May 2019

I made lots of changes when it comes to my reading and blogging this month…and it feels pretty great!

Here are some of the big changes I made:

1. I am no longer participating in blog tours
   • I unsubscribed from (nearly) all my mailing lists — more in my State of the ARC section for the details!
2. I am no longer updating my recap section of my blog
   • It’s much too time consuming and there are a lot of other sites that do it better than I do.
   • For now, the pages will remain on site for those I’ve already created and I’ll update those ongoing series. Otherwise, no new summaries from me!
     • You might have noticed I changed my blog header to reflect this 😉
3. I’ve changed my blog posting schedule!
   • Because I’m not reading as much as I used to, I’ve reduced the number of posts I make in a month to help spread out my content.

Why the changes? I still enjoy blogging in my spare time so I didn’t want to take a hiatus but I definitely wanted to reduce some of the pressures I put on myself because of my blog. I needed to make some changes that reflect the changes in my reading life. So that includes eliminating promotional posts (like ARCs since they have deadlines); reducing the amount of stuff I do to create content (like recaps); and posting less to make my content last longer.

I’m not sure if this will be a permanent thing but I definitely want to try doing so until the end of the summer (especially the reduced ARCs).

All those changes were at the start of the month. As May ended, my reading time waned a little bit. I scrambled to finish some ARCs I had committed myself to (all the more reason for the above changes!). But in Canada, when nicer weather comes, you have to seize it, so every spare moment was spent outside getting my house ready for the summer!

Total for May 2019: 13 Books Read + 1 Novellas Read

DNF’d: 0 Books

Last May: 15 Books Read + 0 Novellas Read + 1 DNFs

Standout Read (★★★★★)

This was everything I wanted in a spin-off sequel of one of my all time favourite YA series. It had the right amount of everything: nostalgia, romance, action, characters and it kept my full attention. I’m very excited to read the sequels and see where this series will go.

Biggest Let Down (★★)

While I loved the idea of this companion novel sequel, it just didn’t capture my attention.

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: 1 books added | # of 25 Titles Read – 4 books behind schedule
Goodreads Challenge: 14 books added | 65/200 Books – 17 books behind schedule
Tackling the TBR Challenge: 2 books added | /24 Books – 3 books behind schedule

View my Challenge Progress Here!

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:

Pass: 3 | Keep: 7

Grand Total YTD: Pass: 15 | Keep: 35

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 usually only update every quarter. I’ve made a special exception for this month because I’ve made some major changes to my personal ARC reading.

This past month, I’ve decided to unsubscribe to the various blog tour groups I’m a part of. It was quite the shock to quit cold turkey but it also felt great–freeing even.

Lately, reading ARCs has felt a little bit like a chore to me. I find I’m always scrambling to get them finished on time (sometimes because I don’t get the ARC right away; sometimes because life gets in the way) and it puts a pressure on me that I don’t want to be reflected in my reading experience and subsequent review of the work.

So what’s the plan going forward?

• Finish out the blog tour hosting dates I’ve signed up for
• Only review books from Street Teams or from author’s who I have worked with in the past
• Unsubscribe from all blog tour email lists
• I’m still a part of Netgalley and other review opportunity groups
  • Why? I find that they are much more flexible with their posting dates and I can likely get the book ahead of the publishing date

While I say this won’t be a permanent thing, I think it will be. Since I’ve made the decision, I feel like a weight has been lifted. And that weight extends to reading in general. I don’t always find the time to read every day but because I lack those deadlines, I don’t feel bad about it. It’s a very freeing feeling.

My Progress for January to May, 2019:

ARCs Read: 20 | ARCs Overdue: 2+1* | Upcoming: 1

(March State: ARCs Read: 10 | ARCs Overdue: 1+1* | Upcoming: 3)

*Titles given to me as a member of an author’s street team to read ASAP.

You can still join in on these discussions:

• SERIESous Discussions: Book Formats by Month [2]
• Movie Mondays: The Hate U Give

May was originally the month I chose for sequels (I have 4 months in a year where I only read sequels) but I switched it to June. For the month of June, I’m only reading sequels (with the exception of some pending ARCs).

What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month? Do you still read ARCs? Have you ever made major changes to the content of your blog?
Leave a comment below!

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