SLIDER

2013 Resolution Recap

1. Take notes on finished book before starting a new one.
Ha! I love optimistic, New Year me. This definitely didn't happen, and I can't even give myself half credit. I haven't written any notes on books in forever, and I've completely lost the habit. I had all these ideas of sitting down to write reviews with my succinct and helpful notes by my side... Keep dreaming, self!

2. Write more discussion-focused blog posts.
Major success! I passed this resolution with flying colors, and I'm so glad it's something I thought to prioritize at the beginning of the year. Discussion posts ended up being my favorite ones to write and often resulted in some of my favorite comments. Here's a look at what I talked about in 2013:
3. Reply to all blog comments.
I'm going to say this one was achieved, even though I didn't always reply within a timely manner. I have to be honest, replying to all comments is just not feasible moving forward. I want to do it, but I also know that it just adds so much pressure to blogging. I need to figure out a better way to manage comments because I definitely want to reply to them, but I need to perhaps focus more on the comments that start a conversation, ask a question or provoke a discussion.

4. Stay up-to-date and comment on blogs I follow.
I think I'll give myself half credit on this one. I did better on this compared to 2012, but it wasn't a majorly significant improvement. This is actually something I really struggle with when it comes to blogging. I love reading blogs and really want to comment, but I haven't found a good way to balance everything. I feel like I don't have enough time in the day to read books, write posts, respond to comments, read blogs and leave comments. It's just too much! 
1. Read 100 books.
Success! As of writing this post, I've read 145 books this year. I had a feeling that I'd be able to easily meet this goal, but I'm happy that I kept it at 100 instead of trying to push myself to reach a higher number. I hate it when Goodreads gets all bossy and tells me that I'm falling behind on my goal!

2. Read books I own and get TBR below 50 books.
EPIC FAIL. I didn't even come close to succeeding at this goal or the next one. When I wrote the post at the beginning of the year, I had 98 books that I owned but hadn't read. I thought it was realistic to aim for getting it below 50 books, and now I have to laugh at my optimism. I can't remember if I counted classics in my original TBR, but if I did, I did even worse than I thought. My TBR on Goodreads is currently at 161 books. Y'ALL! I'm so disappointed in myself... and yet I have no major regrets, at the same time. So, you know, oh well. 

3. Don't buy a book unless I'll read it immediately.
Yeah, I don't even want to talk about this one. Just look at my monthly posts documenting what I added to my shelves to see how I long this resolution didn't last. I've started brainstorming what I could do next year to curb my book buying, and I've got a few ideas I think might work. I'll be writing a little update if I finally settle on something I think might solve this problem!

4. Read one classic and two re-reads per month.
This was a well-meant goal, but I only put in a half-hearted effort. I did re-read 21 books this year and read 9 classics, but they actually overlapped for the most part. I re-read two of my favorite series - Anne of Green Gables and Betsy-Tacy - so that accounted for most of the re-reads. Although it seems like I did pretty good on this goal, I'm not really impressed. I love to re-read and have let it fall by the wayside while blogging. I want to get this habit back!

ADDITIONAL BOOKISH GOALS

1. Try to listen to more audiobooks.
Yeah, this didn't happen. I like audiobooks, but I don't love them. Since I'm not in the habit of listening to them, I find it hard to concentrate. Sometimes my mind starts wandering and then, next thing I know, I've missed an entire chapter's worth of information. So, I've just taken to using audiobooks for re-reads when I do listen to them.

2. Finish three series.
I finished 12 series this year! Some of those were series I started and finished, some were complete series re-reads, and some were series where I finally read the last book published. Here's the full list:
  • The Katie Weldon Series by Robin Jones Gunn
  • The Unearthly Series by Cynthia Hand
  • The Boston Jane Trilogy by Jennifer L. Holm
  • The Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta
  • The Anne of Green Gables Series by L.M. Montgomery
  • The Matched Series by Ally Condie
  • The Bright Young Things Series by Anna Godbersen
  • The Betsy-Tacy Series by Maud Hart Lovelace
  • The Grand Tour Series by Lisa T. Bergren
  • The Passing Bells Series by Phillip Rock
  • The Infernal Devices Trilogy by Cassandra Clare
  • The Girl of Fire and Thorns Series by Rae Carson
3. Participate in one read-along.
Another goal where I succeeded! In fact, I actually one-upped it. I both hosted and participated in The Lumatere Chronicles Read-Along in February, March, and April. What did I learn from this event? While it was fun, I learned that I'm not really the right reader for read-alongs. They sound so fun to me in theory, but I don't end up really enjoying the experience in the end.

4. Complete one reading challenge.
YAY! I think it's obvious which section of my resolutions I enjoyed the most. I participated in the Summer Series Challenge that was hosted by Lauren at Love Is Not A Triangle, Heather at The Flyleaf Review and Asheley at Into the Hall of Books. Check out my goals post and my wrap up post for an update on how I did. I also got to write a really fun guest post for the challenge! I'm definitely hoping to participate in a series-related challenge again next year.

6 Kept + 0.5 Credit on 2
Final Tally: 7 Out of 12 Resolutions Kept

12 comments

  1. I think you did quite all right with all your resolutions! Finishing 12 series is awesome! I don't think I'll ever add something like 'get my TBR pile under X books' I just know it's not realistic. I already have so many books I need to read and I keep buying/getting them. I would only stress myself. I love that you are writing more discussion posts. I might try and come up with some resolutions for 2014 :)

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    1. Thanks Mel! Yeah, I was so optimistic about getting my TBR lower... Shouldn't be surprised I failed on that one! Glad you enjoy the discussion posts. Hope you have a fabulous 2014!

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  2. Hey, I think you did really well with your 2013 Resolutions. I always make resolutions knowing that I won't be able to complete them all. I've been trying to come up with a solution to answering blog comments as well. I like your idea of focusing on comments that leave a question or start a discussion. Sometimes I don't have anything to say for some comments.

    Now I'm feeling like making some 2014 resolutions. I'm feeling inspired. :)

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    1. Thanks Quinn! Yeah, I always make more resolutions than I'd ever reasonably be able to complete. But it's worth a shot! If you come up with a solution to the responding to comments thing, please share! I've got to get better at it. Yay for new resolutions!

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    1. Thanks so much! Those are both great goals for 2014 :)

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  4. I think you did a great job!! This is why I don't make resolutions haha. I don't like NOT achieving them! :)
    I really need to do better with taking notes while I read because my brain is swiss cheese if I leave my review unwritten for too long!
    I'm going to work on finishing more series in 2014 and hopefully also reading more books I already own.
    Good luck with the 2014 resolutions! :)

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    1. Haha! I don't make any "life" resolutions - just reading and blogging - for the same reason. I don't like failing at them. But I'm not as worried about failing at ones related to books.

      The notes thing is my worst habit. I'm pretty sure I'll never be able to make that happen. I love the finishing series + reading more owned books resolutions. Both will be on my list, too!

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  5. I think it's pretty awesome that you were able to achieve 7 out of your 12 resolutions! You definitely set concrete goals for yourself, and I'm pretty awed by the fact you were able to stick to them and accomplish most of them. Here's to hoping I'm as successful as you in keeping my goals for 2014!

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    1. Thanks Alexa! I clearly did better on the goals that were more specific and concrete (aside from the getting TBR below 50 books). I'm excited to make new goals for 2014! And I hope you're able to make and keep some fabulous goals in the new year :)

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  6. Wow, you had a lot of goals for 2013, so even though you seemed kind of disappointed that you didn't do as well as you'd hoped, you still did an awesome job! I mean, just look at all of those series you completed, how many books you read, and all of those discussion posts you wrote! Awesome job :) And yeah...does anybody ever REALLY follow the "I'm not going to buy more books unless I plan to read them immediately!" goal? Hahaha

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    1. Haha I DID have a lot of goals! I'm not too disappointed - just mad that the few I failed at were ones that I really needed to do better at (like reading more books I own). But yes, I did well on some others! So there's hope for me yet :) And really, what was I thinking with the "don't buy unless I'll read immediately?" hahahaha

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