Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic encourages you to share your bookish goals for the year! These can be milestones you hope to hit regarding follower counts, the Netgalley ratio you want to hit, number of reviews you’d like to write, number of books you’d like to read, certain books/genres you’re wanting to get into or check off your bucket list, etc. I love making goals, even if I sometimes struggle to meet them! I can’t wait to see what you’re hoping to accomplish this year.
1. Read 60 books this year.
This is what I’ve set my Goodreads goal at, and I think I can do it! I usually set it to 52 books (one for each week), but I’ve surpassed that the last two years so I’ve upped it a little to try and challenge myself more.
2. Get my Netgalley feedback ratio to 80%.
For those of you who don’t use Netgalley, the feedback ratio is my nemesis. On your Netgalley account it shows the percentage of the books you’ve reviewed from the books you requested. Back in the olden days this ratio didn’t exist and, as a baby blogger who was excited to review books, I requested everything I thought I might like (not expecting to be approved for them all). But I was. lol. I dug myself into a huge hole that I’ve been spending years trying to climb out of. I’m hoping this is the year I hit the recommended 80% (although, I’d like to go higher if possible!).
3. Request and accept fewer books for review.
This kind of goes hand in hand with #2. I don’t want to fill my plate so full that I can’t enjoy my Kindle Unlimited and Audible memberships, my library, and the books I already have on my shelves or receive as gifts. For years, I exclusively read review copies and missed out on a lot of other titles I was super excited about.
4. Read more backlist titles.
A large portion of last year was spent reading books that came out 10-12 years ago and I LOVED it. I loved reading different things than everyone on social media. I loved sharing my love of titles whose spotlights burned out years ago. It was fun going in a different direction than the majority.
5. Share my thoughts on every book I read.
I think I’ve put too much pressure on myself to write super in-depth, long book reviews (especially for review copies I receive), and that prevented me from reviewing a lot of the books I read because I just wasn’t in the mood. But blogging shouldn’t feel like a chore! So even if it’s just a few sentences, I want to post a review for every book I read this year.
6. Read more books from my bookshelves.
I’ve got shelves full of unread books, and I want to try making those a priority this year! If I don’t like them, I can donate them so I have room for more!
7. DNF more.
I did much better with this last year, but I want to do even better! If I’m not enjoying a book, I need to cut my losses. Life’s too short for bad books!
8. Not try to force my mood.
I’m a major mood reader, and sometimes I find myself trying to force my mood to read something because it’s the right time to do it. Like, in September/October I tend to want to read spooky and atmospheric books, but last year I couldn’t find any I loved! I spent the entire spooky season DNFing book after book because nothing worked for me. I probably wanted to continue on my historical romance kick instead. I sort of caused my own book slump!
9. Read the books I’m excited about immediately.
I’ve wondered if I’m the only one who does this, but if I get my hands on a book I’m super excited about I tend to save it for the opportune moment. A trip, a stretch of time when I’m in less pain so maybe I will enjoy it more, a holiday, after I’ve read x first, after I’ve accomplished this goal, etc. And so often, I end up not reading the book at all. Maybe the mood leaves me or I find something else or that opportune moment never comes. I need to read the books I want to read right away, and not when the stars align.
10. Find more books off the beaten path.
I feel like book bloggers tend to all read the same books. We all seem to be chasing the latest release, the “it” book of the season, the latest social media sensation, etc. I want to go looking for books not everyone is talking about. I want to be different!
What are some of your reading goals this year?
How many books are you hoping to read in 2023?
