So How Did We Do?

Welcome to Thoughts for Thursday! This feature is our outlet to talk with you about whatever we currently have on our minds. It might be bookish, it might not! Now for this week's thought:

So How Did We Do? 

With a new year around the corner, it's almost time to make new resolutions. But first, let's see how we did against this year's resolutions... 

Nicole 

1. Have fun. 

For a while in 2013 this blog was taking over my life. I was easily intimidated by the more successful blogs and I wanted to do too much too fast. But I've relaxed considerably over the past few months and now have a much healthier attitude about blogging. I hope to keep it that way in 2014. 

I am still a little OCD when it comes to the blog, but I still think I am way better than I used to be. And I think blogging has become more and more rewarding, the longer I keep at it. I am definitely having fun! 

2. Develop good review-writing practices (I don't have these currently). 

There are two things I really want to get in the habit of doing. First, I want to write reviews closer to when I actually finish the book. I am really bad about this. Second, I want to consistently keep track of my thoughts while reading. I might buy a reading journal to help with this. I might also adopt the post-it-note method because I used to love including quotes in my reviews and I've done that less and less lately . 

SOOO, I completely failed on this one. I attempted the sticky note method, and I tried to take notes while I read, but both didn't last very long. The problem is that I don't like to interrupt my reading with note taking nor do I consistently cary a notebook or stickies with me. But I do need to find a system that works so I'll keep trying. Oh and reviewing a book right after I finish it? Hahahaha, yeah right. 

3. Write personal posts, in addition to opinion posts. 

When Ashley and I started our Thoughts for Thursday feature we wanted it to be our outlet to talk about anything, but so far we've kept it mostly bookish. In 2014 I will definitely be writing some personal posts. I love reading these kinds of posts on other blogs and getting to know the bloggers better. So this year I hope to do the same for our readers.

Hmm, I did write one very personal post in January - 20-Something and Single - and did a few trip recaps (China and Dubai) and a fitness-inspired post, but other than that I've still kept it mostly bookish and could definitely write more. I do have a couple post ideas that have been in the works so expect to seem more in 2015!

4. Visit more blogs.

I have met so many wonderful bloggers this past year and I hope to continue those friendships in 2014. But there are still so many bloggers out there for me to get to know better, and I hope visit more of you and build those friendships in 2014.

I have gotten better about this but I am still not where I want to be. Time has been a real challenge this past year and I haven't had enough to spend discovering new blogs. But I have definitely strengthened many of the relationships I already had and I did still meet many new people. I look visiting more in the future.

5. Invest time in new ideas.

Over the past year I've had some ideas for features or discussions but never brought them to fruition for one reason or another. This year I want to invest more time and energy into these ideas to see if they are actually worth something. 

Well, I did launch a new feature - Battle of the Books - but sadly I only posted once, hah. Again, finding time was the problem. But I do have many ideas for this feature in the future, one in particular I am really excited about and plan to work on this winter break. I also plan on launching a "How It Should Have Ended" feature - hopefully next year!

Hmm so I guess I made pretty terrible progress against my 2014 resolutions... Here's to doing better in 2015!

Ashley

1. Keep up reading while balancing wedding planning and life 

I made a reading goal this year to read 100 book and I barely made it. Planning a wedding and moving in with my fiance has change my reading schedule just a bit :) So my goal this year is to keep up my reading while also still managing moving, wedding planning, and a wedding! 

So this one was a tough one. I definitely do wish I had read more this year but balancing wedding planning was not an easy task and now balancing being newlyweds and the holiday season is even trickier!  But I am not doing too bad!

2. Vary my words/vocabulary in my reviews

I was reading a opinion post about word choice and using the same words all the time in review. I started to think about and noticed that I sometimes do the same. So this year I would like to just improve my writing. 

I think I have improved but there is always room more more improvement :) 

3. Write more posts on Thoughts for Thursday 

Nicole came up with the idea for Thoughts for Thursday and it has been fantastic so far. I want to contribute more and think up more discussion and personal post for Thoughts for Thursday. This can help with goal #2!

I was able to write a couple Thoughts for Thursday posts this year so I did well on this one!  I was able to share my wedding planning and wedding with you guys.  I have a couple more ideas for some bookish related ones that will be coming up soon.  

4. Actually finish the Castor Chronicles this year

I had this one my list last year and did make make it further in the series but I still need to finish the last book. It will get done this year!

Haha this one was not completed.  There are so many good books that came out this year that just really grabbed my interest.  The ending to this series just fell way down my to-read list.

5. Read the books Nicole says I must read because I will love them :).

I am going to buckle down and actually read the book Nicole recommends to me :) haha I promise! Included in that list : Sanctum, Throne of Glass and Slated. 

So I did read Sanctum this year!  The other two I will still try to get to.