I know it's been a few months of radio silence on here but finishing my first year of uni, summer school, Christmas and other life things meant I just didn't have the brain space to think about blogging until now (and ironically I start my second year of uni in less than two weeks so I've got to make the most of the days before uni sucks my life force away ahahaha). And I know it's now February but I really wanted to post my blogging and reading goals for 2020 to hold myself accountable.
BLOGGING GOALS:
Install a new blog design. Something's not quite working for me with this current theme and it doesn't feel like me anymore. With a new year (and decade!) I want a wee bit of a fresh start.
Explore becoming a.com. I've dithered with this for awhile but want to take serious steps at researching if it's worth it for me or not.
Make every bit of the blog up to date. Yes, I'm talking about rolling up my sleeves and doing DIRTY work here, updating and rewriting all my pages and information, sidebars, social media, checking and labeling blog posts correctly, etc, etc, etc. I can't put into words how much I DO NOT want to do this. Like, I'd rather read my least favourite books than do it but it has to be done. Please send strength because I have NONE/NOTHING.
Post more lifestyle content. I really like reading about the people behind the blog but I don't know if that's something people are interested in reading on here? I'm planning to start some sort of monthly life/books recap so BABY STEPS. I physically recoil at the thought of sharing my face and lots of my life on the internet but I feel like if you put up with all my bookish nonsense, some unbookish stuff might spice the blog up a bit. Plus it's good to share! I'm just not good at it, lol.
Bring out two blog series! I have a bookish baking series planned out and the first one is inspired by P.S. I Still Love You! Lara from @ Words With Lara and I are also coming out with our next installment of Keeping Up With The Classics sometime this month so that will also be fun! (Only took us a year to get our shit together and bring out another installment lmao, DISORGANIZED WHO?? Not us.) I also want to bring out a reading-vlog-but-it's-a-reading blog-post series thing, still haven't quite figured out the logistics of it yet as if that wasn't completely obvious.
Interview two authors. I got to interview two amazing authors last year, the incredible Cait aka C.G. Drews and the ever so lovely Danielle Hawkins! This year, I would loooove to interview Chloe Gong, Ellie Marney and Dana Mele.
Interview two bloggers. I really enjoyed interviewing Lara last year and I want to carry on interviewing as many NZ book bloggers that I can to raise awareness of them. We're a small community but we've got some real gems.
Make a commenting/connecting routine. It's time to shake off the dust and dive back into commenting on people's blogs instead of just reading their posts diligently for years and never making my presence known like an antisocial ghost. I don't want to be a blogging ghost in 2020!
Up my Goodreads game. My Goodreads game in 2019 was so shit. I reviewed barely anything and didn't even make comments on most of the books I read! Think I'm going to try and review every book in quick list style to a longer review whenever I can. just so I can keep better track and memory of what I read. You can friend or follow me on Goodreads here if you're interested!
Make content I love writing. This year I particularly want to focus on not giving so much of a shit on what I *feel* like I should be posting and just post whatever the hell I want. I feel like so much of my ALMOST SIX YEARS on this blogging planet has been trying to make content that I think *other* people will enjoy, regardless of what I think. And I really want to chuck this sort of thinking right in the bin in 2020.
READING GOALS:
Read three classics. Most likely going to be Wuthering Heights which I started last year and was loving before I got distracted; Emma, because the new adaptation of it coming out in February and it's supposed to be a fun read; and then maybe Jane Eyre, 1984 or something else that takes my fancy. Any recs?
Explore different genres. I'm going through such a memoir kick at the moment and I can't get enough of them as it's so fascinating reading about people's lives. I'm noticing that the more I stretch the genres I read, the less likely I am to get taken out by a reading slump. This year in 2020 I want to delve into more adult fantasy and not only find new favs but finish the ADSOM trilogy, The Dragon Republic and carry on with the Locke Lamora books.
Try reading The Luminaries again. Yes, add me to the list of terrible Kiwis that have tried valiantly to attack this tome and gotten absolutely nowhere. Even in my secondhand copy of the book, the tiny bit of creased spine shows that no previous owner/reader had managed to get a third of the way through. I will attempt though! Also the BBC adaptation of our is coming out sometime this year so I HAVE to try and get at least partly the way through it to understand what tf is happening and going on in the TV series.
Catch up on Lore Olympus and Miss Abbott. I stopped reading both these webtoons early last year because I HATED waiting week by week for their episodes to come out. But I miss all the cuteness so much so I'm going to pick them both up again! Highly recommend.
Have a reading day. *shakes finger at the sky* I just want ONE day this year, ONE, where I do absolutely nothing other than wake up, read and read, read, READ for the whole day. No phone, no work, no uni, no distractions, no thought spirals, NOTHING BUT READING.
Keep a reading genre chart. This is going really well so far and it's really interesting seeing where my reading is going this year!
Read at least 50 books. I'd really like to reach 100 because I've read over 100 books every year since forever but I'm setting my reading goal at 50 again this year just like last year as I want to put as little stress on myself as possible when it comes to reading around uni, work, life, etc.
what are your 2020 reading and blogging goals?
