2018 Blog Goals & Giveaway!

Crushed on by kelly, on January 4, 2018, in Feature, Giveaways / 58 Comments

2018 Blog Goals & Giveaway!

Bring on 2018! Our 2018 Blog Goals may be bland or grand compared to others, but I am ready for a new year, are you?! This can get wordy, but Kelli & I want to share some of our plans with our readers! We have a wonderful readership and even though growth is always a goal, I am thankful for our steady readers! So if TL;DR, (made a summary list as well) feel free to jump to the end of the post for a giveaway!

2018 puts us well on our way into our 6th year of blogging & I think we have come a long way, baby! Even though I toy with the idea of re-branding the look and feel of our site, I get so many compliments for our design, that makes it hard to move towards anything else. So I hope you all don’t hate seeing the same color scheme and all! I may have struggled with coming up with unique content, but I loved some of the fun posts we did create. Plus having Kelli initiate things like Crush On This has helped keep some fun new posts on the blog. I hope we can continue to bring fun and inspired posts to the blog in 2018!

 

Kelly’s 2018 Blog Goals:

I hope that my goals will make me a better blogger, reader, and all around fangirl. I will also be discussing my 2017 successes and failures for you all to see! I will try and keep this brief and engaging but it is important for me to put things in writing to help hold myself accountable throughout the year. 

1. Instagram:

I really delved into Instagram the more than anything else this year. I think I personally like instagram the best out of any social media platform that I run, and I hope to continue to be inspired to take pretty pics. I have gained over 1350 followers this year (net gain 800-ugh), and I posted 325 photos, that is 130 more than last year. I also earned 25,000 more likes than last year! I also started a monthly giveaway photo challenge with Christy, @diamondxgirl, called #SignedBookSundays, and that has brought so much joy to my life. So join in the fun! My specific instagram goals are to post more consistently, create more insta stories, get more personal with my discussions, and let people see my face more. Those last two goals are advice from Christy, because she is always right, and helps push me out of my comfort zone! Thank you all so much for the likes, comments and continued support. The bookstagram community is so relaxing comparatively to say twitter, that I prefer to hang out with beautiful photos of books!

2. Goodreads Reading Challenge: 

I have participated in every Goodreads Reading Challenge dating back to 2011! (at least I think that was when Goodreads started the Reading Challenge since I have been a member since 2007 and can find no data on a challenge before this by searching out on the internets – may not be factual but feels right)! Every year I try and increase my reading goal. The only year I lowered my goal was 2013, because we were working really hard to get the blog going that I didn’t read as much. I am not a power reader. I am SLOW AF. I don’t know anyone who reads as slowly as I do. My partner who reads a few books a year can destroy me in a timed reading contest. So slow and steady I go…and I managed to read 125 books as of this post (maybe will finish one or two before the actual year end).

My 2017 goal was 100 books. I am ok with these numbers, I read a lot of serialized fiction this year and that boosted my numbers but reading is reading! I read 32 episodes of serialized fiction totaling 1,411 pages. So in my calculations I definitely broke the 100 books read mark no matter how you look at it.

My plan is to set my 2018 goodreads reading goal at 115 books! Let’s wish for no more reading slumps! I hope to challenge myself and read outside of my comfort zone, as well as read books I enjoy. Stop reading crap that I don’t want to read. READING FOR FUN!

2018 Reading Challenge

2018 Reading Challenge
kelly has
read 0 books toward
her goal of
115 books.
hide

 

3. Beat the Backlist:

Since I technically set a mini beat the backlist goal (but wasn’t a part of the challenge) to read just 5 specific 2016 titles in 2017 — and I read only 3 of them. JUST 3! Ugh! But I did read about 23 backlist titles, not too bad. So this year since I definitely bought more books than I read, I am going to join the official Beat the Backlist Challenge hosted by NovelKnight. My goal is to read at least a third of all books read in 2018 as backlist titles, so if I math right, that’s at least 36 books. I made a goodreads shelf and there are at least 65 books on it as of now, so let’s hope I read a whole lot of them! Which will help in my 3rd big goal.

4. Book Buying Ban:

So I think my biggest problem this year & every year, is that I buy A LOT OF BOOKS! I know…so many books, and I didn’t read half of them. As much as I want to own all the books, my personal library is overflowing. So I need to make some restrictive goals this year. I am going to try really hard to follow some of these rules:

  1. Only buy books that are already in a series I am reading
  2. Only buy books for signing events (if I haven’t read it yet)
  3. Only buy books that are in subboxes (and only buy them ONCE – cause I have a lot of duplicates)
  4. Read more backlist books that I already own
  5. Read more from the library
  6. Only buy it after I know I love it & must own it
  7. Read more books that I request for review
  8. Reduce, trade, donate, sell

5. Blogging Stuff:

You can check out what my 2017 Goals were, but I am going to tell you that I definitely set more ambitious goals than I actually accomplished. Where do people find the time?!

I had some great bookish accomplishments in 2017 that I am really proud of. I was asked to moderate Julie Eshbaugh for her book launch at Barnes & Noble. I have some anxiety so this was a big deal for me and something I always admired my friends who do this! I went to YallWest again and got to spend time with an amazing crew of bloggers, and get a lot of books signed! I got to meet so many people and authors. Even had an author tell me how much my blog, review, and support meant to her! Never would I have expected those kind words. I went to BookExpo/BookCon and what a maddening, yet fun industry event! I got to go to the NOVL (Hatchette) headquarters and wow so cool! I had breakfast with Penguin Teen authors! Had lunch with Cora Carmack, someone whom I have adored since we started blogging! Partied with the Fierce Reads team, had Leigh Bardugo remember my face…dear lord I may have lost my cool! My blog has even been quoted in a few places like amazon, inside arcs, and marketing promotional materials! I have also seen my name in print in book acknowledgements and I get so much joy just thinking about it! So it’s been a good year all in all! Here’s to 2018!

I have to review more of the books I read…not just the ones I am scheduled to review. As many years in the past, I try to accomplish this goal, but review tours seem to be my main motivator. But I did manage to do a lot of the short mini-reviews on goodreads as I set as a 2017 goal. I made some progress on our Netgalley rating, it is now 70% and one of my main goals this year is to get it to at least 80%. I am also going to try and not request as much, but my eyes are bigger than my…time(?). I am pretty proud that I did two huge goodreads purges this year. I removed over 600 books from my TBR list. Crazy! I did accomplish my goal from 2017 to make header graphics, and they may be simple, but I like them…hope you all do too!

I hope to continue to build my readership and comment on more blogs. I am abysmal at this, which is why I love that I can like blog posts on the wordpress reader, but I am going to try and comment more too! I want to get more creative on the blog, and do more posts like my 15 YA Books for Game of Thrones Fans post. Just maybe even talk to you guys more, like advice type posts…we shall see!

 

Too Long Didn’t Read Summary:

  1. Instagram – more!
  2. Goodreads Challenge – 115 Books
  3. Beat the Backlist – at least 36 books
  4. Buy Less Books
  5. Review More
  6. Comment more on other blogs, build community
  7. Post on weekends more
  8. Have more fun on the blog

Kelli’s 2018 Blog Goals:

2018 Goals:

1. To read at least 50 books. And write reviews for all of them.
2. Come up with new, fun memes for the blog!
3. No more DNFing! Sometimes, it’s so hard. And I think it’s often because the book just isn’t right for me at the time I open it. Or, maybe I’m Jekyll and Hyde? (Example: Wintersong—I DNFed it and started it this week…LOVING IT!

Books from 2017 I’d like to read in 2018:

1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – It’s been on my TBR forever, and I know I’ve gotta catch up before the movie releases!
2. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo – Oops. This is just an all-around fail. It was so hyped and then I never heard much about it post-release. Kind of just, forgot about it.
3. All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater – I’m probably going to be banned from the blog for this! But again, it’s just another that kept moving down on the list till I’

d forgotten it released!
4. Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff – No excuse. I just plain suck on this one. I loved Nevernight, but I think I need to reread it before I delve back into this world.
5. A Conjuring of Light by VE Schwab – Yeahhhhh…I just need a series reread here, too. I’ve forgotten so much of the story.

 

As for my progress on my goals for 2017? I failed my reading challenge spectacularly. I got a new job in February that severely impacted my reading time. I ended up finishing only 82 books (at the time of writing this)!

 

Giveaway:

To win a preorder of 2018 release open internationally (if Book Depository ships to you), up to $18 (USD); AND if in the US you can pick a few books from the giveaway pile with 2017 ARCs & finished copies! To enter just leave a comment about our 2018 goals or your reading/blogging goals! Closes on 1/12/18 at midnight EST.

 

 

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58 responses to “2018 Blog Goals & Giveaway!

  1. Tammy V.

    I put 200 down as my Goodreads goal. I want to get more organized with my review reads. It is just so hard to turn any down but there are books I want to read for myself that I didn’t get to in 2017.

    • I hear that! Each year I accept less & less review books. I need to remind myself that reading should be fun and not a chore! I dream of 200, but I’m the slowest reader ever so I’m excited for 115!

  2. Maria A. Malaveci

    OMG, I look at everyone elses reading goal over 100! I would love to get to that number but sadly I can’t make it to that. I only ever hit 40, so I set my goal to around 50. I think I need to start reading books that have sat on my bookshelf forever! I get so distracted by other books. Thank you for the post, and the giveaway! mmalavec(at)med(dot)umich(dot)edu

    • One thing that helps me get a lot of reading in are audiobooks! I listen on my commute, while I’m making dinner, doing chores, etc. it’s a game changer for my total # read! If you’ve never read audio before I recommend listening to a book you love and have read before so you can see if you like it!

  3. Congrats on surpassing your 2017 goal! I did too, but not as much as you!

    I sent mine for 100 last year as well, and thought that I’d set this year’s for 105, or 110…or maybe 111 just because it looks better, haha. But I chickened out, because I set it for 100 again for right now. Your post is encouraging me to maybe go for 111 though!

    Also, thank you for the giveaway opportunity! 🙂

  4. My Goodreads challenge this year is to read 50 books. I’m also participating in a debut author challenge again this year as 2017 was so good for debuts. I’m also reviewing two books this month for diverse reads and posting on my tumblr blog. then in March I hope to participate in more reading month book reviews.

  5. I’ve decided to set my reading goal to 150 books and I want that, at least, half of them will be #ownvoices and diverse books. I want to be more engaged in the blogging community, write more discussion post on my blog and post better pics on bookstagram. ?

  6. Ariel C.

    My goal this year is to read 50 books! I usually only read around 35 so I’m trying to push myself a little harder and put a dent in my tbr lol plus there’s a lot of really interesting books coming out this year so I want to make room for those ? serious props to those who can read 100! You are my heroes ??

  7. I normally only set a goodreads goal each year (My goal is 100 books, which I easily got last year, but I think I’ll be more busy this year.), But this year I wanted to really challenge myself to read outside my comfort zone. So I made a bund of mini challenges like read a graphic novel, read a classic, read more adult books, read more non fiction to heko me branch out this year.

  8. I have so many *not set in stone* goals for next year! I want to firstly read 240 books, 50 of which are debuts, 60 of which are backlist; I want to post daily on Instagram; I want to review at least half of the books I read on Goodreads at the minimum; and I want to interact and comment on more blogs (this is the hard part)!

  9. My reading is 55/60. This year I want to read more poetry, the modern kind. I’d like to blog/review more – but between being a fulltime student and having a fulltime job I happy just having time to read~

  10. Debbie

    I need to do a better job of reading books from my TBR list. I have so many books that I’ve bought at author signings and book conventions but have yet to read thern.

  11. Amanda

    I love these goals! I just found the backlist challenge today and I think that I will also participateI have a few myself (which I will paraphrase to save you a little time):
    -Post an average of 1.25 times a day on instagram
    -Read more *pages* than I did this year (I don’t want to deter myself from reading longer books, just to reach a book goal)
    -Be more open to rereading (I reread books for the first time this year and loved it!)
    -Read more diversely
    -Buy less books
    -Make sure 75% or more of the books I read are ones that I actually owned before 2017
    -Continue to host giveaways!
    -Actually unhaul books (for the first time in my life)
    -Reduce my Goodreads TBR list by 30% (Current number: 358)

  12. Alaina Evans

    Over the past few years I’ve kind of let reading go to the wayside while I watch an abundance of movies and tv shows (film buff over here) but in 2017 I started picking books up again (thanks to my new job at Barnes and Noble). I’ve decided to really get back into reading more in 2018 and actually set a book goal this year on goodreads. I set it low (20) so that I would be sure to reach it and keep going (20 in a year is more than I’ve read in probably 6-7 years). I’m excited to start and discover a lot of good books and authors!

  13. Savings InSeconds

    I love that you have such organized goals. I’m grateful for those of you who post the prettiest book pics on Instagram because that is not my talent.

    Last year was the first time I did a Goodreads reading challenge so I just picked a random goal. I met it easily and didn’t even record all the books I read, so that made me want to challenge myself a bit more this year. I joined the Library Love challenge, too, which helps me check off a box when I pick a library book instead of buying one, so that’s good! I’m also hosting a bunch of giveaway hops and giving away books, so that helps me to get rid of some of them.

  14. My early goals as every years went, are 52. One for every week. But I would edit every now and then (my 2017 goals end on 150, but I read 160 xD)

    I agree that reading serialized fiction boosted our number. You won’t stop on one book, you’ll stop only when the serial is finish xDD

  15. I agree with writing more reviews. I am the same way. I’ve been slacking on those which aren’t a part of tours. But I’m determined to write at least a paragraph on GR for each book. I can always do a weekly wrap up instead of individual posts. Good luck with your goals!!

    • It is so hard for me to motivate myself to write more than a line or two when its not a scheduled review! I need to do better!

  16. Happy 2018! I hope you both have a great reading year. My goals… beating the back list which has grown to an unmanageable size and using my library more. Happy reading & thank you for the international giveaway ?

  17. Amanda moreno

    Last year (2017) was my first year setting a Goodreads goal. I’ve never kept track before and guessed I could read 100. I was wrong. Around September I lowered it to 80 and met my goal +2. I was surprised by how much pressure I felt with setting a goal but really liked the accomplishment of meeting it. I’m also expanding my reading genres & trying new authors/books. I look forward to 2018! Thank you

  18. You are far more organized than I ever could be. 2017 was a very rough year for me. My blog and reason really suffered due to the sudden death of my dog who was killed by my neighbors pitbull. I just sort of fell apart. For 2018 I made my Goodreads reading goal 3 books so I’m not crushed under pressure to keep reading where it becomes “work” or not fun. I, also, want to work on my blog and get back into it. To get back into posting and get more followers and more reviews going again. So I’m HOPING 2018 will be… better. More together.

    • Oh I’m so sorry you had such a sad stressor in your life. I hope you look towards blogging & reading for fun and not let it weigh you down.

  19. I’ve set some reading goals, but not really specific titles just specific criteria. I figure I’m gong to read an average of 10 books a month, so I need to at least have a plan.
    1. I want to either finish–or read in full–one series/duology/trilogy a month. Some months this may mean reading 1 book, others it may mean reading 5 (ugh!). I have several in mind, and many I’ve put off for the simple reason that my memory stinks and I’ll do better to marathon them.
    2. Every year I try to read at least 3-4 classics. I consider myself a Jane Austen fan and I haven’t even read all of her books. Don’t tell her!
    3. I need to read at least a couple of books from previous years each month. I have several books from subscription boxes that fit into this category. And more than I care to admit from Book Outlet (ugh).
    4, AND, perhaps the most stressful, is to try to keep up with new releases from my favorite authors. Unfortunately, I have a lot of favorite authors.
    I figure that will more than keep me busy, and some months I may have to split a series up over two months, or just skip an older release. I’m not off to a great start, because I’m reading a couple of ARCs that were not part of “the plan”. I can’t even imagine keeping up with a blog! Thanks for the chance. 🙂

  20. Annarea Camielle Impas

    I’m still new to this community and I pledged to read 30 books this year, hopefully I can accomplish it. Thank youu so much for the chance ??

  21. fiza

    I hadn’t been reading much lately (book slump) so I’m trying to do better. I’ve read three books so far but they are re-reads :3

  22. H.Sandrine

    I put 22 books this year in the Goodreads Challenge so I’m far from your hundred O_O
    I inttend to read for sure at least : restore me by Mafi Tahereh and SJM’s books
    I have lots of exams this year but, I will never give up reading for them even if I should XD

    • When I was in college I never read for pleasure. there was absolutely no time, so I feel your pain & wish you the best of luck with exams & reading!

  23. I really enjoyed reading how much you guys accomplished in 2017. I met my reading goal (read 124 books and my goal is 50). I set my goal for 75 this year. I was going to match it, but I need to focus on revising my MS. Thank you for the opportunity!

  24. 50 and 115 books this year is huge! I set my own goal to 19 because I want to hit a total of 200 tracked books on goodreads lol. And I feel like I need to get back into reading slowly, instead of setting my goal higher because in 2017 I only managed to read 11 books… another goal is to get back into blogging and figure out a schedule that works for me. Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo is also on my tbr! (Well the whole series actually.) I’d love to finish a few series this year as well instead of always just starting new ones!

  25. Mar

    My goal is to set aside more time to read (gotta catch up with that TBR) instead of surfing the internet/other distractions. I don’t have a blog, but this is a new year – who knows…

  26. theresajs

    My Goodreads goal is 400
    my main goal this year is to go back and finish up as many series that I can that I have started. I keep meaning to get back to so many of them but I’m easily distracted by newer books. And to read more of the ones on my shelf that I haven’t read yet.

  27. Julia DeVarti

    Kelli, your unread 2017 books are some of my favorites form last year!!!

    Really impressed with anyone who can read over 100 books in a year. I’m so jealous! So many books and so little time…

  28. My goal this year is not so much in how many books I read but just to finally finish some of the trilogies and series I’ve been putting off finishing. In my defense, I really, really, really hate cliffhangers. ? Kelly congrats on surpassing your 2017 goal, hope this year you do the same and more! Kelli, THUG and Wonderwoman were my favorites from 2017 so I’m sure you’re gonna love them as well.

  29. Caroline R.

    I’ve never had a reading goal for the year but I’ve been in a sort of reading drought since I graduated from college last May, so when Goodreads suggested I put one up I just put down 50 as a random number.

  30. Katrina C

    I’d like to clear lots of my tbr books off my shelves and my number goal is about 75.