't be too detailed or too complicated or I have trouble keeping track of what's going on.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your goals and Happy TTT (on a Thursday)!
I have found that I cannot listen to all types of stories. Contemporaries work the best for me, but they cannot have narrators with accents. The accents I are commonly English or Australian (I only listen to books in English), and I have to focus more when the narrator has an accent. Same with detailed stories - fantasy is a no go in audio and most mysteries too. I miss too much.
DeleteI can’t multitask with audiobooks, except outdoor walks which are not happening right now. I am not a fan of celebrity culture either and am unlikely to read something they recommend. I applaud you for being more open to reading their book recs.
ReplyDeleteIt's not that I await their recs, but I have actually rebuffed any books that were celeb picks. For example, I saw bloggers talking about Small Things Like These during Novella November. I knew nothing about this book. I read it and it was amazing. Then I saw that it was adapted and an Oprah pick (though the book was several years old). If I had known that, I probably would not have read it.
DeleteI'm REALLY trying to read my own books. I whittled down the amount significantly with my move so I thought it would be easy peasy but nope. I'm not accepting any for review or buying many so WHY CAN'T I DO IT?? lol
ReplyDeleteThose are all great goals. good luck!!
Last year, I tried to put one shelf book on my weekly TBR, but that didn't last long. Out of sight, out of mind?
DeleteMany of these are my goals, too! Like number one- will I ever even read ANY of my own books? Last year, I read three. THREE! And I promise I acquired wayyyy more than three heh. I also want to request fewer too. I have gotten a bit better- like in January I only had 7! And I *try* to cap it at 10 but... I have had upwards of 20 and that is just problematic. Also YES about writing reviews ASAP, they are always so much better, and yet, here we are, I never ever do! Good luck with all your goals!
ReplyDeleteYou only read 3? I know you have a lot because you feature them in your monthly minutes. It's probably hard to balance with the number of ARCs you get - 20 is a LOT for a month.
DeleteThese are great goals, Sam. I also want to read more of my owned books, request less ARCs and write my reviews in a more timely manner. I struggle with longer books as well, due to my ADD. My mind wanders or I literally put it aside and switch to something else, then forget to go back to it. I hope you make great progress on all of these.
ReplyDeleteI know some people feel this sense of accomplishment when they finish a long book, but I just feel like I have been reading the same book forever. I like them under 400 pages and work an audiobook in there too.
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