My Year in Books for 2019, plus Goals for 2020

Happy New Year! Happy New Decade! How is it that we’re already beginning the third decade of the twenty-first century? Time just continues to fly by and 2019 was no exception. Luckily for readers it was also a GREAT year for books, helping to more fully fill our days. The coming of a new year always prompts a look back at the past. Today I’m doing just that, looking back at my goals and stats for 2019 and setting just a few 2020 goals.

Looking Back at 2019 Goals

• Goodreads – I like setting a reading goal. I don’t feel like it puts much pressure on me, but is a good way to keep track. I also always set a pretty attainable goal, helping in my success. This year my goal was 100 books and I finished 113, which also marks my highest annual book count ever.
• Take a Blog Vacation (without stressing) – I did it, taking a two week trip to Europe in the spring where I was able to not even think about Novel Visits. It worked so well, I took another week off over Christmas. Taking breaks has been good for me and thankfully, I now know I can slip right back in when a break is over.
• Library – In 2018 10% of my books came from some sort of library source. This year that was up to 16%, so I guess that’s success. Interestingly, I check out far more library books than I actually read in print. Often times when I’ve read an e-ARC, I’ll check out the library book just for a picture for Instagram!
• Audiobooks – I was hoping to figure out a way to get ARC’s of audiobooks and I’ve had a little success with that, but am still working on it.
• Pinterest – I think this will always be a weakness for me. I just never really got on the Pinterest bandwagon in my own life and tend to not think much about it for my reading world either.
• Social Media Scheduling – This is an easy one that I still need to put more effort into. I’ve made progress, but there is more to be made.
• Less Procrastination – I’m still pretty big on procrastination when it comes to writing reviews, but I’ve shortened them up a little, so they go faster. I’ve also moved to a place where I’ve accepted this flaw in myself!
• Wrapping It Up! – I let these month-end posts go and that has been VERY good for me.
• Continue to LOVE Books – This was a silly goal, since there was really never any doubt about it, but still success! I think the wonderful crop of 2019 books might have even increased my love of books.

2019 Reading Year Statistics

Goals for 2020

• Goodreads Goal – For the third year in a row, I’m setting my goal at 100 books. I’ve surpassed 100 books for the last two years, so should probably raise it, but as much as I enjoy having a goal, I don’t enjoy feeling pressured.
• Instagram/Bookstagram – I’ve been on Instagram since the blog began, but never paid much attention to it. This year that changed and I’ve become a true fan. I really want to grow my Instagram presence, so will continue to work on posting/sharing there. If you’re not already following me on Instagram, please do. I share a little more frequently there and often include almost my entire review. You can find me @novelvisits.
• Improve my Photography Skills – This goes along with the previous goal. Part of the allure of Instagram is great pictures and mine aren’t always that great. I plan to work on both the quality and the creativity of my book photos.
• Blog Redesign – I’m already skeptical that I’ll actually get to this one, but I’d like to do a minor redesign of Novel Visits this summer. Maybe a new header, color scheme, and quotes. It’s just a tiny kernel of a thought right now, so we’ll see. (It probably depends on how much travel I end up doing in the summer.)
• Looking Further Forward – I’ve accepted my own  procrastination, but with that comes a need to better know where I’m going. I’d like to improve at having my blogging planned further out (even if I haven’t actually written the reviews/posts). This should be a minor tweak and easy to achieve.
• Better Variety of Posts – I do a lot of reviews because this IS a book review blog, but reviews don’t always do that well and that gets frustrating. I’d like to be more creative in coming up with other book related posts readers would be interested in. I’m going to put more thought into this, but would love to hear from you. What sort of bookish posts would you like to see?

Thank you for following Novel Visits and joining me in this wonderful world of books. Have a terrific 2020!