Tag: goals

Rosie6 Comments

Thoughtful Thursday – My 2021 Goals

Last month I went through what I was able to achieve with my blog in 2020 and now, as it is January, I wanted to outline the goals I have for myself and my blog this year for my first Thoughtful Thursday post! I’m not really one for resolutions, I always start off with good intentions but they never last the full year- I’m lucky if they last past January and some even past 2021!

Goodreads Reading Challenge

Although I managed to read over 100 books in 2020, this is definitely not the norm for me! So, with that in mind, I’m going to set my reading goal at 50 again and hope that last year wasn’t just a fluke!

12 Classics in 12 Months

In addition to my usual reads, each month I want to read a classic or a modern classic. These aren’t necessarily for reviews, but I might do a feature on the classic I read a month if you guys are interested in that. I have an idea of the classics that I want to read but, if you have any suggestions for me I would love to hear them!

Read One Japanese Book

For people that have been following me for the last few months, this might seem like an odd goal considering how much Japanese fiction I read last year. However, what I actually mean by this goal is to pick up Japanese studies again and enough to read a book – whether it be a short story, or more likely, a children’s book.

To Wait Before I Rate

Whilst I was very lucky in 2020 with the amount of great novels that I read, there were a few times where when I reflected a later few days or came to write the review, I felt that the rating I added to GoodReads was no longer accurate. Therefore, this year I’ve decided to wait before adding my rating to GoodReads instead of doing it as soon as I finished the book, as this will be a more accurate reflection of what I thought.

Read More Blog Posts

As things started to pick up towards the end of the year, I found that I was spending less time reading other blogs and reviews so I want to rectify this in 2021! Not only do I want to read more blog posts by the wonderful bloggers that I’m already following, but I want to discover some new ones as well so please send me any recommendations!

Keep Up With Tags Better

I love doing tags and ended up being tagged in quite a few last year, however I struggled to keep up with them as I was still getting settled into a schedule – then by the time I was it felt too late to do it. So next year, I want to stay on top of them much better and take part in them!

What are your goals for 2021? What do you want to focus on? Let me know in the comments!

Rosie2 Comments

Thoughtful Thursday – Reflecting on 2020

I can’t believe that it is the end of 2020, if I was reviewing this year the way I would a novel it would simply state that it did not live up to expectations and the pacing was way off at times – the beginning dragged and the end was rushed. That being said, I feel that I have been able to make the best of a, globally, terrible year.

In fact, if it wasn’t for lockdown then I may still be suffering from severe book burnout – instead I have read the most books that I have ever read in a single year. With this renewed enthusiasm for books, and reading, I found myself wanting to talk about them and start blogging again. As I had been away from the book community for as long as I was – I fully expected to spend the first six months to a year just shouting into the internet void. Instead, I was welcomed into the community in a way that I never was before and felt a part of it straight away instead of as an outsider looking in. So, thank you for that and for all the support you have given me.

It feels odd to be doing a year wrap up when I’ve barely been blogging five months or so. However, I think I have achieved a lot in those five months! 

  • I have a total following across all my platforms that exceeds (by a whole lot) the total that I had amassed after five years of blogging previously. 
  • I’ve also taken part in blog tours for the first time and love it!
  • I have created my own blog branding and even bought a domain.
  • So far I have been able to stick to a consistent blog schedule.
  • I have begun to form relationships with publishers and be sent arcs unexpectedly.
  • I am an affiliate of Blackwell’s and Bookshop.org UK. 
  • Most importantly, I have made so many friends in the community and I look forward to making many more in the future.

Outside of blogging the biggest, and most unexpected, aspect of this year was getting a fluffy addition to the family! It still feels very surreal to finally have a cat after wanting one for nearly two decades – even though I’ve only had Yuki for a couple of months I genuinely can’t imagine life without him – or what it feels to sleep through the night… or what it feels like to take photos of something other than him…

This is a fairly short wrap up as, like I said, I have not been back blogging for very long and I’m still very much still finding my feet. I hope to create more new content next year and have a fully fleshed out end of year review for 2021! I’ve already put together some goals for 2021 which I’m excited to share with you all in the New Year!

If you missed my top 5 books of the year, go and check it out – you may even find a new favourite yourself! 

Regardless of what 2020 brought for you this year, I hope that 2021 is everything you need and want it to be.