For What It's Worth


Monday, January 27, 2020

My Monday Musings…



My 2020 reading is getting off a chaotic start. I’m all over the place but I’m reading! so I’m pretty happy about it overall.

Here’s the breakdown…

Read:



Sorry I’m Late, I didn’t Want to Come: One Introvert’s Year of Saying Yes by Jessica Pan

I listened to this on audio and have a review coming up later this week!







Reading:



Loveboat Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen Audio – library
I hear this is super angsty romance wise so we'll see how I do lol

The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert – I got this from ALA in 2018 so I picked it up after Lauren’s review. It’s super slow going (my brains fault not the book) but it’s good so far.







Upcoming: (maybe 😜)




Saints and Misfits by S.K. Ali – I posted a pic of my partial TBR pile on IG and asked for suggestions. There was a tie between 3 books so I had Fonzi choose lol and this is what he picked.

Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Wetherspoon – so this title makes me giggle but the book comes highly recommended by several bloggers – low angst and swoony! I need a good romance soooo bad.





2020 Reading Goals

I had meant to write a post about my 2020 reading goals but yeah…nothing is going as planned this year with reading or blogging lol so here’s a quick look at what I have planned.

📚 Goodreads Challenge

2020 Reading Challenge

2020 Reading Challenge
Karen has read 5 books toward her goal of 50 books.
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I always start at 50 and then add 10-20 books as I hit each goal.

This is the only challenge I do. I tried joining the Library and Audiobook challenge last year because I was doing well with both but as usual I stopped both once I signed up. So I’m going to remain challenge challenged in 2020.

📚 Read my TBR pile - I have 65 physical books total. Last year, I got my pile down from 148 to under 50. It’s gone up a little thanks to a few arc boxes from Macmillan but it feels pretty doable – or at least easy to make a dent.

📚 Re-read – I haven’t re-read my books in sooooo long. I used to re-read my favorites a few times PER WEEK. But I got swamped under a pile of arc’s for years. I barely request arc’s now so going back to a my favorites is a goal of mine. I gotta admit I’m a little afraid too. What if I hate them now?

📚 Read with reckless abandon – I used to just walk into a book store and grab what looked good. Not knowing a thing about the book going in. No weeks of pouring through reviews first or only reading the latest and greatest. I want to get back to this and try to read wherever the mood takes me. Older books – newer books – books from different genres, impulse reading.

📚 Use the library more – This is a continuation of the above goal. I can't go buying a ton of books that might suck and the library (Libby and Hoopla really) has been an amazing resource I discovered at my new library. It’s been a game changer. I get to try so many new to me books and just return them if they aren’t working out. No guilt – no pressure!

📚 Organize my Goodreads shelves – I’m going to be honest – I won’t actually do this lol I basically just keep track of the number of books I read and the month I read them. Then randomly adding to shelves I had made in the past that are inconsistent and don't make a whole lot of sense. The whole thing is a hot mess.

📚 Make a spreadsheet of my books read – another thing I won’t actually do unless Kevin does it for me 🤣 I don’t actually like being super organized and making too big of deal about reading but I want a better idea of where I’m getting my books from and what formats now that I'm not reviewing as much or going to conferences.

It's a little late but what are your reading goals for 2020?

What are you reading right now?

26 comments:

  1. I loved The Hazel Wood, and I was so sure I was going to love the sequel that I bought a hardcover thinking I was going to want the duology on my shelves, but I didn't care for the second book. Looks like the first book will be going to the library sale. Ha ha. 😛

    I'm doing Annemieke's Discworld challenge, and I'll be doing my N.E.W.T.s during Book Roast's read-a-thon in August, but because I'm basically reading all classics this year most challenges won't fit in. 📚

    Yay, for reckless abandon! Thats basically my theme for next year. I'll need it after all the classics. 😁

    Good luck reaching your goals! 🏆

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    1. That's a bummer about book #2. I had heard really negative stuff about the The Hazel Wood and honestly had expected to dnf before now lol But I'm liking it!

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  2. "📚 Make a Google Doc of my books read – another thing I won’t actually do unless Kevin does it for me 🤣"
    LOL. Why are you so lucky? It takes a miracle to have a man do something for you, especially if that something includes ORGANISATION!

    Good luck!

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    1. Kevin is SUPER organized!!! Way more than I am. I'm not big on order and lists (as i'm sure you can imagine - I REBEL lol).

      He ended up starting the spreadsheet for me last night! It's just a simple one but he said he'd color code it and all that if I get ambitious later on lol

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  3. A new year, a new reading spreadsheet for me. I really want my daughter to get involved, because, you know, she professionally analyzes data, and could make me something amazing, but I cannot nag her enough from 700 miles away. --sigh-- I liked Loveboat. It was described as be a little bit Crazy Rich Asians, so I knew what I was in for. Ever evolves a lot during the story too

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    1. I'm really resistant to spreadsheets and all that. I know I'm an outlier but things that make my hobbies feel more like tasks freak me out lol

      But since I don't go to conferences or get many arc's now - I'm curious as to where my books are coming from. I'm splitting between two library systems, KU, a few arc's and buying these days.

      Yeah, I've heard Loveboat is kind of wacky and over the top so I'm prepared.

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  4. I love the title of Sorry I’m Late... That is so me. :) I’ll be interested to see your thoughts on it.

    Read with reckless abandon. YES! And the yeses! When did reading become so planned and structured and monitored? Gah! Gone are the days of grabbing a random book and just going for it. I’m cheering you on for this one.

    Flying in the face on what I just said, I do keep a spreadsheet (uh, spreadsheetS) for what I read. And have for a decade or more. I have one master list, plus broken down by year. I track the basics (title, author, dates read) and also a few things like pub year, genre, format and source.

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    1. I don't like keeping track of things like that other than the total read but I'm curious where my books come from and I lost control of my Goodreads shelves years ago. I'm afraid to restructure them and lose books so a spreadsheet will help I think.

      I just added pub date! Good one!

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  5. You're planning on reading Rafe? I'll definitely be on the look out for your thoughts on that one, then. Like you, I've heard good things and really want to read but I'm on a bit of spending ban.

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  6. OMG! I loved RAFE!! I hope you do to. I picked it up at the end of last year and devoured it in a day. It's sweet and sexy! enjoy!!

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    1. I'm really looking forward to it. it sounds exactly like what I need right now.

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  7. Sorry I'm late I didn't want to come is my life story! Can't wait for your review, I'm so curious about it.

    I like your goals. Especially the rereading... I used to reread a lot but rarely get a chance to now. ☹️
    Maybe next year! I have other goals this year but next year could be the year! 😂

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    1. I've been wanting reread but other goals got in my way too. I had to clear out books first.

      I should have a review up Thursday for that book!

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  8. oh look at those books!!! Love seeing your goals. Goodreads shelves is a fabulous goal, I have switched over to Library Thing in shelving my books, its easier lol I am in love with spreadsheets and there are many bases for readers now. I use Airtable for mine. I am so not good with Excel maybe when I actually take lessons I can use it. hehe

    Good luck with your reading goals for 2020!!!

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    1. Kevin set up a basic spreadsheet for me. I doubt it will get overly involved lol

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  9. Sorry I'm Late sounds pretty awesome just from the title lol. And The Hazel Wood- I was curious about that. Haven't read much YA fantasy lately. And same here with buying books! That's what I used to do to- just go to Barnes & Noble and grab whatever looked good. Sometimes I miss those simplr days haha. Although not really- it's nice knowing what's coming out, all the hype, etc. well, sometimes. :)

    Wow you did great with your TBR last year!

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    1. The Hazel wood is pretty good so far.

      I'm SO far behind keeping track of books lol

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  10. Now that my TBR is pretty much accurate, I need to get stuck into my reading. I want to catch up with and finish as many series as I can but January is ending and I haven't done any series yet! I also need to get a good mix of fiction and non fiction done. I want to get the TBR down of course but I'm not setting a specific target on how many! Sorting Goodreads shelves is something I also need to do but I hate it, so it can wait a while! Good luck with your challenges this year!

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    1. I doubt I'd ever get to the goodreads shelves. I go there and just stare at it - not knowing where to begin.

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  11. I love going to the library and just finding books to read. I did it all the time growing up, and I've started doing it a bit more recently - but pretty much just with graphic novels. lol I've found some good ones though!! I also want to re-read books. I know I won't have time for a lot, but here and there, it would be nice to revisit a favorite. I'm also trying to read the books I already own, as I have a ton of them. LOL Good luck with all of your goals this year.

    I love that Fonzi chose one of your next books - I hope it's a good one! ;)

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. There are pros and cons to just randomly picking books but I miss that relaxed way of reading and discovering something I wouldn't have read otherwise.

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  12. Spreadsheat, sigh, I know I should. I want to keep track f stats, but laaaazy

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    1. Kevin made me a very basic one. We'll see how long I stick with it lol

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  13. At least you're reading! I'm challenge challenged too lol. I don't participate in any. I've been super in the mood to reread too, so I think I'll also be doing a lot of that this year. I kinda miss reading books with reckless abandon too, but I guess I've kinda gone back to that in a way since I haven't been doing ARCs for months.

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  14. I love the looks of your goals, especially the one on reading with reckless abandon! I am a huge library lover and love to see that on your list. Your tbr pile looks so manageable DD: I hope you can achieve that too.

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