2018 Wrap Up!
Happy 2019 everyone!
I took a bit of a break from blogging to enjoy Christmas and New Year's with my family and friends. I had a wonderful holiday break and I hope you did too!
Personally, I think the best part of starting a new year is thinking back on the old one. I love doing this in my personal life, and for the first time, I'm reflecting on 2018 in my reading life!
2018 was a big year for me! I started Blonde Bibliotaph in March, so we've been officially up and running for almost ten months now! When I first started this project, I was really nervous - it's not in my nature to self-promote, which is an essential part of blogging, and I was honestly worried that people I knew would make fun of me for thinking I could write about books. Through Blonde Bibliotaph, I've met some wonderful people, both working in publishing, and other crazy book people on social media. I've had the privilege to read new releases before they come out, and I've been introduced to many new authors that I might not have encountered otherwise. My blog was a spur of the moment idea, and it took me a few months to get comfortable putting myself out there, but now I am so glad I did it!
2018 was also the second time I participated in Goodreads' Reading Challenge. In 2017, my goal was to read 25 books and I read 26. For 2018, I increased my number to 35 and I ended up reading 44, which I am really proud of!
For my 2018 challenge, I really didn't have any kind of strategy when it came to choosing what I read, which I somewhat regret. When I started my blog, I started receiving Advanced Reader Copies of books from publishers, and I quickly got overwhelmed. I was choosing books based on what I saw other people posting about on social media, or whatever publishers reached out to me the most frequently. I don't want to make it seem like I didn't read a ton of great books or that I don't appreciate receiving ARCs, because I really, really do. I just ended up reading several books that weren't really for me and left some things I was dying to read sitting on my shelf all year.
The books I enjoyed the most were:
To All The Boys I've Loved Before
by Jenny Han
When Life Gives You Lululemons
by Lauren Weisburger
I personally don't count audiobooks towards my reading total for the year, but since nonfiction makes me fall asleep most of the time (my deepest, darkest secret) I figured this would be a good way to "read" something beyond the scope of my usual preferences. I definitely want to keep this as a part of my reading routine!
Overall, I'm really proud of what I accomplished reading-wise in 2018!
For 2019, I have two main goals lined up:
1. Read 50 books
2. Listen to 25 audiobooks
If I accomplish my goal of reading 50 books, I'll be increasing my total for the year by seven books, which is intimidating but doable. Looking back on last year, I can definitely recognize that I wasted a lot of time half-heartedly reading books that I didn't really like, and spending far too much time mindlessly scrolling through social media. My strategy to combat this is to be much stricter with what I read. If I'm not looking forward to coming home to my book after work, I'm moving on. I also plan to greatly limit my social media use - if I'm not actually doing anything productive on there, I need to put the phone down!
All in all, I would say that 2018 was a reading success and I cannot wait to read all the books that 2019 brings! Do you have any big reading plans for 2019? If so, tell me in the comments!
I took a bit of a break from blogging to enjoy Christmas and New Year's with my family and friends. I had a wonderful holiday break and I hope you did too!
Personally, I think the best part of starting a new year is thinking back on the old one. I love doing this in my personal life, and for the first time, I'm reflecting on 2018 in my reading life!
2018 was a big year for me! I started Blonde Bibliotaph in March, so we've been officially up and running for almost ten months now! When I first started this project, I was really nervous - it's not in my nature to self-promote, which is an essential part of blogging, and I was honestly worried that people I knew would make fun of me for thinking I could write about books. Through Blonde Bibliotaph, I've met some wonderful people, both working in publishing, and other crazy book people on social media. I've had the privilege to read new releases before they come out, and I've been introduced to many new authors that I might not have encountered otherwise. My blog was a spur of the moment idea, and it took me a few months to get comfortable putting myself out there, but now I am so glad I did it!
2018 was also the second time I participated in Goodreads' Reading Challenge. In 2017, my goal was to read 25 books and I read 26. For 2018, I increased my number to 35 and I ended up reading 44, which I am really proud of!
For my 2018 challenge, I really didn't have any kind of strategy when it came to choosing what I read, which I somewhat regret. When I started my blog, I started receiving Advanced Reader Copies of books from publishers, and I quickly got overwhelmed. I was choosing books based on what I saw other people posting about on social media, or whatever publishers reached out to me the most frequently. I don't want to make it seem like I didn't read a ton of great books or that I don't appreciate receiving ARCs, because I really, really do. I just ended up reading several books that weren't really for me and left some things I was dying to read sitting on my shelf all year.
The books I enjoyed the most were:
To All The Boys I've Loved Before
by Jenny Han
When Life Gives You Lululemons
by Lauren Weisburger
Lilac Girls
by Martha Hall Kelly
The Nightingale (my favorite of the year!)
by Kristin Hannah
The Woman in the Window
by A.J. Finn
I Was Anastasia
by Ariel Lawhon
Educated
by Tara Westover
Little Fires Everywhere
by Celeste Ng
If you want to see every book I read and my rating, you can head over to my Goodreads account.
I also listened to two audiobooks, which was a first for me:
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
by J.D. Vance
Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
by Jenna Miscavige Hill
I personally don't count audiobooks towards my reading total for the year, but since nonfiction makes me fall asleep most of the time (my deepest, darkest secret) I figured this would be a good way to "read" something beyond the scope of my usual preferences. I definitely want to keep this as a part of my reading routine!
Overall, I'm really proud of what I accomplished reading-wise in 2018!
For 2019, I have two main goals lined up:
1. Read 50 books
2. Listen to 25 audiobooks
If I accomplish my goal of reading 50 books, I'll be increasing my total for the year by seven books, which is intimidating but doable. Looking back on last year, I can definitely recognize that I wasted a lot of time half-heartedly reading books that I didn't really like, and spending far too much time mindlessly scrolling through social media. My strategy to combat this is to be much stricter with what I read. If I'm not looking forward to coming home to my book after work, I'm moving on. I also plan to greatly limit my social media use - if I'm not actually doing anything productive on there, I need to put the phone down!
All in all, I would say that 2018 was a reading success and I cannot wait to read all the books that 2019 brings! Do you have any big reading plans for 2019? If so, tell me in the comments!
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