2024 | A Year in Review

It’s that time again in the year, the end of the year where I look back and see how much I’ve read during the year. The only place I track my reading is on Goodreads so this is what Goodreads says I’ve read:

I read 181 books last year and this year just 134 (3 books were read by my daughter) and I am very happy with that. My goal was to read less, so I don’t burn out and I did a good job! *pats myself on the back**.

Of course a Sarah J. Maas book is going to be the longest one I’ve read this year! lol not a surprise at all. As for the shortest book? Well my daughter read that one and since my kindle app is linked to my Goodreads, it picks up the books she’s read. And a 385 page book sounds like a dream – I’m glad that’s the average length of a book I’ve read this year!

I finally read Verity and I’m excited to see how they adapt it into a movie. My least shelved book is from an indie author who asked me to read and review her book called Spindleheart. My rating average basically stayed the same from 2023 which is interesting.

This was my first review of the year….

And supposedly my last review…this was a good one!

Here are some stats of how I rated books this year. I have a lot of 4 star books only because if I give it a 3.5 rating, I round up since Goodreads doesn’t allow us to do half stars.

I didn’t do many blog tours this year – very, very few:

BLOG TOUR} The Summer Swap by. Sarah Morgan | Book Excerpt

Blog Tour} The Catch by. Amy Lea | ARC Review

As for some personal favorites of mine this year:

The Women by. Kristin Hannah

The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le

Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth #1) by. Kristen Ciccarelli

Funny Story by. Emily Henry

Not Another Love Song by. Julie Soto

The Thirteenth Child by. Erin A. Craig

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent

Quicksilver by. Callie Hart

How was your reading year? Did you reach your reading goals? What was your favorite books of 2024?

Reading Goals of 2022

I didn’t have big goals for 2022 but let’s take a look and see if I actually met them:

Read LESS. Read what I want to read and make sure I have enough time to finish it especially if they are arcs. I read about 13-15 books a month and it would be nice to get it down to 8-10 at least.

NO – I did not consistently meet this goal because I ended up reading 170+ this year. My goal was 52 but more like 100 max. 😆 The only months I met this goal was the last 2 months of 2022.

Keep my book buying ban still because I save money when I borrow it from the library and 2022 is about controlling my finances.

YES/NO – I was so good this year. I did buy books but they were severely discounted. So I did save money, but I still bought books. This goal is continuing on in 2023 because I have trips to plan!

Cut down on NetGalley requests.

YES – I stuck to this one I think because there was less catching up for me to do.

Have the guts to DNF more books that I’m struggling through.

YES – I did DNF more but not as much as I was thinking I would.

I think I did pretty good on my goals! I still want to cut down on the amount of books I read. Just so I can find that enjoyment of reading I used to have when I wasn’t a book blogger. I still love it but it does feel like work sometimes to finish arcs. Anyway, I’ll figure out a good balance someday – maybe 2023 will be that year!

Did you meet your reading goals?

Reading Goals for 2022

Happy new year friends! How was your New Year’s Eve? As usual – the island of Oahu was lit up with illegal aerial fireworks, nothing stops it – even laws. 🤦🏻‍♀️ I don’t mind it because I grew up here but I just feel awful for the terrified pets and busy first responders who have to run around keeping people safe.

I think I did good in 2021 sticking to my reading goals although my main goals were just to read less and buy less books. I think I definitely accomplished the latter. As for reading less? I thought I read less but it looks like I read more!

What did I learn about myself and reading in 2021?

I’m such a mood reader. If I’m not feeling a book, I just have to put it aside for awhile and pick it up when I’m in the mood to read that genre. I bounce from fantasy to contemporary romance – it helps, but this year I think I added a bunch of thrillers which was fun!
I still don’t tend to read sci-fi or mysteries – also heists…it has to be carried out so well for me to enjoy a heist book.
I miss re-reading my favorite books – I just don’t make the time for it anymore, but I used to love it because certain books become my best friends. I haven’t had a book bestie since I started this blog! 😔
I actually stuck to not buying hardcover books! Yay me! I only bought ebooks that were super on sale, I’m proud of myself for my self-control lol. Now my NetGalley requests are another story but I did cut down on blog tours.

2022 Reading Goals:

Read LESS. Read what I want to read and make sure I have enough time to finish it especially if they are arcs. I read about 13-15 books a month and it would be nice to get it down to 8-10 at least.
Keep my book buying ban still because I save money when I borrow it from the library and 2022 is about controlling my finances.
Cut down on NetGalley requests.
Have the guts to DNF more books that I’m struggling through.

I think those are good and simple goals. I love reading and when I see so many amazing books out there it’s so hard to say no. I have a TBR list and never refer to it during the year, I just keep adding to it. I need to stop that and maybe try and pick a few books in a month and really relish reading them. We’ll see how I do.

What are your 2022 reading goals? Are you changing any habits and nah? Happy reading friends, let’s make it a good year!

🎆~ Yolanda