June 2018
After a very busy May, June seemed like a break in a lot of ways. My main goal for the month was to catch up on ARCs and to read books I already had in my possession. And for the most part, I think I did that. I’m in much better shape now than I was at the start of June so I’m proud of myself. I would have liked to have spent more time on my blog as a whole but I did make the most of the spare moments I did have. The summer looks like it will be just as hectic at work but I’m starting to establish more of a routine so I’m optimistic I can make the most out of everything, including reading and blogging.
Since June is halfway through the year, I wanted to to focus on a mid-year review of all things. Like many people, I start the year with some lofty reading and blogging goals but I find by this point in the year, things just aren’t going the way I expected them to. I promised myself that I would re-evaluate my reading challenges and the like in June and tweak whatever wasn’t working going forward. So that’s what I plan to do in this Monthly Inventory post as well as my usual quarterly reviews that I do in this monthly feature.
Mid Year Freak Out Tag
I’ve seen this tag (and similar) floating around the blogosphere and thought it was a cute way to recap the year so far. This tag was originally created by Ely and Chami so thanks for that! I’ve altered some of the categories a little to fit my table presentation so hopefully everything is clear!
|
Best Book Read So Far
|
Best Sequel Read So Far
|
New Release TBR
|
|
Can’t Wait for Its Release
|
Biggest Disappointment
|
Biggest Surprise
|
|
Fave New Author
|
New Fictional Crush
|
New Fave Character
|
|
Tear Jerker
|
Made Me Happy
|
Fave Film Adaption
|
|
Fave Review Written
|
Prettiest Book Purchased
|
Need to Read by Year End
|
Total for June 2018: 14 Books Read + 0 Novellas Read
DNF’d: 3 Books
Last June: 17 Books Read + 2 Novellas Read + 4 DNFs
Standout Read (★★★★★)
It only took me two chapters to become completely enthralled by this Tristan and Isolde retelling. I felt every range of emotions while reading this and I am DYING for the sequel!
Biggest Let Down (DNF)
I’m not sure if this book was just marketed wrongly or if I interpreted everything about it wrong but this was a huge disappointment. Definitely not what I was expecting. I wanted a Western with a badass heroine and that was far from what this was. Instead, I got a dystopian novel set in the future with some allusions to the wild west and a heroine who was rather dull.
Every quarter I take a look at my Kobo stats to see how I’m doing. My Kobo is my main reading device, used for personal and library books. My Kindle is used for ARCs but it lacks the statistic features of my Kobo.
|
As of: |
June 30, 2018 |
June 30, 2017 |
| Total % of Library Complete |
23% |
10% |
| Total # of Books Finished |
2880 |
114 |
| Total # of Reading Hours |
2511 |
2309 |
|
Most Viewed Post
|
Most Viewed Review
|
Previously posted series reviews that got updates:
You can always get the full details for all my challenges on my dedicated page but here is a quick update:
5 Year 5 Book Challenge: 2 books read | 7 of 25 Titles Read – Slightly Behind
Goodreads Challenge: 14 books added | 132/190 Books – Ahead!
52 Sequel Challenge: 0 books added | 25/52 Sequels – On Track!
Tackling the TBR Challenge: 3 books added | 14/36 Books – Slightly Behind
View my Challenge Progress Here!
Mid Year Review:
I actually thought my stats would be much worse than they were since I have 2 good months of not really reading challenge titles. But I’ve pulled up my socks in the last 2 months and that has helped a bit. While I’m certainly behind on all my challenges, they are still within an obtainable grasp so I’m not going to modify them in any way. Most of the titles I have selected for July crossover for my various challenges so I think I will see an improvement in the near future.
In February 2017, I created a challenge for myself to bring my Want to Read Goodreads Shelf to 500 books. By the end of December 2017, I had brought the shelf down from 1205 to 511 books! The ultimate goal for 2018 is to get that number lower than 500 and also bring down my “sequel” shelf as well. I’ve decided that every quarter I will check my stats to see how I’m doing when it comes to cleaning up my TBR
|
Currently |
December 31, 2017 |
|
|
Want to Read (New) |
506 |
511 |
|
To Read (Sequels) |
317 |
301 |
My Thoughts: I think it goes without saying that every time I lower the “new” shelf, the “sequel” shelf gets bigger. But I’m doing a good job of not adding too many books to my TBR each month. May was a tough month because I got a lot of great freebie reads from various newsletters. I also find that I’m not as picky as I once was with audiobooks–meaning I’m more willing to read a book in the audio version than the physical now that I listen to books on a regular basis and am very comfortable with them as a format.
I’ve seen this meme floating around and thought it was a great idea to help me tackle my TBR list and reach that less than 500 goal. The idea is to go through 5-10 books on your Goodreads TBR list chronologically and decide if they should stay or go. I usually do a big Goodreads Purge twice a year but I like the idea of doing a little bit at a time and have decided to do this on a monthly basis.
This month (7 “new to me” titles; 3 “sequels”):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pass: 4 | Keep: 6
Grand Totals since January — Pass: 18 | Keep: 22
Did I make any mistakes with my decisions? Let me know in the comments below!
While this is a monthly meme hosted by Avalinah’s Books, I however will only be updating every quarter.
Since May, I’ve been working really hard on limiting ARCs in order to make my reading more manageable. Every month I give myself the allowance of requesting 3 ARCs as per my 2018 Reading Plan. So far, I’ve been following that rule when it comes to requesting titles for the summer. I’ve stopped browsing Netgalley on a regular basis; I keep review opportunities in my inbox for a few days before I make a decision; and I closed off direct requests through my blog until the fall.
My Progress for January to June, 2018:
ARCs Read: 54 | ARCs Overdue: 2+6* | Upcoming: 7
(March’s State: ARCs Read: 31 | ARCs Overdue: 4* | Upcoming: 12)
*Some of these books are from my Street Teams and they are “read ASAP” but I consider them to be overdue given the date I’ve received them.
Going Forward:
I’m in an OK position when it comes to ARCs. Of the ones upcoming, a lot aren’t due until August or September so I have some time. I do have a lot of street team reviews that I want to get read for July so hopefully I can squeeze them in. Only 2 ARCs are truly overdue so they are a big priority for July. So far, I’ve been doing a good job of sticking to 3 ARCs a month and not signing myself up for two many opportunities. I’ve really been working on my impulse control by letting opportunities sit for 24 hours and reevaluating if should sign up or not and it really seems to be helping!
You can still join in on these discussions:
- Service Review: Kobo Audiobooks Subscription
- Trope Thursdays: Love Triangles
- Tips: How I Use Trello To Keep Track of Reviews
- SERIESous Spoilers: A Whole New World
Each month I have a list of 11 books I’ve selected to read for that particular month. These books include review copies and reading challenge picks. Here are some of the books I have ready to go for July:
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month? Have you done a mid-year review of your reading and blogging process?
Leave a comment below!
