Picture drawn by Maggie Stiefvater, 2009. Header made by S.F. Robertson, 2010.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

2015 Goals

I've done some goal lists before and usually they've not worked out, but I am doing one again this year and I am going to be doing my best to keep up with it. I'll be doing monthly updates around the beginning of each month to keep you all posted.

1) I would like to read at least 100 books by the end of the year. I only read 74 books this past year because it's just been taking me longer and longer to read books, which leads into my next goal.

2) I need to read and write at least 2 hours every day. I usually read at least 2 books at a time- one physical and one e-galley. So my plan is to read at least half an hour of each book, a half hour of writing, and then perhaps an extra half-hour of any of those (physical book, e-galley, or writing) each day. I published a short story "Falling" last year in the Best Gay Romance 2014 anthology, which was fantastic, and I'm definitely looking to publish more stories and novels. I think this will definitely help as I need some structure in my reading, writing and blogging life.

3) I came across this TBR Challenge on Twitter the other night and thought it was great. I had been thinking of doing something like this at some point so this is a good motivator. I went around my room and selected a few books.

The Year My Sister Got Lucky by Aimee Friedman- I won this book in a Scholastic giveaway way back a couple months before the publishing date of March 2008. It's signed by Aimee and I was so excited to get it and then never read it. This happens WAY too often with a lot of my books.

You Are Here by Jennifer E. Smith- I received an ARC of this because I had loved Smith's debut and wanted to read her second book. Obviously, because it's on this list, that never happened. I read her third book (Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight) and loved it and have been wanting to read her more recent books too. She's a wonderful writer- I just need to make the time to actually fit her books in.

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate- I had completely forgotten that Fallen was not Lauren Kate's debut but in fact, this book was. It came out one month before Fallen and I remembered being like "WOAH. How cool!" But perhaps with a runaway success like Fallen, the other book then gets left behind. This was also back when Penguin actually sent me ARCs. So I'm excited to read this book because it sounds so interesting and different from the Fallen and Teardrop series. I've also never read any other Lauren Kate book.

Crowned by Julie Linker- I've had this book a while, which I can't remember how I got. I do however have it signed by Julie, who I really need to get back in touch with because I love her so much. I really enjoyed her debut and was excited to read her followup but it just never happened.

Is He or Isn't He by John Hall- I bought this book randomly several years ago because I really liked the concept and then I never read it, lol. This happens a lot with books I buy since I started blogging. I just have so many review books that it's hard for me to fit in library and bought books.

Candy Everybody Wants by Josh Kilmer-Purcell- I actually requested this book shortly after it was released and then never read it, which I feel terrible about. I've noticed this happens with quite a few books, which is why I've curbed my requesting over the past year or so. And so I make more of an effort to really read the books that I specifically request. This is an adult fiction book.

Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay- I actually had a different book here, but earlier this week, there was a kerfuffle about Stacey Jay and the Kickstarter she started, and so I wanted to include one of her books here to help support her. Stacey is one of those authors that I've been on and off in touch with since her debut yet I've only actually read one of her books (The Locket) and she's just somebody I support as she's a sweetie. So I'll be reading this and hopefully also her newest Princess of Thorns (though that won't count for this challenge as it just came out last month).

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin- I got an ARC of this the year it came out at BEA from my wonderful friend Emily because she had an extra copy somehow (and signed even!), which was very sweet of her. And then I never read it. But I have heard such amazing things about the trilogy and it's the perfect time to read it now as all three books are finally out.

Drama Queers by Frank Anthony Polito- I loved Polito's debut and was lucky enough to get an ARC of his second book from Kensington Publishing. But I just never got around to reading it, so I'm excited to fit this into my reading schedule.

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink- Michelle Zink is another one of those authors that I'm supportive of and am in touch with yet have only read one of her books (A Temptation of Angels). I do also plan on reading her upcoming book Lies I Told, which I received an ARC of from HarperTeen last month. Excited to finally start this trilogy.

Hottie by Jonathon Bernstein- This is a bit of a random title as I just came across it while looking through various book drawers. I do remember being excited about this book, so I'm including it (and I also have the sequel too).

Home to Woefield by Susan Juby- I won this from a Goodreads contest because I love Susan's books but I never actually read it, lol. And she has a new YA book coming out this year too from Penguin, as well as a sequel to this book from Harper!

Alternates (of which I have 2, if I decide to not finish 2 of these books) will be decided on a later date. I'll keep you all posted through monthly updates.

So those are my goals. What is everyone else doing? And if you're doing this TBR challenge too, link your list in the comments below!

3 comments:

  1. I think I might need to sign up for this as well. I will spend the weekend going through my shelf and picking them out!! Maybe we can keep each other going and not give up!!

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  2. Good luck with the goals! I am going for my usual 100 books a year too, I made it easy last year with 112 but I feel I am off to a slow start this year already.

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