2015 Resolutions Check-In

2015 Resolutions Check-In

• Jul 23, 2015

1. Read 150 books.

I'm on track to meet this goal! I was in a bit of a reading funk at the beginning of this year, but I made up for it in May and June. I've read 98 books so far this year, so I'll likely hit 150 books in the next few months.

2. Read one non-fiction book - that I already own - per month.

This has been a fail so far! I've only read two non-fiction books, and both were for review. However, I haven't majorly slowed down on buying non-fiction, so I don't feel quite as guilty about being behind on this goal.

3. Finish 12 series.

I'm doing good on this resolution. I've finished five series that I started prior to 2015 (and I count duologies):

• Across a Star Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund (For Darkness Shows the Stars #2)
• The Ruby Circle by Richelle Mead (Bloodlines #6)
• Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein (Code Name Verity #2)
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (Graceling #3)
• P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (To All the Boys #2)

I've read four series from start to finish (in 2015):

• Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier
• Also Known As and Going Rogue by Robin Benway
• Scarlet, Lady Thief and Lion Heart by A.C. Gaughen
• Catching Jordan, Stealing Parker, Things I Can't Forget, Racing Savannah, Breathe, Annie, Breathe and Jesse's Girl by Miranda Kenneally 

And if I let myself count re-reads, I've finished two additional series: 

• The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
• Little House in the Big Woods, Farmer Boy, Little House on the Prairie, On the Banks of Plum Creek, By the Shores of Silver Lake, The Long Winter, Little Town on the Prairie, These Happy Golden Years and The First Four Years by Laura Ingalls Wilders

Even if I don't count re-reads, I'm definitely good on this goal! I've got at least four more series that I can finish.

4. Request and/or accept no more than 36 review books all year.

Shockingly, I'm actually doing really good with this goal. I've only read 18 books for review in 2015 so far, which is exactly where I wanted to be halfway through the year. I hope to stay on track. (Yay Picky Pledge!)

5. Read at least five debut novels.

I've already met this goal! I can't remember if I meant debuts in general or debuts specifically in 2015, so here are the books I've read from the latter category:

• The One That Got Away by Bethany Chase
• If You Find This Letter by Hannah Brencher
• Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee
• The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
• Come Away with Me by Karma Brown

6. Re-read 36 books (3 per month).

I'm pretty excited because I've already re-read 33 books this year! I'm so thankful that I made this a priority (and that I'm co-hosting a challenge for it) because it's been the best. Here's what I've re-read:

• A Room with a View by E.M. Forster
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• Before I Go by Colleen Oakley
• Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
• Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer
• Nowhere but Home by Liza Palmer
• I'll Meet You There by Heather Demetrios
• Walking on Trampolines by Frances Whiting
• The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
• All the Truth That's In Me by Julie Berry
• The Hunger Games Series (#1-3) by Suzanne Collins
• Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
• The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum
• Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
• The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
• The Little House Series (#1-9) by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling
• Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
• Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
• Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
• Past Perfect by Leila Sales
• After You by Julie Buxbaum

7. Host one reading challenge, and participate in at least two!

I'm co-hosting The Re-Read Challenge this year, which has been fantastic. I'm so thankful that I teamed up with Kelly for it! As for participating in challenges, I've joined three: Dive Into Diversity, Flights of Fantasy and Series a Month. I'm on track with nine of 10 diverse reads, 15 of 18 fantasy and nine of twelve series.

8. Write one discussion post per month.

I didn't realize quite how many discussion posts I'd already written this year until I started gathering the links for this post. I broke this down into a few categories. I've written 15 posts that I'd categorize as discussions (though some are more tutorial/organization posts):

• On My Hopes for 2015
• On The Picky Pledge
• On Culling Your Shelves
• On Living Forever (Tuck Everlasting Tour)
• On Building a Better Community
• On My Re-Reading Experiences
• On My Favorite Planning Tools
• On Channeling Your Creativity
• On The Picky Pledge Check-In #1
• On Foxy Doris: The Cover, The Inserts & The Extras
• On Sacrifices for Love (Jojo Moyes Event)
• On Being in a Reading Funk
• On Review Books
• On The Picky Pledge Check-In #2
• On Organizing Your TBR

And while it wasn't an official resolution at the beginning of the year, I wanted to make an effort to write some posts that I'd consider more "personal." I've never really done that on my blog before, but I knew it was something I wanted to try. I've written three so far: about friendship, about music and memories and about falling in love with my husband. I definitely plan to continue to write more of them!

9. Leave five comments per week on other blogs.

FAIL. I've really struggled to comment on blogs this year, but I think I'm reading more blogs than ever before. I wish I could make more time for this task, but it's the first thing to go when I feel like I've got too much to do.

10. Start a new feature on my blog.

I've actually started two new features of my own: Buy the Book and Tune in Tonight. Both are new favorites for me and have been things I genuinely love working on each month. I've also introduced Mini Editions of my So Obsessed With feature because I wanted to do those more often! I'll retiring my Consider This Classic feature soon - the last post is coming up in August. It's been fun, but I'm not feeling as excited about it anymore. As for features with friends, Cassie and I revamped Favorite Factor and have been loving those changes. And Kelly, Alexa and I introduced a historical fiction feature called Time Travel To.