Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Blogging Resolutions for 2011


With the year coming to a close soon, I've been thinking of New Year's resolutions and things I would like to accomplish in 2011, especially my goals for V&T...

1. I'm currently 2 books away from my 2010 goal of reading 52 books. For 2011, I would like to get to 100 books read. And to do this, I really need to get a little better with my time management. I admit it, I am a Facebook game junkie. But come New Year's day, no more Frontierville, Cityville, etc. etc. etc. I waste too much time that could be better spent reading. And to be perfectly honest, I think I need to cut back on the number of blogs in my reader. Or at least figure out a way to put them in some kind of order to make sure I'm not missing posts by my favorite bloggers.

2. I would like to have a little bit more of a regular schedule with my posts. I am off work on Fridays and Saturdays and I think it's best if I write my reviews on Friday and post them on Saturday. And if I happen to have an extra review for the week, I think Wednesday would be a good day to set it to post.

3. I'm not a meme girl. I know lots of people love them, but....shhhh....I hardly ever read them. I like reviews or posts that feature a single book so that's what I'm sticking with for my blog. I will continue to make New on My Shelf posts for new books that I get and I may start making posts for books that I am looking forward to, but I think I will leave it at that.

4. I don't want to waste time on books that I'm not loving. I read for the joy of it, and if a book isn't bringing me that joy then I'm not gonna feel guilty about setting it aside. There are just too many good books out there to spend time on the ones that aren't. And while we're at it, that also means I'm only going to say yes to review requests of books that I really, truly want to read. When I first started getting asked to review people's books, I was saying yes to everything just because I was so excited to be asked. But I've discovered this isn't fair to myself or to the authors and so I will learn to say no thank you...in a very nice way of course =)

5. I want to complete the challenges I have signed up for!

6. I seriously need to stay on top of updating my Currently Reading section in the sidebar...

7. I'd like to have more discussion type posts, I love hearing your thoughts and feedback on all things book related (and other things too) so I think I'll be making more posts asking for YOUR opinions.

8. And last but not least, I need to get a little notebook or something to jot down where I hear about books. There have been several times I have ordered books this year after reading another blogger's review and then I forget who it was. I wanna keep track so I can give credit to those bloggers in my reviews.

Do you guys have reading/blogging goals for the New Year? I would love to hear them!

13 comments:

flanpnhfpnanfnFN said...

I want to read 150 books in 2011!

I read 115 so far this year, so i want to make it more! :)

Great idea, maybe i'll do a post like this!!!

www.blackfingernailedreviews.blogspot.com

nicole said...

yay for number 1! i always love when that happens!!!

also: i don't get meme's either. mostly because they seem to be day orientated and...well, lets just say that i spend most of my time in 'nicole land' which is vastly different (time wise) to reality. i spent all of yesterday thinking it was christmas eve...i was WAY off.
have a great christmas!!!

Chrystal said...

This is a great list. I agree with not doing reviews for books just because you were asked. I have said yes to a lot in the past when I really should have said no thanks. So I am still going to finish the ones I have said yes to, but will only from now on say yest to ones I cannot miss out on. :)

Also, I do some memes but I am limiting the ones I do, because I too do not really follow them all. I like In My Mailbox, and once in a while I a Waiting on Payday post for books that I cannot wait for and sometimes I do the Blog Hops. But the rest I tried and just cannot keep up with and well I like content too, so quality of posts is where I am headed. :)

Good luck in the new year with you goal of 100! Happy reading!

Leanna Elle said...

A good way to keep track of your favourite blogs is to add a blog roll to your sidebar. That's what I did. All my fave blogs are there (including yours, of course), so I never miss a post from them. That way it's easy to keep up with my faves.

I'm not huge on memes either. I participate in two, but not every week. I prefer to read blogs that are mostly filled with reviews. :)

loreleimarsh said...

I'm shooting for some of the same goals. I joined the 111 in '11 reading challenge to try to get myself back on track & I really want to enjoy my reading/blogging experience. Thanks for sharing!

Mrs. DeRaps said...

I, too, want to read more books. I agree with your confession about meme posts. I don't really read them very often. I am more inclined to read book reviews and author interviews. But, it's okay that others really like them.

In other news, I am going to send you a little gift. That's why you haven't received your Christmas gift. I'll send it out either late this week or early next week. It's not a huge deal, just something you mentioned once that I think of every now and again.

Happy merry Christmas! I look forward to reading reviews of the additional 48 books you read this year!

: )

Midnyte Reader said...

This is a great list. It's unique to who you are. I think that staying true to what you want to do on your blog is what is important and then your voice will shine through.

I like some memes, but if it's not interesting to you then that will show through to your readers.

I just returned an audio book I couldn't finish listening to...but I usually do finish books that I may not love. I'm not sure why. I guess I like to process and talk about what it is about it I don't like.

My Blogging Resolution is to try to make sure when I don't like something in a book, to state what and why in a more constructive manner.

ps-this is the like the 3rd time I've had to hit your follow button. It seems Google keeps unfollowing for me from some blogs.

Tales of Whimsy said...

All super admirable goals :)

I feel ya on memes. I like them from time to time but don't ever let them restrict me or weigh me down.

Great post :)

I know you can do it :)

Merry Christmas!

Aleetha said...

I want to write review in English. That's mine

wish you luck with your resolution ;)

Natalie (Id So Rather Be Reading) said...

I live reading resolutions and I like discussion postings!

Anonymous said...

My goal for 2010 was to read 100 books but I missed it by 14 books. I'll try again in 2011.

I use Goodreads to track my recommendations. In the 'My Review' section of the book's page, click on 'edit' and new box will pop up. Towards the bottom, there's a section labeled 'Who recommended it to me'. You start typing in the name and if they're a friend of yours on Goodreads, it will auto-complete their name. I use Goodreads to track everything book-related.

Good list of goals!

Manga Maniac said...

That is a great list of goals for the New Year!

I have a hard time giving up on books that I am not loving, so I need to put your #4 on my list! Sometimes I feel that if I just keep going for a few more pages, I might start enjoying the book more. It really is counterproductive.

Julie (Manga Maniac Cafe)

Bella said...

I am going to try to read 50 books this year!