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| Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts At Midnight host the 2017 Discussion Challenge. |
I love New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made
them every year for as long as I can remember. Do I keep most of them? No, but
just writing a list of resolutions is helpful. I get to think about everything
I want to change and everything I want to stay the same. Resolutions help me
reevaluate my life.
At the beginning of 2016, I made a list
of reading and blogging resolutions. After I posted the list, I promptly forgot
about it. I knew that I made resolutions, but I didn’t remember what they were.
I thought it would be fun to look back and see if I accomplished any of them.
My 2016 reading resolutions
Resolution: Read more translations.
Outcome: Accomplished! In 2015, I read two translations. In 2016,
I read six.
Resolution: Read 100+ books.
Outcome: Accomplished! This is
the first time in recorded history that I read over 100 books in a year. I did
it by making reading a priority and watching less TV.
Resolution: Read older books.
Outcome: Accomplished! Only six of the books I read last
year were published in 2016. I think I did a good job of staying far away from
the hype train.
Resolution: Discover more books on my own instead of relying on
bloggers for recommendations.
Outcome: Fail. I didn’t spend much time in bookstores last
year. When I did go to bookstores, I mostly came home with books I first saw on
blogs.
Resolution: Read more poetry, plays, graphic novels,
nonfiction, short story collections, and books from small publishers.
Outcome: Um . . . success and failure? I read more poetry
and plays in 2015. In 2016, I read more graphic novels, nonfiction, short story
collections, and indie books than in 2015.
Resolution: Read more classics.
Outcome: Accomplished! I mostly
focused on classic horror, but that counts right?
Resolution: Find “bizarre” books.
Outcome: I’m not sure. This goal
is pretty vague. I guess I’ll proclaim myself successful because I did read
some strange stuff.
Resolution: Read more prize-winning books.
Outcome: Does buying prize-winning books count? I paid
attention to many of the major literary awards, but a lot of the winners are
still sitting on my TBR shelf.
Resolution: Zero by ’17.
Outcome: *Dies from hysterical
laughter.* Fail.
Resolution: Read the Mistborn trilogy by Brandon
Sanderson and the Unwind dystology by Neal Shusterman.
Outcome: Half accomplished! I read (and loved) all the Unwind books, but I DNFed Mistborn. It was too dense for me.
2016 Blogging Resolutions
Resolution: Keep going. (Just
keep swimming . . .)
Outcome: Accomplished! I had to take several hiatuses,
but I’m still here. You haven’t killed me yet, blog!
Resolution: Learn to use
Twitter.
Outcome: Slightly
accomplished. Twitter and I will never be friends. I’ll keep trying.
Resolution: Promote the blog
(and don’t feel bad about promoting the blog).
Outcome: Fail. I
discovered that I don’t know how to promote a blog. What do my fellow bloggers
do to get followers? I’m not even sure how many followers my blog has.
Resolution: Comment more.
Outcome: Accomplished! (But I still feel guilty). I’m
not the best at replying to comments on my own blog, but I do comment on other
blogs every morning. It’s what I do while I eat breakfast. One hand for food,
one hand for typing.
Resolution: Review more
under-hyped books.
Outcome: Accomplished!
One of the most common comments on my blog is “I’ve never heard of that book.”
I think this means I’m doing my job.
Resolution: Write more
discussion posts.
Outcome: Accomplished! My goal was to write 12
discussions in 2016, and I did it.
Resolution: Support new
bloggers.
Outcome: Accomplished! I
now follow over 1000 book blogs on Bloglovin’. Whenever I find a book blog with
only a few followers, I follow it. If I don’t follow you on Bloglovin’, let me
know so I can correct that.
Resolution: Maybe more
personal posts?
Outcome: Accomplished! I
feel like I talk about myself constantly on here. You guys love reading about
me, right? (Please don’t answer that question.)
Resolution: Be positive and
spread the bookish love.
Outcome:
I gave it my best shot. I
hope my blog posts made somebody laugh, or think, or pick up a book that’s
outside their comfort zone.
Resolution: Take pictures of
books.
Outcome: I tried. I
learned that I kinda hate book photography. It’s a lot like making graphics,
which I also hate. I’ll stick to nature photography.
Let’s
discuss: Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Did you meet your 2016 goals?
You did well overall on your goals so well done! That book cartoon about not buying any new books until everything is read just sums me up I think! I generally stick with a couple of basic challenges for the year which I can focus on. One of my friends tried to do 60 book challenges all with different rules which left her so mixed up and confused, she could barely remember her name!
ReplyDeleteWow, 60 challenges! That’s insane. I’m doing 4 this year because that seems manageable.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
You did really great with them!! I am super impressed! I ignored how poorly I did on the ones I set last year and just made new ones for this year :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I didn’t expect to do so well when I made them.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I definitely think you read some bizarre books in 2016, so mark that one as accomplished! I most definitely saw some really weird reviews! XD You did so great on so many of your goals! I wish I could help you with promotion, but I honestly suck. I don't know how to attract new followers either. I did gain quite a few through a giveaway, so I guess give away free stuff? I'm forever envious of people with a bazillion followers. Good luck in 2017!
ReplyDeleteTracy @ Cornerfolds
Thanks! I guess I need to get some stuff to give away. I’ve always wanted to do a giveaway, but I haven’t been able to yet.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think you still did pretty well with all of your resolutions! I failed most of mine. Here's to a better 2017!
ReplyDeleteKrystianna @ Downright Dystopian
Thanks and good luck!
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
You did a great job with your goals overall!
ReplyDeleteI totally get the relying on bloggers for recs as opposed to picking my own books. Sometimes you've just got to go to the bookshop with nothing in hand (but cash) and have a good old wander. Make specific time for it. I'm sure you'll discover some great gems.
I've really enjoyed the discussion posts you've shared this year, and I definitely come away from your blog with something to think about or a new book added to my wishlist. I also love that you're so supportive of smaller / newbie blogs.
I'm rubbish with book photography... I much prefer nature photography. Although my pictures are nothing like the beautiful ones I come across on other blogs, I'm glad I push myself outside of my comfort zone and take my book pictures.
I enjoyed reading your reflections on your resolutions. Happy reading and blogging in 2017!
Thanks! Making time to wander through a bookstore would be helpful. Usually I run in, grab a few books, and run out because I’m busy.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
You had a lot of resolutions and goals there in the first place! It would have been hard to keep up with them all. But a lot of these are accomplished, so you did brilliantly, actually. And maybe some you didn't make, but we can't always win it all...
ReplyDeleteThanks! I did have a lot of resolutions. I made fewer this year, but they might be harder to accomplish.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Looks like you did pretty awesome on your resolutions! I think I had the read more translated work...but I super failed at that haha. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks! Reading translated books was hard because not many bloggers read them. Finding books that interested me was difficult.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I think you did a great job with last year's resolutions! Yay for reading over 100 books. That is a huge accomplishment. I love all of your discussion posts of the past year. Looking forward to much more fun in 2017!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I was very surprised when I got to 100. That’s never happened before.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Wow! You have accomplished so many of your goals. I don't make official resolutions per say, but the new year is the time when I start to think about some of the directions that I am moving, or would like to move, and make adjustments. I have strived to discover more books that I am not finding on blogs too, and have done alright with that. It is actually really nice to read a book that I end up loving that received no buzz. That has always seemed like the point of book blogging to begin with, spreading the love for a book that others may have not otherwise discovered.
ReplyDeleteAs far as prize winning books go, I work on that from time to time, but I am unfortunately on the same tragic path that you find yourself on, buying them and not getting so far as to actually read them. They make my shelves look really smart though. :)
That’s exactly why I want to discover more books on my own. If a book is on a bunch of blogs, it’s already gotten a lot of hype. I know there are some lesser-known books in the world that deserve more attention.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Okay so first of all, you actually made me smile in THIS POST, so mission accomplished. Your meme game was on point here, for sure. Also, I love that you talk about yourself! I DO love that! I think it is SO awesome that you try to follow and support more bloggers- you are too sweet! I admit, I used to follow more easily but then my feeds got clogged and I just.... I couldn't handle it. And YAY FoR UNWIND! This makes me so happy. I also feel you on the book photography. As much as I love taking like, travel photos and such... bookstagram stresses me out way too much to be fun. And I still don't totally "get" Twitter. I mean, I DO, I just don't know what people want ME to say. Everyone else is so much more... clever. And I don't think 140 characters is enough to contain me ;) GREAT job on the resolutions last year, I am quite impressed!
ReplyDeleteYES! I never know what to say on Twitter. I’m a profoundly uninteresting person. What am I supposed to tell these Twitter people? Also, my Bloglovin’ feed is a disaster because I follow so many blogs. I tried to organize it, but . . . nope.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Congrats on reading 100 books! I have never read that many in a year, but I think I can do it if I also watch less TV and read more graphic novels and short books. :p
ReplyDeletePlease keep writing personal posts! I need to be better about it too.
I'm soo sad you didn't like Mistborn. That means you won't enjoy Sanderson's brilliant Stormlight Archives *cries forever*
Good luck with getting to 100! I’ve always struggled with fantasy books. I try, but I guess it’s just not my genre.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Considering you didn't actually track your resolutions in any way, you did a fantabulous job! I think even just making the resolutions puts them at the back of your mind so you're kind of aiming for those goals even when you're not. Make sense? I've loved getting to know you (more? Ugh, I'm horrible at remembering when I started following people) this past year, so I think you're doing everything right! :-)
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
WOW, that's a lot of goals and you did so well! I am a bit sad you didn't like Mistborn. I love it and I'm not touching the Unwind books. To each their own and good luck on this year! I only hope I do as well as you.
ReplyDelete