March 2019
I’m only 3 months in, but I can tell 2019 is going to be a different sort of year for me.
Get ready for a long, reflective post 😛
Compared to previous years, I find I visit my blog only a handful of times during the week to write new posts and do upkeep. And that probably goes hand in hand with the fact that I seem to be reading less than ever before. I’ve read significantly less books in these first 3 months of the year when compared to last year (there’s like a 10 book difference!). This is the first time in years where I’ve been severely behind in my Goodreads challenge.
I do my best to remind myself that there are a lot of external factors that have impacted my reading in 2019. I recently moved and getting settled takes up every spare moment I have. Plus, my responsibilities have changed as a result of my move (and just the fact that I’m getting older). My work schedule is insane–which is why every spare moment has been going towards my house chores because if I’m not living at work, I’m trying to get my actual living space in order. And because I moved closer to work, I’m listening to less audiobooks in a month and I think that has drastically impacted my monthly reading stats.
>> SERIESous Discussion: Reading Formats by Month
I’m optimistic about the next few months though. I’ve almost finished everything I want to do to my new place, so I’m hoping to get more time to read as a result. My work schedule is also going to change in May and I have a nice vacation scheduled for April so I should see some improvements there.
But I think the biggest factor is that I’m getting more and more comfortable with this shift to my reading habits. I always knew that as I got older, the number of books I would read in a year would dwindle as my responsibilities and interests changed. And when it comes to what I read, I find myself craving flexibility. I want to just pick up a book on a whim because it sounds good not because I need to read it by a certain date.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love doing ARCs and review requests–and I will continue to do them. But I think in the months to come, I’m really going to start to limit the number I do in a month so I can have the option to read that eBook that has been sitting on my eReader for 2 years untouched; or pull that sequel from the library shelves I’ve been avoiding for months. So what’s in store? I’ve outlined what I’m going to do going forward in my “State of the ARC” and “On Order” sections of this post.
Total for March 2019: 10 Books Read + 2 Novellas Read
DNF’d: 0 Books
Last March: 27 Books Read + 3 Novellas Read + 1 DNFs
Standout Read (★★★★)
I’m so happy to return to the world of Briar U!!! While this one took me a few chapters to get into, I had a hard time putting it down by the end. I just loved the slow burn!
Biggest Let Down (★★)
While I think we can all agree that Chaol needed a serious reboot as a character, I found that the vast majority of this novel was filler. You could have easily accomplished everything this 600 page novel did in 150 pages.
For Black Friday this year, Kindle had a promotion for new Kindle Unlimited Subscribers where you got 3 months of reading for only $0.99!!! Usually, we don’t get these deals in Canada so I made sure I locked in ASAP. I started my subscription at the start of December and it ended within the first week of March. I wanted to keep track of what books I read to see if what I read is worth the monthly fee just like I did when completing the free trial a few years ago.
- Aced $3.91
- Spiked $3.95
- Pan $5.30
- MVP $1.31
I made these books a priority and it paid off. I’m adding a total of $14.47 to my $25.78 total since December for a grand total of $40.25. Pretty good for a $1 purchase!
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.
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As of: |
March 31, 2019 |
March 31, 2018 |
| Total % of Library Complete |
% |
23% |
| Total # of Books Finished |
# |
284 |
| Total # of Reading Hours |
# |
2511 |
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Most Viewed Post
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Most Viewed Review
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Previously posted series reviews that got updates:
You can always get the full details on all my challenges on my dedicated page but here is a quick update:
5 Year 5 Book Challenge: 2 books added | 3 of 25 Titles Read – Behind!
Goodreads Challenge: 11 books added | 11/200 Books – 11 Books Behind!
Tackling the TBR Challenge: 0 books added | 4/24 Books – Slightly Behind
View my Challenge Progress Here!
Every quarter, I check the status of my Goodreads shelves to see if I’m reducing (or increasing) the number of items on my TBR. My goals for 2019 are to reduce my “New to Me” TBR to ~400 as well as my “Sequel” shelf to less than 250.
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Currently |
December 31, 2018 |
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Want to Read (New) |
465 |
472 |
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To Read (Sequels) |
261 |
263 |
I used to do a big Goodreads Purge twice a year but I like the idea of doing a little bit at a time and had great success last year doing this on a monthly basis. The idea is to go through 5-10 books on your Goodreads TBR list chronologically and decide if they should stay or go. My 10 titles consist of 7 “new to me” titles and 3 “previously started series” titles.
This month:
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Pass: 2 | Keep: 8
Grand Total YTD: Pass: 8 | Keep: 22
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
While this is a monthly meme hosted by Avalinah’s Books, I only update every quarter.
My Progress for March 2019:
ARCs Read: 10 | ARCs Overdue: 1+1* | Upcoming: 3
(January State: ARCs Read: 5 | ARCs Overdue: 1+2* | Upcoming: 3)
*Titles given to me as a member of an author’s street team to read ASAP.
Going Forward:
While I already have a limit of no more than 2 ARCs per month (and I’ve been doing a pretty great job sticking to it!), I plan on accepting less ARCs on a monthly basis in the coming months. As per my 2019 Reading Plan, I allow myself to request 2 ARCs (blog tours, Netgalley, review opportunities, requests) every month. However, I didn’t book myself for any ARCs this past month in an effort to play catch-up…and I really loved it.
It’s a little hard to explain but I’ll try. See, it used to take me 2-3 days to read a book but now it’s taking me an average of 5 because I don’t always have the time to read everyday. I try not to read multiple books at a time because my reading time is already sparse (though I do often overlap) and so I don’t always get to my ARCs as soon as I should. And then I feel pressed to read them by the deadline and that dampens my enjoyment.
So what’s my new plan? I’m going to further limit my ARCs until I can get a better grasp on reading and life. How am I going to do it?
- Only look at review opportunities every other month
- delete emails from review opportunity groups without reading them
- ex. In the month of April I won’t be signing up for any tours for future dates regardless of if those dates fall outside of the month of April
- delete emails from review opportunity groups without reading them
- Only read books from Street Teams I’m truly interested in
- Start reading ARCs ASAP once received!
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month? Have you broken any resolutions yet?
Leave a comment below!
