I made a decision at the end of November 2016 that I needed to put down my phone and read more. This wasn't meant to say I wouldn't still play some casual phone games; but that the RPGs and intense 'all the time play' games needed to go.
I am so happy to report I successfully committed to and achieved my goal of becoming a (unpaid) book reviewer. 😃
A couple of things that helped me read 101 books in 2017 (over the ~30 books in 2015).
- put down the silly games on your phone or tablet that suck up hours
- ebooks on your phone!! Read in line at the coffee shop, on the train platform, or pretty much anytime you have a minute and can see your phone
- When watching reruns on TV have a book open. You'll probably read more than you think
- Tell your partner this is something you want to do and have them heckle you when you are spending too much time on your phone (my husband loved this 😂)
- Just read!!! 😃❤️
These are books published in 2017 that I read and were my favourites:
- Novella: Down Amoung the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
- Fantasy: Wings Unseen by Rebecca Gomez Farrell
- Middle Grade: The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero
- Historical Fiction: The Floating Theatre by Martha Conway
- YA/Teen: The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli
- Sci-Fi: Waking Gods by Sylvain Neuvel
- The most disappointing book of the year: Caraval
- The most underrated or misunderstood book of the year: Mask of Shadows
- Best book not written in 2017 but that I read in 2017: Cinder by Marissa Meyer
2017 By the Numbers
- 15 print books
- 75 review books (!!!)
- 11 library books (9 ebooks, 2 print)
- 17 books DNF (not counted in total)
- 101 TOTAL completed books in 2017
Triple from 2016 and as many as I did in 4 yrs prior! 😳😃
So for 2018... I want to just keep it up so my goal is 101 books. If I can match it then I'll know it's a habit that just fits in my life now. 😊
Thanks to everyone who supports both my reading and stitching obsessions! You all truly give me even more motivation with your comments and visits here than I could ever give myself!
4 comments:
Well done! That is a great achievement :)
I found the same thing... putting down my phone/iPad gave back my stitching time!
Enjoy your reading journey for 2018!
Wow, good for you - that's an excellent total! I find it hard to divide time between books and stitching, and have to budget days for the really good, can't-put-it-down books, LOL. But absolutely yes to ebooks on the phone - so easy to get a little bit more reading in - like when on the exercise bike!
Oh wow, well done! You were reading so much, I had no idea you hadn't done the same all the years before that. I, too managed to hit a hundred 'books' in 2017 (after about 50 the years before) but there were quite a few comics, manga and short stories in there as well.
I've been meaning to ask you, and this seems like an appropriate occasion: You're doing all these reviews on fairly new books - do you not have a 'reading backlog' of older stuff at all, or do you just not write about it if you read something that's not a review copy?
That is a very good question! And one my husband will be thankful you asked as he has been bugging me to read more of my owned books.
So, Yes I have a huge backlog! 800+ books easily. About 300 in print (they have their own bookcase in my library) and 500+ in ebooks. Okay really more than 500 because I have a lot of free and $1 books that I'm not really counting (because I can't handle hitting over 1000 that I own). That I don't own it's easily over 1000. So (like with stitching) it's all about prioritization. :)
I'm hoping to read 20+ from my personal collection this year. As I'm sure I will buy more than that and keep the cycle going. Hahaha!
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