Tag: Reading Goals

Let’s Talk Bookish: Book Buying Bans – Yea or Nay?

Dini @ dinipandareads35 Comments

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books  & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! You can check out these pages for January 2022 prompts & a full list of the past prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:

DO BOOK BUYING BANS WORK FOR YOU?

(SUGGESTED BY JILLIAN @ JILLIAN THE BOOKISH BUTTERFLY)
Prompts: The book community is full of consumerism. People want to not just read their favourite books, but own them as well. Sometimes this can get…a little out of hand. How do you control your spending/buying books you don’t have time to read? Does setting a book buying ban work for you? How long do you usually ban yourself for?

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Let’s Talk Bookish: 2022 Reading/Blogging Goals

Dini @ dinipandareads32 Comments

Hello, friends! It’s been a while since I did a Let’s Talk Bookish post but I thought what better time to dive back into these posts than at the start of a new year, right?!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books  & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! You can check out these pages for January 2022 prompts & a full list of the past prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:

2022 READING GOALS

(SUGGESTED BY DANI @ LITERARY LION)
Prompts: As we enter the new year many of us will be setting goals on Goodreads and choosing new year’s resolutions. What are your goals related to your blog or books/reading in general? Are you going to have resolutions this year, and if not why not?

QUICK RECAP of 2021 goals/resolutions

I’m just gonna come out and say it: I didn’t do a great job of achieving my 2021 goals/resolutions. 🙃 I was so convinced at the start of the year that it would be my year and well, a couple of slumps, weird reading moods, and burnouts later, and that wasn’t the case at all. I felt pretty shoddy about it when I realised just how little I accomplished but after a little internal monologuing, I decided that it’s okay. Of course, I’m disappointed that I didn’t achieve what I set out to do, but I had as much of a rough personal year as a lot of others did—but the high point is: we got through it!

I thought I’d share a review of some of my 2021 goals/resolutions before moving on to 2022:

  • Read 150 books (GR challenge) – this is the only goal I achieved as I ended up reading 199 books!
  • Tackle my existing physical shelves (at least 50 books) – yeah, no. this really didn’t end up happening as i participated in a slightly overwhelming number of blog tours last year 😂
  • Catalogue all my physical/digital books – i didn’t even end up making/downloading a library tracker until january 2022 so… 🙈
  • Prioritise reading Asian (South/Southeast Asian) authors – i read 13 books by asian authors and considering i read almost 200 books, i didn’t do well with this one!
  • Read more amazing Middle Grade Fantasy! – i read a few mg fantasies that i really enjoyed but 2021 ended up being the year of romance, and i think 2022 is going to follow suit.
  • Grow my blog to 800 followers – sadly, i didn’t achieve this and have been in 700 followers limbo for the past 8 months but i’m honestly just happy to have a few regular readers who engage with me, especially after posting so erratically in 2021
  • Read more non-fiction (at least 4 books) – nope. non-fiction stood no chance 🥲

IS THERE HOPE FOR MY 2022 READING GOALS?

Oof, that recap was a little more painful than I anticipated (😮‍💨) but I’m not gonna let that stop me from trying again in 2022! I also know myself and I’ve never been very good at sticking to resolutions or slaying goals. I’ve always kind of taken things as they come and just going with whatever flow I’m on, but I also like having a general idea of where I’m heading and what I want to work towards. All that to say, I’ll have these goals but I’ll try not to take them too seriously? It’s chaotic but we’re rolling with it, ok? 🤓

THE 2022 READING/BLOGGING GOALS

I’m gonna keep it pretty simple this year and include one or two ideas that I’ve been thinking about doing for the past year and I’m pretty excited about it, so hopefully, that means it’ll happen! 😂

  • Read 150 books – Goodreads Reading Challenge
  • Read 50 backlist titles – Because I really want to focus on getting the backlist read this year!
  • Complete the 2022 Popsugar Reading Challenge – I’m trying. Again. Maybe 2022 is the year I’ll finally complete it 😂 why not be ambitious, right?
  • Fill in my Library Tracker – I’m starting with recording my ebooks and then I’ll move onto my physical books!
  • Grow my blog to 800 followers – why not be a little more ambitious, eh?
  • Start my Re-read Project – I had this idea to re-read some of the books that I rated 4-5 stars before I started my book blog. I’d love to see whether I still feel the same way about them and I want to give them actual reviews this time! I hope to at least read 2-3 series or ~10 books.

That’s it for my 2022 reading and blogging goals! Do you set yearly goals for reading and blogging? Do you find setting goals helpful or is it just pressure you don’t need?

Let’s Talk Bookish: Reading Resolutions (+ My Resolutions)

Dini @ dinipandareads22 Comments

Hello, hello and welcome back to my first Let’s Talk Bookish of 2021! 😍 It’s been just over a month since I joined in the discussions for this weekly meme and I honestly didn’t expect myself to jump back into it so quickly this year, but I’m going with the flow! Since it’s my first LTB, I’m going to be answering last week’s prompt but as always, you can find all info down below including the latest and future prompts.

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @Eternity Books  & Dani @ Literary Lion, where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! You can check out these pages for more information on January 2021 prompts & a list of past prompts!

Now without further ado… The topic asks us about:

reading resolutions

(SUGGESTED BY M.T. WILSON @ THE LAST BOOK ON THE LEFT)
Examples: Do you set reading resolutions in the New Year? Are they helpful? Do you look back to see if you stuck to your goals? Do you ever feel pressured/stressed by these resolutions? Do you participate in the GoodReads challenge?

SETTING NEW YEAR READING resolutions GOALS

I have a pretty rocky relationship with resolutions and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who can say that. I generally love the idea of them and I love setting them but I’m also really good at not following through on them. 😂 I feel like ‘resolution’ is also quite serious a word to use when it comes to reading because it carries more pressure than let’s say the word ‘goals’. Does that make sense? Probably not…

But when it comes to reading I do set simple yearly goals and it’s something that I’ve always looked forward to doing! Honestly, prior to 2020 I only set myself one reading goal (Goodreads) but last year I took a bit of a leap and decided to add a few more to the list and I’m happy to say I did most of them 😊

are GOALS helpful?

Yes! I set these goals because they help to keep me motivated and I also use it as a reminder for what I want to do more. For example, the GR Reading Challenge goal helps me keep track of how much I’m reading but it also motivates me to actually keep reading. I’ve heard a lot of people say that they don’t like setting this goal because it makes it become too ‘competitive’ and while I do agree that some can make it that way, I don’t pay enough attention to other peoples’ numbers to consider it competitive. 😂 I like to challenge myself and see if I can read more than the previous year (so I guess in a way I’m competing against myself!) but I have fun with it and don’t put pressure on myself to do it. To keep the pressure low I also don’t set my goal way above what’s achievable (although of course it’s still a challenge!) and that’s totally okay too because I can add on to the goal as the year goes.

Aside from the Goodreads goal, last year I set myself additional bookish goals like “read more diverse, LGBTQ+ and own voices books” and then I found some reading challenges to help me keep track. I admit that when it came to challenges I did struggle (a lot) because (2020 but) I also felt more pressured especially if it was during a shorter time-frame. That said, it did help to keep this goal at the front of my mind whenever I had trouble choosing my next read.

Year iN REVIEW

One of the things I enjoy most about setting reading goals is looking back at the end of my year to see what I’ve achieved. While at times I have felt disappointed when I didn’t do as well as I hoped, I try to not let it get to me because reading is something I do for fun. It’s not a competition, I’m not going to be penalised if I don’t complete it, and once it gets to the point where I feel guilty or hounded by it, then maybe it’s time to take a break? 🤷🏻‍♀️

IT’S GOAL TIME!

On that note and speaking of goals, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about whether I want to set any this year and aside from the Goodreads Reading Challenge, which I think I will always set, I’ve decided to add a few more to my list again:

  • Read 150 books
  • Read more books by (South & Southeast) Asian authors
  • Read 50 books from my backlist and existing shelf (not including 2021 purchases)
  • Read 4 Non-Fiction books

What are your thoughts, friends? Do you set reading resolutions or goals? Did you set a Goodreads Reading Challenge goal this year? Do you find that setting goals helps your reading?

2020 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge Announcement & Possibility Pile

Dini @ dinipandareads18 Comments

Last year I decided to participate in the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge for the first time. I liked the idea of completing the challenge but I’m also 100% sure the reason I even looked at it in the first place is because of the cute and colorful list of prompts that they came out with. I’m sorry I just really like pretty things 🤣 That aside, I failed to complete it because I just wasn’t organised. I filled a spreadsheet with possible book options for some prompts at the start but gave up before I even really started trying. Bad panda 🐼

BUT I’m ready and eager to make this year different! I’ve not only identified many possible options for each prompt but I’ve even decided what I’ll read for a few of the 40 regular prompts. I haven’t started looking at the 10 advance level prompts yet though I’m not sure that I will this year!

There are basically no rules to this challenge. You can complete it whatever way you want and on Facebook it got a little ugly when people seemed to judge others for saying that they’d use one book for multiple prompts. It wasn’t a fun time 😒 Why can’t we just let people read whatever and however they want without making them feel like they’re “cheating” when there aren’t even any rules on how to complete this challenge in the first place? Sure, a challenge means you push yourself but it’s really nobody’s business but your own, isn’t it? #tea. BUT I DIGRESS! What I meant to say before going off on that rant is that I’ve made some bookish choices that count for multiple prompts but if I complete the regular challenge early (haha) I’ll go back to some of those prompts and choose a different book for it. That way, I’ll feel like I’ve pushed myself even more but I will also have happily completed the challenge in a relaxed and fun way without putting unnecessary pressure on myself. On that note, here are the books that I’ve chosen for some of the prompts. There’s still a possibility that these may change based on my mood but I’m going to do my best to stick to them.

A book published in 2020
A book by a trans or nonbinary author
A book about a book club + A book that has a book on the cover
A bildungsroman
A book with a map + A book by a WOC

A Western
A book by or about a journalist + A book with only words on the cover, no images or graphics
A book with a robot, cyborg or AI character
A book with at least four stars on Goodreads
A book with a pink cover

So far I’ve also managed to complete three of the prompts with the books that I’ve read so far this month:

A book featuring one of the seven deadly sins
A book with a bird on the cover
A book with a three-word title
☝🏽 (I’ve been on the fence about counting this last one though… Would you count it?) ☝🏽

Just like I’ll do for the ARC Apocalypse challenge, I’ll share a quarterly update for the POPSUGAR, which will only help to hold me accountable for my participation and so I don’t half-ass anything lol

Are you also participating in the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge? What do you think of my possibility pile? Do you have any suggestions for what I should read for some of the other prompts?

ARC Apocalypse Announcement & TBR

Dini @ dinipandareads12 Comments

As I mentioned in my bookish and blogging goals, I’ve joined quite a few challenges this year! Last year I (very loosely) joined one year-long challenge outside from Goodreads and that was the 2019 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge. I was complete trash at keeping track of what I read and basically gave up before I even started. That was fun 🙄 I guess I must be feeling more optimistic in 2020 because I joined a whopping FIVE challenges, and first up is the ARC Apocalypse!

This challenge was created by Destiny @ Howling Libraries in an effort to tackle those ARCs! And what’s better than tackling these reads with a bunch of other book lovers with the same goal, right? There are fun chats and buddy reads if you don’t think you can go it alone. Head on over to Destiny’s page (linked above) to find out more and join the challenge! I’ve mentioned it before but as an international book blogger I unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) don’t get as much access to all the reads on NetGalley, Edelweiss and from publishers, so my overall list isn’t as long as everyone else’s. Still, there are a few 2020 titles I’d like to stay on top of . but most importantly there are quite a few overdue titles I want to finish this year! Here are my current stats:

  • 2020 eARCs: 12
  • Overdue eARCs: 10

Ten overdue titles doesn’t look so bad right? But overdue is overdue and there’s no making excuses! My game plan is to prioritise my 2020 deadlines (while I’m still ahead of the game!) and alternate with reading the overdue titles. Sounds doable. Seeing as these have deadlines this is going to be my actual TBR for the coming months (January-early March):

After some thought I think I’ll be sharing my progress at the end of every three months along with what’s next on my TBR for the following three months*. I hope that my progress will basically be me saying: I’VE READ THEM ALL! 😍

*After some more thinking I decided to share a monthly progress updates for all my challenges, so you’ll be getting an update from me soon! I still hope that I’ll have made some progress 😂

Are you also joining ARC Apocalypse?
How do you plan to tackle your ARCs?

2019 End of Year Book Survey: Part III!

Dini @ dinipandareads19 Comments

I first discovered this post on BookLoversBlog on NYE and decided it was the perfect way to wrap up my reading and blogging year. The survey was originally created by Jamie @ The Perpetual Page Turner and asks us questions that reflect the last year of books, reading and blogging. I was wondering how I would do my yearly wrap up and I’m so glad I stumbled across this survey because it’s not only fun but also covers all the bookish and blogging bases. And so we’ve come to the third and final part of this comprehensive survey and it’s about Looking Ahead in 2020. If you’re curious, don’t forget to check out Part I (2019 Stats & Best in Books) and Part II (Blogging/Bookish Life)!

1. One book you didn’t get to in 2019 but will be your number 1 priority in 2020?

Well, there’s a disappointing number of books that I was adamant I’d read before 2019 ended and I didn’t end up getting around to… I think that’s perhaps the worst part about being a mood reader and if I force myself to pick it up anyway I’d probably really not enjoy it. But I digress! One book I’m really looking forward to reading is The Toll by Neal Shusterman. I’m starting my re-read of Scythe now, so I’ll hopefully get to The Toll very soon!

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