2019 Goals

Posted December 31, 2018 by Carole in Random Thoughts / 45 Comments

Happy New Years Eve!
It is so hard to believe that today is the last day of 2018.  I have been thinking a lot about my goals for 2019 and I have come up with a plan. 
The Blog
Overall, I would say that I am pretty happy with the blog and don’t want to make any big changes with it.  Of course, I would love more followers but it is what it is.  The blog turned 5 years old about a week ago and I have learned over the years what works and what just causes me stress.  I do struggle to keep up with comments at times but I think that most bloggers have that experience.   I am trying to do a little bit every day and am trying to be happy with what I am able to do.
Books and Reading
Every year I set a goal about getting caught up with my pile of past due ARCs and every year I make just a little bit of progress.  I hope that this year will be different and I actually have a plan to make it happen.  I hope that by setting a few simple rules for myself I will actually be able to make some real progress.
Rule #1 – Limit the number of ARCs I add to my pile
This might be the most important rule and I have realized that I need to be more specific with myself if I am going to make it happen.  I am going to allow myself to add 52 new books for review in 2019.  (This does not apply to audiobooks since I have no past due audiobooks.)  I have a spreadsheet already set up so I can keep track of new ARCs as they come in.  I think that adding an average of 1 ARC per week should be doable.
Rule #2 – Read books from rotating categories.
I really want to read my old arcs, my current ones, and some of the books that I own.  I have spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to balance everything out.  I have come up with something that seems to be working.  
I am reading from 3 rotating categories: 
Old – Any review book that is more than 6 months past due
New – Any review book that is current or less than 6 months past due
Anything – This is where I can read whatever I want to read.  Library books, books from my shelf, or possibly an ARC.  
I have a spreadsheet set up and when I finish a book and need to pick out something to read next, I can just look and see what category I can choose from.  I started doing this at the beginning of December and it seems to be working.  In December, I am close to finishing my fifth past due ARCs, 4 current ARCs, and for the anything category, I read a library book, a couple of audiobooks for review, and a book that I received from the publisher.  
Rule #3 – Write reviews within 1 week of finishing a book
I have developed a really bad habit of writing all reviews the night before the post goes live on my blog.  My life is too busy for this and it just causes stress.  I have learned that reviews are much easier to write when the book is fresh in my mind and writing reviews months later just doesn’t work well for me.  I spent my Christmas holiday getting all of my reviews caught up and currently only have one to write for a book that I finished just a couple of days ago.  Writing reviews sooner needs to be a habit!
2019 Challenges
Goodreads Challenge
Once again, I plan to set my Goodreads challenge at 100 books.  I will probably hit that mark sometime in the summer but I like going with the low-stress approach with this challenge.  It is just fun to see where I end up at the end of the year.  
2019 Blogger Shame Challenge
I hope to read 50 past due review books for this challenge.  
This should be doable with my reading plan for 2019.
This is hosted by Anna @ Herding Cats and Burning Soup
2019 Audiobook Challenge
I hope to achieve the Marathoner level for this challenge which is 50+ audiobooks.
This challenge is hosted by Hot Listens & Caffeinated Reviewer.
You can sign up on either blog using the links above.
2019 New Release Challenge

I am going to try for the New Release Veteran level on this challenge which is 61-100 books.
I should be able to get to 61 books with the 52 new review books that I am allowing myself to add this year, the books I already have, a few purchased books, and a few from the library.
This challenge is hosted by Lexxie and Brandee @ (un)Conventional Bookworms.
You can sign up here.

Books I can’t wait to read in 2019!

What are some of your blogging or reading goals for 2019?

45 responses to “2019 Goals

  1. Good luck with your 2019 goals. Rule #2 sounds like it would be interesting, I hope it all works out for you. I'm also looking forward to reading Storm Cursed, it's one of my favorite series.

  2. I personally really enjoy your blog! I'm glad I don't have ARCs to worry about or library books so I can just work through my personal pile! I'm determined to do a better mix of books this year and tackle some neglected genres but there will still be plenty horror! Happy New Year!

  3. Looks like you have some wonderful steady goals for the new year. I think its important that if you don't want to be stressed out by blogging, you gotta find what works for you and stick with that. There are some fun challenges this year for me, I am most excited for Romanceopoly from UTC. Happy New Year

  4. Limiting ARC's and writing the review within a day of reading the book was one of my goals this year. I have been doing pretty good with that and it made it a lot easier for me too.

    • I have been saying that I was going to limit ARCs but didn't really set a limit for myself. I need a limit! I don't like to write reviews the day I finish a book but I think a week should be enough time to really get my thoughts together.

  5. My goodness you have a lot of goals! I wish you luck with all of them!

    My goals are to read more Fantasy, as it seemed to be the genre I enjoyed most this year, and to really hone in on what I like so I'm not constantly DNFing. I feel like I've done way too much DNFing this much, and I want to invest my time in 'sure things' as best I can.

    Thanks for sharing, and cheers to 2019!

    • I don't really have that many goals but I am pretty specific with what I want to achieve. I put it here so that I will feel accountable and will be more likely to follow the plan.

      It is so important to read books that you are really enjoying. Otherwise, what is the point. I need to mix up genres or I get bored but fantasy is definitely a favorite.

  6. Your ARC plan sounds brilliant! It is a stress having overdue ARCs out there, making you feel guilty for picking up any non-review book just for fun. I did sign up for the Audiobook challenge, and I think that'll be easy to complete because I listen on my commute (an hour+ each way) and while I exercise. I might check out that Blogger Shame challenge.

    I'm dying for the new Patricia Briggs and Ilona Andrews, too!

    • Thanks, Rachel! I am stressed about my huge pile of overdue ARCs. I still am looking forward to most of them but I just haven't found the time to read them. I am hoping that this plan will force me to make time for those older books while still allowing me to read a few newer ones.

  7. You have put some good thought into this and I see this as working well for you. I like that you made yourself get specific so it will actually happen. I did something similar with the rotation reading a few years ago and I can vouch for how that has worked great and I can sustain it over the long haul.
    You picked some good challenges to support your goals, too. Brilly!

    Go get 'em, Carole!

    Great picks for your new year reading. I have two of those on my list.

  8. I'm doing the 2019 New Release Challenge too so maybe we'll read some of the same books?!
    I'm actually up to date with my ARCs amazingly so I 'just' have to maintain that. It's too much NetGalley clicking that causes my review overloads. Tough not to log in and just browse though!
    Happy New Year!!

    • I am looking forward to being a part of the New Release Challenge this year. I have not done a lot of challenges before so this is an exciting change for me. I know that it will most likely take me more than a year to get completely caught up but I hope to be a much better spot with my ARCs this time next year.

  9. Great Rules. I do #3 and mostly #1. Where I fell apart on #1 is audiobooks since they came from different places. But I only have 2 left that are old. The rotation seems like a good plan. I just work from a spreadsheet and look at what is due next but if I'm ahead on things I pick out a library book or something I just want to read. I WANT to read everything on my schedule so that isn't a problem unless I have too much of one genre all at once. I can't do too much romance or too much fantasy all at once. It don't seem to be a problem with mysteries though.

    Good luck and don't be afraid to make minor plan adjustments as you go forward. I love the 2019 books there! Happy New Year! Anne – Books of My Heart

    • I needed to set a specific plan for myself this year. I want to read everything but I just can't and I end up with too many books every year. I just started keeping a spreadsheet last year and it was so helpful. I am excited to start seeing some progress with this older pile of ARCs.

  10. Happy 5th blogiversary! I like that 3 pile rotation thing. I introduced my One Old, One New feature, which has been a great way to make me read backlist. I am trying NOT to request, and I swear. I break out in a sweat when I go to EW or NG, because I see all these books I want to read, but I have resisted clicking. Good luck with all your goals!

    • Thanks, Sam! I think that your One Old, One New is a great way to make sure you are tackling those older books. I also want to read some of my own stuff this year. I know that I won't be able to stop requesting so I am allowing myself an average of a book a week and I hope that helps me stay really selective with my requests.

  11. I've created a spreadsheet and also got one from another blogger to help keep track of ARCs and stats. I want to get back to my old ARCs (if they are available) too next year. I want to read at least 12 ARCs next year if possible. I can't believe you request so many. That's actually something I wish I can do but the old ARCs are keeping me from doing so. Rule #3 is something I need to incorporate as well. I usually review something the day of but I have prescheduled a few posts in January and want to continue that trend. The covers of your can't wait list look really cool. I particularly like Protect the Prince which I believe I mentioned on your blog before. I hope you are able to accomplish all you reading goals and have a wonderful year. Happy New Year!

    • I didn't think that I would but I am loving my spreadsheets! I keep track of everything in a google doc that I can get to no matter where I am. 52 NetGalley books would be a giant step down. I read 187 books in 2018 so that is really a small percentage. Good luck with your goals, Adriana!

  12. I set a strive for list as: one personal backlist book, one backlist ARC, one Newbery Award book, one lifestyle/self-help book, one biography memoir a month plus my current ARCs. I'm not very strict with these lists, though. Ha ha. ?

  13. I have a huge list of 19 goals in a blog post but one of my reading ones is to read 100 books and stick to my buying ban until June 2019! I also really like the sound of rotating your reading so that you manage to stay on top of ARCs and also catching up on your TBR. I hope it works for you and all your challenges go well 🙂

  14. I love how you are approaching your reading this year. I really like your idea of rotating reads. I may have to implement something like that too. Good luck with all your challenges and goals!