We’re coming to the end of the year, so it’s time to start looking back to see if we did what we’d hoped. Admittedly, this sort of post is probably more fun as a video, but I like the idea of writing this. So I shall!
I’ll be honest… I’ve not actually achieved as many of these goals as I’d hoped. I’ll probably have to be a little more realistic with next year’s goals. Or, y’know, repeat some of the same goals and hope I actually do them this time, ha!
Seriously though, I’ve done a lot of reading this year, and it has changed up a bit. I’m definitely becoming more aware of the sorts of books I enjoy reading, and that’s good. I think I am DNFing a little less, and that’s always a good sign. But that’s not a goal I’d want to set, as DNFing is definitely a good thing. I just don’t want to be buying books that I don’t enjoy.
I’m not getting into that here though. So here were my goals for 2022 and whether I met them!
Buy Fewer Books – Succeeded
Surprisingly enough, I actually succeeded with this one! I know we still have a good few days of the month left, but I included the preorder I have left this month. And it was still well below last year! It would still be well below, even if I decide to treat myself after Christmas or something!
That’s actually excellent news. I’m currently trying to get my physical TBR lower. Don’t get me wrong, I always want to have books to choose from to read. But the number I have is leading to dangerous piles. I still want to try and get the piles smaller, and I’m slowly getting there. Buying fewer books means that I’m adding to the pile less often, which is brilliant.
This was a goal that I honestly assumed I’d failed. But, hey, it looks like I can cut down on my book-buying! Well done me!
Read More Scribd/Kindle Unlimited E-Books – Failed
Uh oh…I definitely failed this one.
First things first, I’d like to say, I did have plans with this one. Even fairly late in the year. I was going to do this project where I read idol romances on Kindle Unlimited, but I DNFed every one I tried. Sigh. I probably won’t be attempting that again, but at least I tried.
I no longer have Kindle Unlimited, but I definitely need to be reading more e-books on Scribd.
Read More Thrillers – Succeeded
In 2021, I read 17 thrillers, and in 2022 I’ve read 21, and I think I’ve read more adult thrillers than I have YA. I’ve discovered that I actually quite enjoy listening to thrillers in audiobook form. There have been a couple of books I’ve seen in this genre that I’ve been interested in, and then I’ve pretty much immediately gone to listen to them.
This still isn’t a favourite genre by far, but it’s definitely one that I’m enjoying more and more.
Handle My ARCs Better – Partially Succeeded/Partially Failed
So…I’ve done good and bad here.
One of my goals was to start emailing about ARCs that I didn’t know if there was going to be one or not. I started doing that very recently at the tail end of the year. I’m still awkward about doing so, but if I really want to review a book… I need to try. So I succeeded there.
But I also talked about keeping a better eye on keeping track of my ARCs.
Yeah…that’s where I’ve fallen.
I always write the ARCs I’ve got down. I always put them into my TBR piles, including e-arcs, and I’m good at reviewing before the publication date. But I still had the habit of requesting too many at once as I wasn’t stopping to check how many books I already had to read that month.
Next year I will 100% improve on that as I’ve already put something into place in my journal to handle that. But this year, I did have a couple of months where I was pretty much only reading ARCs as I didn’t keep track.
So, a mixed bag.
Grow My Blog, Twitter and Instagram – Succeeded
Originally, these were two separate points, but I’m combining them here.
It’s safe to say that I easily reached my growth goals on all my platforms. I actually managed to get over 1000 followers on Instagram, which I thought was a reach. But I managed it.
I’m super happy with my growth in 2022, and hopefully, I’ll grow even more in 2023!
Success!!!
I think I can consider my 2022 bookish goals a success! When I first decided to do this post, I didn’t remember what my goals were, but I thought I probably wouldn’t have done that well. Checking all the stats for this has put a spring in my step.
Yeah, we still have a few more weeks to go, but I’m more likely to work towards completing these goals further than I am failing them. I’m really pleased. Hopefully, next year will be this successful too!
Did you guys have any bookish goals aside from a reading goal? Do you think you succeeded or failed? Let me know down below.
Lace and Dagger Books 