Welcome to my 12th annual ‘Wrapping Up, Looking Forward’ post. In this post, I take a general look back at how I did with my goals in 2021, and set some new goals for 2022.
Posting and Reading Overview
I posted 24 times in 2021. That’s 63 posts less than 2020. Haha. My goal for 2021 was “3 posts/week when I have the capacity for it”. Turns out I never had the capacity for it. 😂 2021 was a messy year for me. I read 39 books… my original goal was 100 books, incuding 52 middle grade. I read 17. 17/39 is not too far off the ratio of 52/100, so I’ll take that as a small win. (I’ve never hit the 52 middle grade goal.)
In summary, I had such a good year of posting and reading in 2020 that I don’t feel bad about crashing in 2021. Usually I have a lot more to say in this section, but I’m quite happy to put the year behind me now.
Community Challenges
I tend to alternate years for participating or not in community based challenges. 2022 is a participating year! My main goal for participating in challenges is connection with other book bloggers. Here are some challenges currently on my radar.
2022 Support Book Bloggers Challenge
Hosted by Briana @ Pages Unbound. A casual challenge for book bloggers to support each other by reading, sharing, commenting, and boosting each other’s posts in various ways. Briana has included 12 tasks that you might focus on. I appreciate the variety and reminders of ways we can support each other beyond commenting and liking posting posts. Use the hashtag #BookBloggerSupport22.
12 Challenge
Created by @shadowbooker on Instagram. 12 months to read 12 books recommended by 12 friends. I have just discovered what clicking ‘unroll’ on a tweet does when pasted into WordPress. 🤯 So here’s the Twitter thread I posted yesterday detailing the recommendations I received for this challenge:
- REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier (rec from @velvetopus)
- SORCERER TO THE CROWN by @zenaldehyde (rec from @IlluminateReads)
- A SPARK OF WHITE FIRE by @SanguMandanna (rec from @booknerdwriter)
- QUEENS OF THE WYRD by @TimWhitecastle (rec from @thought_stained)
- A PIG CALLED TRUFFLE by @farmgirlwriter (rec from @techchef)
- TULLY AND THE BOOKWANDERERS by @acaseforbooks (rec from @Signourney)
- THE TROUBLED GIRLS OF DRAGOMIR ACADEMY by @anneursu (rec from @PagesUnbound)
- IN THE WILD LIGHT by @jeffzentner (rec from @MrsCHeidrich)
- RAYBEARER by Jordan Ifueko (rec from @Dianthaa_Pia)
- SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by @shelleypchan (rec from @_jessticulates)
- THINGS IN JARS by @JessKiddHerself (rec from @tthebookplace)
- BESIDE THE OCEAN OF TIME by George Mackay Brown (rec from @alas_not_me)
Let Us Read Middle Grade 2022
Hosted by Annemieke @ A Dance With Books. A chill challenge to read and review as many middle grade books as you like in 2022. This challenge naturally complements my personal goal of 52 middle grade books. Use the hashtag #LetUsReadMG2022.
Pondathon II
Details to be announced tomorrow (3 Jan)! The kernel of it is that Pondathon II will be a year long community-based, interactive readathon. You can learn more in this announcement post from 14 Dec.
EDIT: I forgot The Quiet Pond runs on NZ! The details post went up not long after I published this post.
Personal Goals
- 52 middle grade fiction novels
- 3 posts/week when I have the capacity for it
- 100 books read
- No new TBR til April
- Social media milestones
For 2022, I’m duplicating my 2021 goals and adding a couple new ones. I keep a perpetual goal of 52 middle grade because I tell myself one/week is a practical goal. But really, for me that’s a stretch goal. As for 3 posts/week and 100 books read, I’ll be quite pleased if I hit those targets.
No New TBR
The fourth bullet requires some explanation. Inspired by the TBR Double Dog Dare hosted years ago by James Reads Book (I don’t think he’s online anymore), this is somewhat of an outrageous challenge and I won’t hold myself to it too strictly. But I’m using to set a good pace at the start of 2022 by delving into books already on my TBR and not letting my TBR balloon too much. So! The premise I’m going with is twofold: 1) I will only read books already on my TBR and 2) I will not add any new books to my TBR – unless I read or remove a book already on the TBR. Functionally, I should have less books on my TBR by April than I do now. My TBR currently contains 971 books.
Social Media Milestones
Lastly, I have some social media milestones I’d like to hit this year. I’ve never set a goal like this. I know number of followers, number of views, etc. can be a controversial topic. I will put the disclaimer that bigger number ≠ better person/content/etc. I’m not going to share exactly what milestones I’m aiming for, bt I will say they are for blog views, Twitter followers, and Goodreads friends/followers. I’m not going to go too deep into my reasoning for setting these goals. For myself personally, my goal is to boost those numbers by creating content that I enjoy and that will be of interest to other readers. These milestones will serve as a way to motivate myself to create good content and connect with folks on an ongoing basis.
I don’t share a lot of personal content on this blog, but I’d like to give a brief recap of 2021 so you can see where I’m coming from and where I’m going in 2022.
From Oct. 2019 to Mar. 2020, I worked as the temporary children’s librarian at the public library five minutes away from my home. The pandemic shook that up and I didn’t work the rest of 2020. In Jan. 2021, I was lucky enough to return to that job (still temporary). But by the summer I was a bit fed up with the job and particularly fed up with living in that city. In late Oct. 2021 I applied for a new job in my hometown, though not in public libraries. I got the job in mid-December. As I was already planning to visit my hometown over Christmas, I packed up my entire apartment in 10 days and headed back on 22 Dec. On Tuesday (4 Jan.) I start a new job that’s entirely work from home.
So! 2022 will look radically different from 2021, just as 2021 was radically different from 2020. How does this bode for my reading and blogging habits? I know better now than to predict that. But I do hope better habits are in store this year…
How was your 2021 reading year? What goals or challenges are you undertaking in 2021?
I recently picked up Beside the Ocean of Time at my local used bookshop recently. A Bookstagram friend recommended George Mackay Brown, so I was happy to see a lovely copy show up for a good price. I’m looking forward to reading it.
What a coincedence! I love a serendipitous used bookshop find. Thanks for stopping by.
Congrats on the new job, that’s so exciting!! I’m looking forward to participating in Pondathon for the first time this year, it seems so imaginative and fun
Thanks very much! Glad to hear you’ll be participating in the Pondathon this time around 🙂
Congratulations on your new job and best wishes in the new year! My one word for 2022 is pause and I’m not sure what that means for my blogging/reading life yet. 🤔 Maybe I should try that no new TBR challenge!
Thanks very much! The first thing I think of when I hear ‘pause’ is ‘pause and enjoy what you have’. So that intention would fit well with no new TBR, haha. But anyway, I hope pausing in 2022 brings you some peace and comfort 🙂
I love these challenges 😁 I will also be putting together a challenges/goals post at some point. Good luck!
Thanks Tammy! Likewise with your challenges – I’ll keep an eye out for your post.
Wow, a lot of this sounds very familiar! I also aimed for 100 books and 3 posts/week this year and I also missed both of those those goals. I’m interested in the blogger support challenge and the pondathon sounds really cozy and nice. Congratulations on your new job! May the next year be a better one for us both 🙂
Thanks so much, Katie! Let’s enjoy plenty of good reads and cozy challenges this year 😊
Rebecca has been on my list for ages, maybe this is the year to read it. Good luck with your challenges!
Thanks so much! I don’t often pick up classics, but it’s one I’ve also been considering for awhile.
Sounds like you made some good decisions job wise. Hopefully it will be more stable during any covid ups and downs too. And welcome on board of Let Us Read Middle Grade!
Thanks Annemieke! I’m already really enjoying being back around family.
I hope 2022 is a better reading and blogging year for you! this is the first time I’m hearing about the 2022 Support Book Bloggers Challenge and I’m definitely joining it, it sounds like a great idea.
Thank-you! So far I’m off to a good start. Glad I could introduce you to that challenge~
Congratulations and good luck with your new job! 🥳💖
Thanks very much 😁
Sorcerer to the Crown is one of my favorite books. I still need to read the sequel to that one. I hope you enjoy all the books recommend to you. Hope your 2022 is full of blessings <3
Thanks so much Alicia, I appreciate it 😊
If this isn’t a relatable mood idk what is. Kudos to you for not feeling bad about it!
Right?? Thanks so much Kal! For me, blogging is/should be an enjoyable hobby, so I try not to let it get me down.
You have some great goals and challenges this year. I’ve decided to be super minimal on challenges this year, almost nothing planned (unless I change my mind). I’m doing the Book Blogger Support challenge because I try to do that anyway but could use some reminders to boost my activity and it’s always fun to connect with others. Love the idea of friends recommending books, I’m trying to do that as I go along with my “make me read it” posts. Of your 12 I’ve only read Rebecca which I can definitely recommend. Good luck and happy reading!
Thank-you Lory! I enjoy your ‘make me read it’ posts, even when I’m not familiar with most of the options myself. I used to do a similar series (“I can’t believe I haven’t read that yet”) but haven’t posted one since 2020. I plan to revive that series this month. I agree it’s a nice way to connect with one’s reading community.