Saturday, January 7, 2017

Recent Updates and Goals for 2017

I'm hoping you guys aren't having severe weather. I know if it's below freezing here, it must be really bad elsewhere.

Did you have a great start to the new year? My reading week was a mixed bag. I was disappointed by Little Heaven, but I really enjoyed Siren Sisters.

Posted Last Week


On January 1, I posted about my first book of 2017.

Check out all of the Upcoming January 2017 Book Releases in Fantasy, Horror, and Science Fiction I'd love to read this month.

I also posted my review for The Fireman by Joe Hill.

Books Read Last Week




Firelight (Amulet #7) by Kazu Kibuishi

Little Heaven by Nick Cutter

Siren Sisters by Dana Langer

Review Copies




Frostblood (Frostblood Saga #1) by Elly Blake - I forgot to mention this one last week! I will probably start this one over the weekend.

Paranormal Canadian Tales: A Supernatural Journey by Dawn Hunter Clark - Schiffer Publishing sent me this book, and I'm super excited about it. It's been a while since I've read some real accounts of paranormal activities. This might be a good one to start while I'm trapped inside from the cold.

Goals for 2017


Goodreads Challenge - As always, my Goodreads challenge will be set at 50. I'm hoping to read more than that this year, but I've always aimed for at least 50 books (even before I started blogging). It's a personal number, and I don't foresee ever changing it.

Horror - This is a goal I will probably fail. I'd like to read at least 4 horror books a month. If you do the math, this makes 48 books when my overall goal is only 50. I do not plan to only read horror this year. This is an attempt to up my horror game. I started my horror spotlight posts last year in an effort to seek out more horror. I'm happy with the progress I'm making, and I think this will help keep me on track.

Nonfiction - I love nonfiction. The last couple of years I have really gotten away from reading it. I made a goal last year to return to reading nonfiction, and I failed miserably. I'm going to try this goal without setting a hard number this year and see how it goes.

Pre-2017 TBR - This is another category I'm going to shoot for without a hard number. This can definitely overlap with my horror goal. This goal only includes books I already own and not the back titles I buy in 2017. This can include rereads from my shelves.

Review Catchup - I need to catch up on some reviews. Reviews that never got posted, reviews that never got written, books that never got read in the first place. Blogging breaks are my downfall (summer!!), and I'd love to revisit or revive some titles I never really got to talk about on the blog.

Blogging - As far as blogging goes, I will probably remain as inconsistent as ever. I'd like to take less breaks this year, but I'm determined that my blog will stay stress free. I already have enough stress and commitments with a full time job and motherhood. Blogging is a lot of work! It's rewarding, but it also needs to remain fun. As long as it feels more like a hobby and less like a job, I'm good to go. One thing I would like to do is keep better stats this year. I don't have any particular goals I'm aiming for, but I would like to be able to compare what I'm reading each year.

What are you reading this week? Be sure to let me know in the comments or leave me a link!


This post is being shared as part of Book Date's It's Monday! What Are You Reading?, Tynga's Reviews' Stacking the Shelves, and Caffeinated Book Reviewer's The Sunday Post.

Jennifer

Subscribe: rss Follow: twitter goodreads Contact: email

29 comments:

  1. Awesome haul of books. I hope you love all of them.

    Grace @ Books of Love

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nice haul! Frost Blood looks awesome! I hope you will enjoy it! Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We've had crazy winter storms this past week and super low temps... we're about to get above freezing and now we're in danger of major flooding. lol We're either in a drought or flooding, no in between.

    Wow, 4 horror a month is a lot but sounds like the kind of goal I'd set. haha I always save my horror for October but then wish I spread it out during the year more because I love it so much. And YES to the Pre-2017 TBR goal. I got huge on snatching up Kindle deals but they built up quick... I paid actual money for 55 and only read 22 of them. Better than I thought but still.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it's probably silly to publicly state 4 a month. We will laugh about this at the end of the year. :D I really hope I make some progress on books I already own. *crosses fingers*

      Delete
  4. I'm so curious to see what you thought of Little Heaven. I've heard it's REALLY good. I have a copy myself, but I'm not sure I have time to get to it. Good luck with your goals!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think Little Heaven is going to be one of those love it or hate it books. I didn't love it.

      Delete
  5. Yes! It's been so cold here. I just want to stay buried under covers drinking hot chocolate and reading. I hope your next reads are awesome. Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same! I pretty much locked myself away this weekend.

      Delete
  6. Jennifer, you are so smart to keep your blogging fun. I tend to take on more books than I can manage, and it does get stressful. This is my first visit to your website and I really like your style! I will follow you on Bloglovin. Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started my blog. I try to keep sight of why I started it in the first place.

      Delete
  7. Frost blood sounds so good. Good luck with your goals!
    Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have seen frost blood everywhere I need to check it out more. Have a great week.

    Megan @ reading away the days

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Have you? That's good. I keep expecting to see it more and I haven't.

      Delete
  9. Cheering on your horror reads. I always find great recommendations on your blog. I'm not very far into Little Heaven so I'm not sure what to think yet. Good luck on all your goals.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I need a cheerleader so that's awesome. Yeah, there is a lot going on with Little Heaven. I hope you wind up loving it.

      Delete
  10. Hmm, Siren sisters looks good. I don't know what it is but I'm always curious about siren/ mermaid type stories (as long as they're nasty mermaids lol). Horror's funny for me, i like a good scary read but not really creepy stuff- more atmosphere, less gore I guess. Like I just read Blackout by Tim curran- it's kinda horror but probably sci fi horror more accurately. Don't remember where I saw it but it was good!

    I hear you about blogging. It is time consuming. Hope you have a great blogging year in 2017. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Horror is a funny genre in general. A lot of popular horror books are never billed as horror. It's a very misunderstood genre so if a book can be billed as something else - it usually is.

      Delete
  11. Good luck with all of the challenges and reading for 2017! You've got this. I absolutely loved Frostblood and cannot wait to read the sequel. So far away! I need it now. I hope you enjoy all of your new books!

    Have a fabulous week, Jennifer. :)

    Check out my STS post!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm enjoying Frostblood so far! I'm getting close to the end, and I'm afraid of how it is going to end.

      Delete
  12. Everyone seems to be cold this week. Hopefully we will all get some warm weather. Sounds like a great week. I love all the 2017 challenges. I hope you have an amazing week, enjoy your new books and happy reading. My Sunday Post  

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm also hoping to read more horror this year, as well as books I already own. Good luck with your challenges!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I hope you enjoy Frostblood. I've been seeing a lot of wonderful thing about that one. Good luck on your 2017 goals! My reading goal is set at 50 this year, but I only made it to 41 in 2016, so hopefully we will both make it to 50! I'm with you on blogging goals as well. I want to be more consistent, but I don't want blogging to feel like a chore.

    Hope you have a wonderful week!
    My Sunday Post!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Enjoy your books, and have a great week!
    Diane @ Diane’s Book Blog

    ReplyDelete
  16. WE have been freezing as well. Paranormal Canadian tales looks neat. Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  17. This weather!! I have been huddled inside keeping warm.

    Oo Paranormal Canadian tales looks good - and so creepy! Seven Sisters also looks really good. :)

    ReplyDelete
  18. It sounds like you're suffering in some parts of the US with weather at the moment - I hope the snow and freezing weather soon passes.

    Good luck with your goals for the new year. The paranormal books sounds interesting. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Oh wow, wife, mother, worker, blogger that is a lot. No to horror, I just wouldn't want to read it! Enough of it on the news every night! Another Amulet book out, if I was teaching it would be into my classroom as there were many fans of it.

    ReplyDelete

Follow Me on Twitter! RSS Feed Email Me! Friend Me on Goodreads! Follow Me on Instagram!

 
Powered by Blogger