The Picky Pledge 2017

The Picky Pledge 2017

• Jan 5, 2017

On Wednesday, I shared my 2016 reading statistics with you. And yesterday, I reflected on the past year of The Picky Pledge - what I learned, where I improved, and how I still need to make some changes! I'm so thankful thatAlexa from Alexa Loves Books wanted to continue The Picky Pledge again this year. I'm avoiding most blogging commitments again this year, but this was one that I knew I wanted to keep.

The Picky Pledge an idea that was born out of our discussions about our reading choices and book buying habits. Alexa and I wanted to be more intentional with the books we read, but we weren't sure how we wanted to go about it. But what better way than to become accountability partners? It paid off in 2015, hit the sophomore slump in 2016, but I'm looking forward to continuing in 2017. Here are my goals for the new year!

We, Alexa and Hannah, hereby pledge to return to the reading days of old - to browse the backlist, to revisit old favorites and to remember that it’s not ALL about acquiring more books to read. With this pledge, we commit to reading a limited number of review books this year, to being more selective about what books we buy and to holding each other accountable when bright and shiny things tempt us to stray from this course. And now, by the power vested in us, we declare 2017: “The Year of The Picky Pledge.”

My Goal: 24 Review Books  

1. Any review book published in 2017 counts in the overall total - no matter when or how it was acquired. 
2. When given the opportunity to read something for review, we must consult with one another before:
1. accepting a publicist/publisher review request. 
2. hitting the “Request” button. 
3. borrowing an ARC with the intention to read for review prior to the book’s publication.* 
3. Review books procured at an event, such as BEA, will only count if you read the book. 
4. If you do not finish a review book, you may remove it from your overall total. 
5. Exceptions can be made for books in a series if we have already reached the review book limit. 

* Exceptions may apply, and borrowed ARCs will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

My Goal: Buy No More Than 80 Books

1. Any books we personally purchased count towards our monthly book limit. 
2. When faced with the urge to purchase books, we must consult one another. Alternatively, we may also consider the use of 2015's handy book buying chart. 
3. Books procured via gift cards do not count towards the overall total. 
4. Exceptions can be made for books we've already read if we've already reached the monthly book limit. 
5. If we exceed the monthly limit, we must cull the same number of books we went over off of our shelves.

And in 2017...

As we discussed 2017, Alexa and I kept coming back to the same goal: we both really wanted to spend more time reading books that were already on our TBR piles. Buying books may be fun, but what good is it if we never take the time to actually read what we've acquired? That led us to the idea of incorporating a reading challenge into The Picky Pledge! So, we'll be reading at least one book per month from our TBR that corresponds to a category in the graphic below. While we hope to read even more books from our TBR, we thought this would give us some direction and add an element of fun to the commitment.

I've definitely learned that specific goals (like read at least 12 books from my TBR) is more motivating than a general intention to spend more time reading things I already own. Plus, it usually makes me want to work harder and surpass my goal. I'm hoping to get back on track in 2017! As with last year, we both have pages on our blog tracking our progress, so you can see how we're doing throughout the year. And if you're feeling the same way about your reading choices, maybe you'll be inspired to make a pledge or find a partner of your own. Sometimes all it takes is writing it down or telling someone else.

Here's to being intentional in 2017!