2020 Reading Resolutions: Results!

January 4, 2021 by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 2 Comments

I made a post of all of my bookish goals for 2020 at the start of 2020 and it was a really fun way of helping me try and keep on track with my reading. I thought it would be fun to do a little check in post and see how many of those goals I reached.

1. Read 120 books
When I picked this goal I thought if I could read ten books a month this would be pretty manageable. Of course we had the pandemic in 2020 so I was in the house a whole lot more, the things that normally take away from my reading time – visiting my family, gigs and hockey season – didn’t really happen so I smashed the target of 120 and made it to 152 books read in 2020.

2. Read more backlist books
I have always struggled with this one because I get so excited about new releases but I did manage to read 42 backlist titles that I had already owned. This is probably going to be a goal again in 2021 so that I can attempt to get my TBR down a bit!

3. Catalogue and reduce my TBR
I did manage to catalogue my TBR during the summer months and it was a bit of a shock to the system when I saw I had eight hundred unread books. I’ve since had two pretty large unhauls to bring the number down a bit and I’m working on buying less books in 2021.

4. Improve my Netgalley ratio
I TRIED SO HARD. When I wrote the original post my ratio was sitting at 46%. At one point during the summer my ratio was almost at 60% but it has slipped again because I’ve requested things. I’m currently sitting at 53%, which is an improvement on my score in January 2020 but I was hoping it would be at least in the 60s. Another goal I will probably return to this year.

5. Revamp my blog and post more frequently
The Bibliophile Chronicles did get a revamp and I’m really pleased with the results. I might do a similar update later on in 2021. I was posting very frequently during the pandemic but since returning to work over the past few months I’ve been really busy and not posting as frequently. Hoping to pick this up in January!

6. A pound a book
This absolutely did not happen. I spent a small fortune on books in 2020 and honestly I’m not even sorry.

So those are the results of my 2020 reading resolutions! If you made resolutions for 2020 I’d love to know if you hit your targets!

2020 Reading Resolutions Check In!

July 28, 2020July 27, 2020 by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 8 Comments

Now that we’re over half way through the year I thought it would be fun to take a look at my 2020 reading resolutions post and do a quick check in to see if I am meeting my goals for the year and if not, which ones I want to work on for the rest of the year – so lets dive in!

1. Read 120 books
My original aim was to read 120 books in 2020 with the hope that I would read maybe a few over because last year I managed 141. With the pandemic I have read a lot more than I would normally read and I’ve since increased my Goodreads goal to 150 books. I’m well on target for that and hoping I might even exceed that goal!

2. Read more backlist books
So far of the 85 books I’ve read 34 have been backlist titles. I would have liked this to be a bit higher but I’m still pleased that I’ve managed to read a fair few. I’m going to put myself on a bit of a book buying ban for the rest of the year and only buy books I’m really after in the hopes I can prioritise some more backlist books.

3. Catalogue and reduce my tbr
One of my projects for lockdown ended up being cataloguing my entire library and I finally know how many books on my shelf are unread (lots). I’ve made a list and am working to reduce my TBR but honestly it’s not going well because I keep buying books.

4. Improve my Netgalley ratio
When I made my original reading resolutions post my Netgalley ratio was at 46%. I’ve been trying to read more of my Netgalley books and at one point my ratio was at nearly 60%, however I have recently been on a bit of a requesting spree and it’s currently on 51%. I’m still working on this and hoping it will be a bit higher by the end of year. (I don’t understand why I send feedback but it doesn’t go up. Why Netgalley why?)

5. Revamp my blog and post more frequently
I did a blog revamp a while back and I’m really happy with the way things look. I might do another refresh towards the end of the year depending on where my mood takes me. I’ve been pretty consistent at posting in 2020 with me reaching my goal of posting a few times every week and often more than that.

6. A pound a book
This challenge failed spectacularly. I started this in January and it fell away really quickly. Especially during lockdown I bought so many books and I haven’t been putting a pound in a jar for any on the ones I read. I still think it’s a really brilliant idea and maybe it’s something I can try for 2021!

So that’s my check in for my 2020 reading resolutions. How are you fairing with your 2020 bookish goals?

2020 Reading Resolutions!

January 7, 2020 by Nicole Sweeney ♥ 6 Comments

I did a post rounding up the resolutions I put in place for last year and thought it might be fun to do it again this year. I didn’t manage to complete all my resolutions last year but I’m hopeful 2020 will be better!

1. Read 120 books
In 2018 I managed 142 books so I thought for 2019 I would up it to 150 – I ended up only reading 108, a new job and less commuting time meant I wasn’t getting as much reading time each day. I’m setting my Goodreads Challenge at 120 which I’m hoping is doable and maybe I’ll even manage to read a few more than that.

2. Read more backlist books
Being a book blogger it often feels like you are always focused on the new and upcoming releases and my current TBR is massive so I would really love to read more of my backlist titles and get to some of those titles I just haven’t gotten around to yet. I’d love to really focus on finishing some series that I’ve started and just haven’t finished yet.

3. Catalogue and reduce my TBR
This was partly a resolution for last year but I would love to have a spreadsheet tracking all the books I currently own and work out how many I have that are unread and reduce that number by the end of the year. I know it will be in the hundreds so I would love to maybe bring in a few less books this year and really knock that number down. I’m midway though cataloguing at the moment, so completing the first part is definitely achievable!

4. Improve my Netgalley Ratio
I think I’m always going to struggle with getting my Netgalley ratio higher – it’s currently sitting at 46% and I have three reviews to submit for books I’ve read. I would love to end 2020 with it at least about 60%, if not at that sought after 80%.

5. Revamp my blog and post more frequently
This isn’t so much a reading as blogging resolution but I would love to give my blog a spring clean, maybe create some new logos and work on making sure to post at least a few times every week as I often find if things get hectic my amount of posts drop and I’m determined that won’t happen this year. I would also love to get better at posting more frequently on Instagram too.

6. A pound a book
I saw a few people talking about this on Twitter but I’m thinking of having a money jar and putting £1 in every time I read a book and this would be money put aside to buy new titles, instead of me buying books whenever, I could only get a book when I had enough in the jar. I’d love to stick to this but I know it probably won’t happen. I might even let the money accumulate and then go on a shopping spree in December!

So those are my 2020 reading resolutions. If you’ve set any resolutions I’d love to know what they are and if you have tips for achieving any of these I’d love to know that too!