I can't believe this year is already officially half-over - so much has happened, yet at the same time, it feels like nothing has happened! Today I'm taking a look back at the goals I set at the beginning of the year, as well as the progress I'm making on my reading challenges.
Reading
- Reread more. I've reread 10 books so far this year, including the Harry Potter ones listed below. I definitely want to do more; last year I set aside a two-week period to just reread, and I would love to do that again.
- Reread the Harry Potter series. I've read 4 of the 7 books so far!
- Make a dent in the unread physical books on my shelf. I've definitely read a few, but I keep borrowing books from my sister, so it always looks like I have a full shelf!
- Attend at least 2 bookish events. This is a total fail so far, and I know that the major bookish event I was planning to attend this year has already been cancelled. I need to look more into virtual events.
Blogging
- Respond to comments faster. I think I've been doing really good at this - I've gotten into the habit of responding to comments within a day or two.
- Get ahead on my book reviews. Well, some months are better than others for this one. I've started doing more "quick reviews," which means the actual writing takes less time, but I tend to review more books. If I have a couple weeks' worth of reviews scheduled at any given time, that's a good feeling and what I'm aiming for.
- Build up my #bookstagram account. My #bookstagram has grown about 25% since the beginning of the year! I'm having fun participating in photo challenges and coming up with creative pictures. If we're not already, let's be friends!
Life
- Get new passports. Done! Aaaaand we have nowhere to go, for now at least!
- Drink more water. This is kind of hard to quantify, but I think I'm doing ok at this. I try to limit my caffeine intake to three days a week, so the rest of the time, I'm drinking water, sparkling water, and seltzer.
- Run a 5k. Total fail. I thought that being at home for so long would give me the time and motivation to do this, but after trying jogging a couple times, I realized this was going to be hard. It's still something I'm thinking about, though, so we'll see!
- Make 100 blankets for Project Linus. I've made 43 blankets, so I'm a little behind schedule, but many of the charities we work with were also closed down due to the coronavirus.
The 2020 Audiobook Challenge is hosted by Hot Listens and Caffeinated Reviewer. My goal was 20-30 audiobooks and so far this year I've already listened to 22, although it has really slowed down in the last couple months without my work commute.
The Retellings Reading Challenge is hosted by Tracy at Cornerfolds. My goal was the Elemental Witch level, which is 11-15 retellings, and I've already beaten that with 21 retellings read! I've made a lot of progress on the Bingo card and hope to complete it by the end of the year:
Beat the Backlist is hosted by Austine at NovelKnight; my goal was to read at least 60 backlist books this year, but I've already crushed that! I've read 94 backlist books this year!
How are you doing on your goals and challenges?
Responding to comments faster is at the top of my list. Maybe a challenge would give me the kick that I need. ;) Good luck with all of these!
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks, Lori!
DeleteI am re-reading the HP series with my son and I am LOVING it. It's so fun to revisit it. We have been watching the movies too. I also was in the process of getting my passport renewed and then all this happened. That is an incredible goal of 100 blankets, btw! 43 is a lot already!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Christina! Now that charities are starting to open up again, there is a great need for blankets!
DeleteI can't believe we're already halfway through the year either! And I'm glad your goals seem to be going well so far!
ReplyDeleteThat's definitely one of my goals too to get to comments faster, and I think I've been finally getting on top of it these past couple of weeks.
Best of luck for the rest of the year! :)
Thanks, Laura!
DeleteLaughing about your new passports - I got a new one too and now, nowhere to go. Ha! As to the 5K, you could just walk it. That's what I do as I don't do jogging and I've decided that I don't have to jog or run or whatever. Looks like you're doing just fine with all of your goals, even if you're a bit behind or whatever. Some grace is needed all around this year, right? Take care!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Kay! Yes, I definitely did not anticipate the way this year would turn out when I set some of these goals!
DeleteIt’s sad that so many book events have been cancelled. But I’n enjoyed taking part in a couple virtual events over the past couple months and that’s been fun. Better luck on using that passport next year! :)
ReplyDeleteHaha, thanks, Tanya! I'm just glad we got it done early, at least now we have them!
DeleteYou're doing great, Angela! ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Stephanie! :-)
DeleteI’m a failed runner, I love doing it but I fall out of love quickly with it too!
ReplyDeleteI’m finding #bookstagram both inspirational and slightly scary, there is a lot of talent out there.
I have never been a runner!
DeleteI agree, there are so many beautiful bookstagram accounts out there, but I have fun doing my own thing!
I want to reread more too. And same with comments. I need to work on that and also the bookstagram thing too. I think Insta is a lot of fun but I just haven't made time lately...
ReplyDeleteI think that's awesome you've done so many for the blanket project!
Thanks so much, Greg!
DeleteYou area doing so great on your goals! So bummed about our bookish events but hopefully we can make up for it next year!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yes, I hope so, too!
DeleteSo disappointing when you have your passports ready to go and no place is open. *whomp, whomp* There have been some good online events, but I just can't see myself sitting in front of the screen watching people talk. Not my thing, but there's been a lot of good feedback if you like that sort of thing. Getting ahead of book reviews - such a good goal. I actually have unpublished reviews, but I am still two in the hole as we speak. Other than the things that are sort of out of your control, you are doing well - GOLD STAR!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Sam! My issue with the online events is that a bunch of them you have to pay for, and I can't see paying to sit in my house in front of my computer.
DeleteWow, congrats on making so many blankets! Running is hard. I run 3 times a week and always wonder why I’m doing it.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Thanks, Aj! Haha, the two times I tried it, I wondered the same thing!
DeleteCongrats on making such great progress with all of your challenges and goals. I'm doing well on my Goodreads challenge (93 of 150) and on my Beat the Backlist challenge (30 of 50). I have mixed results on my blogging goals but I think the pandemic just killed my momentum on that. That's such a shame that your bookish event was cancelled. I guess that's the norm these days unfortunately. I keep meaning to take part in some of the cool virtual bookish events I've seen advertised but keep forgetting about them until the event has passed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne! I think we all deserve a bit of grace on our goals, this is definitely not the year we'd thought it'd be! Same about the virtual events - I see them advertised once and then I forget about them!
DeleteI love that your bookstagram is growing and that you're posting more photos! I love your outdoor photos :)
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Amy!
DeleteCongrats on doing so good on your goals! I definitely want to work on commenting faster and getting ahead on my reviews as well, but it's a bit of up and down for me - one month I'm doing great and the next my motivation is gone *oops* But still half a year to go, so I'll get there!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lindsey! Good luck on your goals!
DeleteI've been finding lots of great author events online since this started, mostly through book stores. Kepler's, Politics and Prose, and Bookshop Santa Cruz all have some good ones you might like :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, I'll have to check those out!
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