The Quiet Concert: Top Ten Bookish Goals/Resolutions For 2015

Dec

2014

Top Ten Bookish Goals/Resolutions For 2015

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's Top Ten list is
"Top Ten Bookish Goals/Resolutions For 2015"

Nicole's Top Five

1. Invest time in new ideas. This is a repeat from last year but one that I failed to do. I did launch one new feature (Battle of the Books) in 2014 but only posted once so not much to brag about there. Between school and work, I just didn't have the time to spend on new ideas but I have so many floating around in my head that if only I would devote some time to them... I will finish school in June so I will have much of my free time back then and I hope to make things happen this year!

2. Cull my books. I don't have a lot of space for books and I keep acquiring more so I need to get rid of the ones that I don't love or think I will reread. My biggest problem is old ARCs that I don't know what to do with. If you have any suggestions/methods that work for you that you are willing to share, I'd love to hear them!

3. Finish reformatting old posts. The Quiet Concert got a new look in June last year which created a year and half of posts that need to be reformatted. I got to about... 4 or 5 months of them so far. In 2015, I hope to fix the rest so it stops weighing on me.

4. Respond to comments. Although I read and appreciate all comments, I admit that responding to them is one of the first things to get de-prioritized blog-wise when I get really busy. And sadly many comments got neglected this year. But I really don't have any excuse because I can reply to the email notification I get so shame on me. It's just that I always tell myself I will do it late when my attention is solely focused on responding to comments and then it never gets done. But this year, things need to change!

5. Use Twitter more. This is really where the magic happens - not just for networking but for forming/deepening friendships. I don't use it nearly as much as I want to and should.

Ashley's Top Five

1. Get an awesome bookshelf. Justin and I are in the middle of the house buying process so we have been planning out some ideas for the rooms and one of mine was a library/reading room. He was all for it so I cannot wait to move and start picking out stuff for my reading room :)

2. Write at least 12 Thoughts for Thursday Posts. I enjoy writing Thoughts of Thursday posts even though I did not do too many this year. I struggle sometimes thinking of ideas but this year my goal is to write 12!

3. Read at least 60 books. I did not meet my goodreads goal this year and it was a bummer, granted I had some pretty good reasons. This year I am going to make a more obtainable goal since I know life is quite busy and with moving and being a newlywed, we stay quite busy.

4. Binge read the Mara Dyer Series. I mentioned this in my end of year survey. I read the first book in the series a long time ago (before the second one was out) and thought it was fantastic but then the rest of the series has just slipped away from me. I keep seeing awesome reviews for the last book so this year my goal is to reread the first one and finish the last two books!

5. Read a couple of older awesome books. This year I read Graffiti Moon (it came out a couple years ago) and I LOVED it. I tend to focus on new releases and current books but I would love to pick up a couple older released books that I have missed. So any recommendations?

What are your top ten?

Comments (12)

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Lili · 535 weeks ago

Nicole:
I would love to see you on twitter more! When I was at Tynga's Reviews I had to reformat a ton of old posts since they made the switch, so I get how agonizing it can be, but it's so worth it in the end.

Also, ideas for culling old ARCs: ask around if high schools will take them. I donated 100 to my high school's personal library because they are lacking in funding. Also, children's hospitals will often take them if they are smoke free and not wrecked. Definitely worth a call as well. Any charity type of thing, just explain what they are and check.

Ashley:
The Mara Dyer trilogy is so interesting to binge! In my opinion, book two is the best. I will definitely be looking out for this binge when the time comes!

I will be totally jealous if you have a library/reading room! One day...*sigh*

You should check into the TBR challenge that Evie-Bookish is hosting. It's a challenge to read books that have been on your shelves for a while. It may be right up your alley for your fifth option!

Happy almost New Year, you two! Happy and healthy <3 Hope to talk to y'all even more in 2015!
My recent post Top Ten Resolutions for 2015!

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Vy (Vy's Blog) · 535 weeks ago

I'm totally with you Nicole on investing in new ideas. I really need to just sit down once in a while and just hash out some ideas. And YES on the Mara Dyer trilogy. It is one of my favorite series of all time and I hope you'll enjoy it, Ashley!
My recent post Top 14 Reads of 2014

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joyousreads 92p · 535 weeks ago

Good luck, ladies! These are some pretty attainable goals, but like you, I struggle with balancing life and hobbies at the same time. My immediate goal is to dust off my TBR pile (this seems to be an on-going yearly goal for me. Lol).

Happy New Year! Looking forward to reading your posts in the coming year. :)

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Janhvi · 535 weeks ago

I need to finish the Mara Dyer series! I will definitely be doing that next month itself. I hope the both of you achieve all your goals :)
here's our TTT

Janhvi @ The Readdicts

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elenasquareeyes 12p · 535 weeks ago

I culled my books about eighteen months ago and it was great to make space for more books and I gave all the books that I hadn't read for ages or I didn't like to a charity shop. It was a bit of a weird feeling but a good one in the end.
Good luck with your goals for next year! :)
My recent post TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top Ten Goals For 2015

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jnbarber13 28p · 535 weeks ago

I definitely want to be more active on Twitter this year. Sometimes I feel like I have nothing new to say, so I'm just a silent twitter lurker. But nothing will change unless I put myself out there. Awesome goals!

My TTT

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aperfectioncalledbooks 76p · 535 weeks ago

@Ashely you SO want to binge-read Mara Dyer. It's so good, enjoy!! I can't wait to read your thoughts on the series. Ooh a new book shelf? Very nice :)

@Nicole Don't worry about it, I de-prioritize commenting back too. When things get busy that's the first blogging aspect to go. Just try your best, don't stress, and forget about the rest! :) Hmmm for old arcs you could donate them to Goodwill or other charity organizations, give them to libraries, or do giveaways?

Nice goals, ladies. I know you'll be successful in completing them!
My recent post 2014 End of Year Book Survey

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littlebookstar 68p · 535 weeks ago

It's always exciting to get a new shelf and filling it up with books! That was my goal last year and indeed I got a new bookshelf to put all my hardbacks in. Now I have a separate bookshelf for paperbacks and hardcovers. My goal is to also read more books this year since I did not reach my goal this year. It's okay though because I was really busy during 2014. I also want to binge read the Mara Dyer trilogy! I heard nothing but amazing things about it.
My recent post Stacking the Shelves #11

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wulibrarianjoy 48p · 535 weeks ago

Great goals! I followed you on Twitter :) Happy New Year!

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Christina Megan · 535 weeks ago

If it makes you feel better, Nicole, I also launched a feature that I did one post for. OOPS.

Last week, I finally put all my culled ARCs in boxes, but I still need to figure out what to do with them. One step at a time.

I FINALLY FINISHED REFORMATTING MY REVIEWS. I'm not reformatting the other stuff, because I do not have the time and people hardly look at old posts anyway, at least on my blog. But I needed my shiny archive.

Awesome bookshelves are perpetually needed. I just got a new one and I'm realizing it's really not going to cut it. OOPS.
My recent post Top Ten Blogging Goals for 2015

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mel1704 86p · 535 weeks ago

If you have enough money to ship them, you could always do a big giveaway with your ARCs? It's a good idea to use Twitter more, that's where all the social bonding happens most of the times. Get an awesome bookshelf is a nice goal Ashley! I will try to come up with some older books you could read :)

Good luck with all your goals!

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Pam@YA Escape · 534 weeks ago

Nicole: I'm still not on Twitter, but I feel like it will suck off any time I have. I already spend a lot of time reading (obviously) and then blogging and visiting other blogs, etc. so the thought of yet another thing is overwhelming, to say the least. But then other times I feel like I'm missing out a lot by not doing it. Oh well!

As far as ARCs, I have no idea. Maybe a giveaway? I've been thinking what to do with them too. If I love the book, I'll buy it in hardback, so then I have a hardback copy and the ARC, which is just a waste of space.

Ashley: Yes, Mara Dyer!!!! I reread the first two before I read the last one because it had been so long. So. Much. Fun!!! I had some issues with the last book because of a lot of unanswered questions, but still loved it and the whole series.

Older releases…hmmm…I'll have to think about that one, I can't think of any off the top of my head.
My recent post Stacking the Shelves (76)