I definitely thought April might go a different way for me in terms of reading (ie I would be reading more) but it was pretty par for the course. I was hoping to have more free time during my vacation but I ended up playing navigator so I couldn’t spend my time in the car reading or listening to my audiobooks like I had hoped.
I also set a goal for myself to not sign up for more ARCs and I was somewhat successful. I caved when a review opportunity showed up for one of my favourite authors. Otherwise, I’m really happy with where I am when it comes to my ARCs.
Happy 6 Years to Me!
I totally didn’t realize that this anniversary was coming up but it’s been 6 years since I started my blog!
I love dark romances and this series is quickly becoming my all time favourite. I just love everything about Kai and Enzo’s story. I’m two novels in and DESPERATE for the rest!
Biggest Let Down (★★★)
I definitely had different expectations for what I wanted this novel to be. I was very close to DNFing it because it was so slow at the start. Add to that an underdeveloped romance and I just didn’t overly enjoy my reading experience.
You can always get the full details on all my challenges on my dedicated page but here is a quick update:
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
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass: 4 | Keep: 6
Grand Total YTD: Pass: 12 | Keep: 28
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
Originally, May was supposed to be about book sequels but I have a few too many ARCs to read so I’m going to focus on those and save the sequels for June instead. I’m also hoping to play some catch-up with my reading challenges as well.
Just a short recap of my month this time around. How was your April?
Leave a comment below!
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
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.
*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
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!
Well, it’s no surprise that the shortest month of the year seemed to fly by!
For me, February was a weird mix of things. I moved closer to work in January so I’ve been using every spare moment since then unpacking, painting and setting up my ideal living space. I try to read a chapter or two before bed but sleep wins out. I also lost about 4 good days of reading thanks to my Lasik surgery at the start of the month. Thank goodness I had audiobooks to listen to because there isn’t a whole lot you can do when your vision is all over the place. Things have become much more manageable in both regards now so I was able to play catch-up on those days I missed by the end of the month.
And catch-up was an important thing to do! I was able to get Kindle Unlimited for 3 months for $1 (!!!) back in December but I haven’t been the best about reading anything from it. (I read ZERO books from there in January!). That all changed this past month! February was also the first of four months I plan to dedicate solely to series sequels in 2019. With the exception of a few ARCs, every title I read this past month has been a sequel for a series I’ve already started, which was GREAT! I should have done that years ago!
Total for February 2019: 14 Books Read + 2 Novellas Read
I really loved the hazing aspect to the plot. It handles the topic so well and was so relevant. Plus, the romance was super cute!
Biggest Let Down (★★★)
While I still enjoyed this novel, I had different expectations for the type of story it would be. This just had too many pages in it and that led to some pacing issues.
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 will end 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.
Twice Burned $4.90
Logan $6.33
Acting Brave $4.99
Be Mine $1.27
Aced $3.91 — in progress
If you add that to my December total of $8.29 (I didn’t read any in January—oops!), I’ve read a total of $25.78 for the price of $1! Fantastic!
In an effort to reduce the number of book series I have on the go (123 and counting!), I’ve decided to dedicate 4 months of 2019 to sequels. I usually do this with what I dub “Sequel September” but I wanted to spread out the love throughout the year. Februrary, given that it is the shortest month, was a good month to test this new project on. And I had some fabulous results! Approximately 78% of the books I read this month were sequels! You can see the breakdown of what I read below:
I used to do a big Goodreads Purge twice a year but I liked 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
Pass
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass
Pass
Keep
Keep
Pass: 4 | Keep: 6
Grand Total YTD: Pass: 6 | Keep: 14
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
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 March:
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month?
Leave a comment below!
Well, what a start to the new year! I’m not sure everything went to plan for me in January but I had a lot of changes this past month and it’s no surprise that my read reflects that.
I recently moved closer to work–which has been fantastic with the weather of late (I shovelled more snow in 5 days than I did all of last year). But with a shorter drive, that means I don’t listen to as many audiobooks anymore. Audiobooks really maintained my reading numbers last year because I could listen to 2+ hours a day with my drive. I still listen to them (because I really do love audiobooks!) but only a little bit at a time so they take me longer to finish.
The other reason my reading is so abysmal is that I’ve been so busy readying my new place while working full time that I can only manage a chapter (if I’m lucky) of my book before sleep calls my name. I’m nearly there putting the finishing touches on my new place so I’m hoping I can churn out a few more books this month.
Total for January 2019: 10 Books Read + 1 Novellas Read
I love thrillers/suspsense novels but I’ve never had a great experience with romantic suspense–until I started K A Tucker’s Burying Water Series. This was a fantastic follow-up to the first novel!
Biggest Let Down (★★)
In theory, this novel should have been a knock out of the park for me but boy, did it sure not work for me. It took me nearly two months to finish (a sign I should have DNF’d it ages ago).
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 will end 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.
NONE
Despite stocking my Kindle with many books, I didn’t get to any! This month is all about the sequels so I hope to get a few in before my subscription stops.
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.
My main mission for 2018 was bringing my “Want to Read” shelf (new to me books) on Goodreads to a number below 500—and I totally did that! So this year, I’m aiming for a “Want to Read” shelf that is less than 400 titles. I’ve also set a goal to get my “Sequel” shelf below 250 titles.
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:
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass
Pass
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass: 2 | Keep: 8
Grand Total YTD: Pass: 2 | Keep: 8
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.
*Titles given to me as a member of an author’s street team to read ASAP.
Going Forward:
I probably bit off more than I could chew for January all things considered but I made do. I’ve decided not to do any promotional reads in March so I can catch up and start fresh in April.
Each month I have a list of 6 books I’ve selected to read for that particular month. These books include review copies and reading challenge picks. This year, I’ve decided to make 4 months throughout the year sequel only months (excluding ARCs and 5Y5BC picks). Here are some of the books I have ready to go for February:
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month? Have you broken any resolutions yet?
Leave a comment below!
2018 was quite the year; I don’t know how else to describe it. I had a lot of big life changes along the way and they truly did impact my reading in ways I didn’t expect…
I’ve had many hobbies over the years but reading (primarily) and blogging are the ones that have stuck with me the longest. But there were days in 2018 that I didn’t pick up a book at all; and there were even times where I didn’t touch my blog at all during the week. Practically unheard of just a short year ago. I’ve talked about “adulting” before on this blog but 2018 was truly the year that phrase really meant something to me.
I know that last paragraph may sound a little bleak but I promise lighter times are on the way! Even with a shift in my priorities as my personal life evolves, I’m counting on a great 2019 in all things–but especially reading!
*Note some ARCs were audiobooks or novellas so they maybe have been counted twice
Standout Read (★★★★★)
I’ve been dying to read this book ever since I finished the first novel in its series and this did not disappoint! It was exactly what I needed to remind me what a good contemporary romance is!
Biggest Let Down (★★)
I love the Disney movie Aladdin so I was excited to see what a retelling focusing on a genie would be like. Unfortunately, the lacklustre romance pulled the magic carpet out from under this unique premise. (See what I did there ;))
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 will end 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.
Bad Romeo Christmas – $1.03
Arrogant Master – $2.99
Arrogant Playboy – $3.99
So I was just shy of reading books that would total the regular monthly fee but I definitely made back my $1!
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:
December 27, 2018
December 29, 2017
Total % of Library Complete
25%
22%
Total # of Books Finished
294
264
Total # of Reading Hours
2590
2511
Moving Forward: Cleaning up my Kobo eReader is my main priority for 2019 and I hope that will be reflected in my stats by the end of next year.
Overall: After such a dismal reading challenge year in 2017 I really wanted to get my TBR numbers down in 2018 and I think I managed to do that. (You’ll find the specific TBR stats below). Despite the fact that it felt like I rarely had a moment to read in 2018, I somehow managed to complete nearly all my reading challenges! The one exception is the Tackling the TBR challenge where I fell a little short. However, I still consider it a “success” when I take into account that by DNFing 9 novels from my personal collection–with the ones I finished–I did “remove” 36+ titles from my owned TBR so WIN!
For 2019 I wanted to make the focus be books I already own. It’s so easy to get caught up in the new releases and new library books; and that’s what I often do. But I have a TON of books waiting on my Kobo and Kindle eReaders (~100 on EACH device). Mind you, a lot of those are freebies I probably won’t ever read but who can resist free books?! Anyways, I’m bringing back my 5 Year 5 Book Challenge and my Tackling the TBR Challenge from 2018 to help me get the job done and clean up those eReaders.
My Goodreads Goal this year is 200 Books.
I read 40 more books than I expected this year (only 10 short of last year’s target) but the last few months have seen a drastic decrease to my reading numbers–and I only expect it to get worse come 2019. So I think by setting my goal to 200, it’s still an obtainable goal but one that I will have to be actively thinking about to achieve.
5 Year 5 Book Challenge 2019 Edition!
I really like doing this challenge ever year because it helps me get some of those backlisted titles off my TBR. It gives me specific titles to read and focus on. This year, 15 of my 25 selected books are from my personally owned collection!
I’m following the same guidelines as last year by only counting titles that I owned prior to 2018. The minimum goal is 24 titles in 2019. Titles from my 5Y5BC do not count towards this challenge (unlike last year).
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 was 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–and now it’s time to see if I reached my goal!
Currently
December 31, 2017
Want to Read (New)
472
511
To Read (Sequels)
263
301
I DID IT! It would be nice to say that I reached my goal by only reading the books but that isn’t solely the case. It was a combination of reading; DNFing titles I just wasn’t into; doing the Down the TBR Hole meme monthly as well as general housekeeping (removing sequels from series I don’t want to continue, etc) that truly helped get my numbers down.
Moving forward: I’m really happy with where my “New” TBR shelf stands but for 2019 but if I could get it closer to 400, I’d be one happy reader! I’d like to see my “Sequels” shelf dip below the 250 mark for sure though. I would also love to see a significant decrease to my Kobo and Kindle owned shelves (they currently sit at 80 and 70 titles respectively).
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 and will continue this into 2019.
This month (7 new to me series + 3 previously started series):
Pass
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass
Pass
Pass
Keep
Pass: 6 | Keep: 4
Grand Totals YTD — Pass: 45 | Keep: 55
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.
*Titles given to me as a member of an author’s street team to read ASAP.
Going Forward:
I’m sticking hard to my 2 ARCs a month for 2019. I might even limit the amount of ARCs I read by an author for the year (the exception being Street Teams I’m a part of) if I find it gets too much. I’ve also limited my requests from authors for the time being as well. My focus this year is really on books I already own and so I want to be more selective about the ARCs I pick up.
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past year and month?
Leave a comment below!
It’s crazy to me that we are already in the last month of 2018! Where did the time go?!
November wasn’t the best reading month for me (nor writing, I didn’t even attempt NaNoWriMo this year like I usually do). There were definitely days I didn’t even pick up a book; which had been so foreign to me until this year. Even my blog got neglected for most of the week–thankfully I have all my posts scheduled in advance! But work and life have a funny way of doing that to you. It has inspired me to write a post about a reading slump due to life…if I ever get around to it 😛
This December is all about wrapping up the year. I’ve got approximately 20 titles I need to read to finish all my challenges by the end of the month and I’m not sure if I can do it. I have created a list to follow and I’m hoping I can stick to it!
What else can you expect this month? On the blog I have started to do my first ever DNF December Review Blitz. More often than not, my DNF reviews don’t see the light of day (they get moved around in the schedule to accommodate blog tours, etc) so I wanted a way to get them out there. This year’s reviews are a mix of titles I DNF’d this year as well as in the last two years (or so). I also have a few year end wrap-up posts including my annual Reads in Review for 2018.
Total for November 2018: 12 Books Read + 2 Novellas Read
This series was a standout read for me in 2018. I loved the drama, sabotage and intrigue of the first novel and this sequel definitely measured up!
Biggest Let Down (DNF)
I definitely waited far too long to read this sequel. I just couldn’t bring myself to be invested in a series I hadn’t really loved during my first foray into it.
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 series + 3 previously started series):
Pass
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass
Pass: 2 | Keep: 8
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
December is all about wrapping up the year! I’ve got some new and returning year-end favourite posts in store that I hope you will enjoy! As for books, here’s what I have on my immediate TBR list:
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month?
Leave a comment below!
Like most month’s this year, I feel like October came and went in a flash!
Between life, work and vacation, I didn’t get much reading in. (That’s also why this post is happening super later than normal!). It helped my numbers a lot that I read a lot more novellas or shorter novels than I usually do. But, that still didn’t stop me from completing my Goodreads Goal ahead of schedule! Once again, I underestimated my reading prowess for the yearbut given the last few months, it’s a good thing I got ahead of schedule earlier this year because I’m not sure I would have reached it otherwise.
I met my goal of reading 190 books for the Goodreads 2018 Reading Challenge! For awhile it didn’t look like that was going to happen! https://t.co/ximdmOYQ7N via @goodreads
This book was everything I wanted it to be–it’s one of the best contemporary romances I’ve read in a long, long time!
Biggest Let Down (★)
I was super excited to return to this world with a brand new set of leads but this story took a turn/approach I did not appreciate in the slightest. What a disappointment!
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 series + 3 previously started series):
Pass
Keep
Keep
Pass
Pass
Pass
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass
Pass: 6 | Keep: 4
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
The main focus this month is to clean up my ARCs and get some reading challenge titles under my belt. Fingers crossed!
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month?
Leave a comment below!
September got off to a very rough start. I nearly DNF’d more books in the first 2 weeks than I did in all of August. So understandably, I felt myself getting into a bit of a reading slump by mid-month. Not fun. Was my crazy work schedule to blame? Was it my plan to only read sequels for the month of September? I’m not sure but it has been a long time since I’ve gone through what I consider to be a major reading slump so it was an unwelcome feeling.
But my mid-month, I seemed to be back on track. Like last September, I decided to make this past month all about reading sequels. Overall, with the exception of a few audiobooks and a reading challenge title, I did a pretty good job. Out of the 15 books I started and finished within this month, 10 were sequels. That’s means 67% of the titles I read this month were sequels! And while I didn’t read near as many books as I wanted to (or any of the ones I had actually listed to read), I’m still really happy that I was able to finish some pending series reviews and make a dent in my 52 Sequels Challenge.
My audiobook default speed is now officially 1.5X
Does anyone else change the speed when they listen or do you keep it at 1X?
In other news, I discovered that my new default audiobook speed is now 1.5X! When I first started listening to audiobooks, I kept the speed at 1X but I found that some narrators were talking too slowly so I sped it up to 1.25X in the last few months. But lately,even that’s too slow too! It’s crazy to me because even last year that would have been wayyy to fast to listen to. It’s been a great change though because (obviously) the books don’t take as long as to finish so I’m able to get through more in a month. Which I think is improving my overall enjoyment of the novels because they don’t seem as dragged out as they would otherwise.
Total for September 2018: 13 Books Read + 2 Novellas Read
I had an absolute blast listening to the audiobook! This was such a charming contemporary story and exactly what I wanted–and needed–it to be!
Biggest Let Down (DNF)
This book had all the right checks for me–Canadian Author, Fantasy, Competition–but it fell terribly flat. I don’t think it helped that I had a mediocre reading month either. This book just couldn’t hold my attention with its stiff writing and insta-love romance.
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.
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)
490
511
To Read (Sequels)
302
301
I feel really good about my numbers as they stand. I’ve been consistently under 500 for my “new” TBR items for the last few months so I’m optimistic I can meet my goal of less than 500 by the end of the year. It would be nice to see my “sequel” reads decrease a little more by the end of the year. I think some of those numbers are inflated (I haven’t been the most proactive in removing sequels from series I’ve decided to pass on from that list) but in some ways, it’s expected that when I read books from my “new” shelf, the sequels will be added to my “sequels” shelf.
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 series + 3 previously started series):
Pass
Keep
Pass
Pass
Pass
Pass
Keep
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass: 5 | Keep: 5
Grand Totals YTD — Pass: 31 | Keep: 39
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. However, since I participated in ARC August, I decided to do an update last month to see if the challenge had an impact on my ARC review status and I wanted to continue with my quarterly tradition by doing one for the month of September.
*Titles given to me as a member of an author’s street team to read ASAP.
Going Forward:
ARC August helped A LOT in getting my ARC list under control. This is definitely a much more manageable TBR list. So far, I’m right on track when it comes to sticking to my 2018 Reading Plan of limiting my ARCs on a monthly basis to 3. I’ve really gotten better at not signing myself up for every blog tour that peaks my interest and I haven’t been browsing Netgalley for titles either. I have a silly work schedule for October and a vacation planned where I won’t be reading much so that really helped me stick to my limits.
What a jammed packed month this turned out to be! Between readathons and vacations, I had a lot on the go. So August was never a dull month (and if it was, I just DNF’d the book I was reading :P)
August was all about my personal TBR list (ie books I own) with the Make Me Read It Readathon and cleaning up some long overdue ARCs for the various Street Teams I’m a part of via ARC August. Overall, I had a great time with both challenges and accomplished what I wanted to do. (You can read my final recaps on each further down).
Otherwise, August was a little bit out of the norm for me. A lot of the books I’ve had my eye on purchasing went on sale (YAY!) so I bought more books in a one week span than I have all year, but the deals were too good to pass up. I had also imposed a “no borrowing from the library” ban on myself for the summer and I stuck with it (surprisingly). The only time I broke that was to get some specific books for my challenges.
Like I did last September, I will be exclusively reading series sequels for the month of September. I’ll list some of the books I plan to read below but the idea is only read books for series I’ve already started. This year, I’m alternating between series I’ve read over the years and series I just started this year.
Total for August 2018: 19 Books Read + 0 Novellas Read
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 series + 3 previously started series):
Pass
Pass
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass
Keep
Keep
Pass: 4 | Keep: 6
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
My goal was to read 3 of the most voted for books during the readathon (and read the rest by the end of the year). Unlike last year, I managed to read all three books in the timeframe and complete my goal! I even attempted to read a 4th book from the list after the readathon but ended up DNFing it 🙁 But still, I’m really happy I managed to get meet my goal (and contribute to my other reading challenges in the process) and plan to get to the rest in October.
My goal for this challenge was to read a total of 6 ARCs and I ended up reading a total of 7 and DNF’d 2.
While this is a monthly meme hosted by Avalinah’s Books, I usually only update every quarter. However, since I participated in ARC August, I decided to do an update to see if the challenge had an impact on my ARC review status.
*One title was given to me as a member of an author’s street team to read ASAP.
(u) Unreceived ARC
Going Forward:
I’m really happy with the progress I made this month with my ARCs! It was great to get some of my backlogged titles out of the dust and read. I’ve done my best to stick to my limit of no more than 3 ARCs a month and have limited my review requests on my blog to only author’s I have reviewed in the past. Hopefully, I can maintain that for the rest of the year so I can concentrate on getting my reading challenges met for the year!
September is all about the sequels! This upcoming month, I’ve decided to alternate between series I started before 2018 and series I’ve started in 2018 as well as alternating genre types (contemporary then non-contemporary). Of course, I’ve integrated some of the my other reading challenges with my picks. Here are some of the books I have ready to go for September:
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month?
Leave a comment below!
Where did July go?! This month flew by in every way! Whether it was reading, life or work, I feel like the days just melted away in the summer heat.
I had a great July when it came to reading. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt in control of my reading. I wasn’t pressuring myself to read books by a certain deadline; I wasn’t overwhelmed with books out from the library and I could read whatever I wanted when I wanted. That’s the type of summer reading I like and want on my lazy days off and it’s something I’ve been striving for since I created my blog 5 years ago.
August is going to be a packed month for reading as well as life. I have some vacation time off but I’ve packed those days with events and the like. As for reading, I’m joining in on the annual Make Me Read It Readathon (a personal fave event) and participating in my second ARC August. So it’s going to be a busy one!
Total for July 2018: 21 Books Read + 1 Novellas Read
DNF’d: 2 Books
Last July : 20 Books Read + 4 Novellas Read + 3 DNFs
Standout Read (★★★★★)
I’m just so in love with this series!
Biggest Let Down (★★)
My gut told me to DNF this one in the first quarter but I stuck it out. It was just OK as I really struggled with it and ended up disappointed.
It’s back! Hosted once again by hosted by Val @ The Innocent Smiley and Ely @ Tea and Titles. There’s still time to vote for what books I should read for the upcoming readathon! My goal is to read 3 of the 10 books you vote for during the readathon (and then the rest by the end of the year).
I had a lot of fun participating in this for the first time last year and thought it was a great way to get through some of those ARCs I have still sitting on the back burner. This classic summer event hosted by Read. Sleep. Repeat!
Most of these are titles I’ve received through Street Teams with the idea that “you get to them when you get to them” but I’ve really been slacking (as you could see in my last State of the ARC post last month). So the plan for this August is to get to most of these titles by the end of the month! I want to read the 3 that are due for August and at least 3 more from my ASAP pile. Here’s some of the reads I have on the go:
The idea is to go through 5-10 books on your Goodreads TBR list chronologically and decide if they should stay or go. I do this on a monthly basis by going through 7 “new to me” books and 3 “sequel” novels and deciding what is a keeper and what is a pass.
This month:
Keep
Keep
Pass
Keep
Pass
Pass
Pass
Keep
Keep
Keep
Pass: 4 | Keep: 6
Did I give up on any too soon? Let me know in the comments below!
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 August:
What were your biggest reading or personal accomplishments of the past month?
Leave a comment below!
Tackling the TBR – The 2019 Challenge
