Focus of 2021

Happy New Year, folks! I hope everyone had a safe New Year's Eve and a restful start to 2021. The new year inevitably brings about the conversation of new goals, resolutions, and intentions for the new year, which can be quite overwhelming. Honestly, 2021 is not going to be a year for me to ~do big things~ or make massive changes. I have been feeling so burnt out for such a long time that the idea of giving myself hoops to jump through or goals to meet really causes me unnecessary stress instead of motivating or exciting me to become a better version of myself. I really need to take a year (maybe more) to reevaluate what makes me happy and what will bring me peace when I've felt so much turmoil for so long. So this year, I want to focus on a few things without setting myself a specific goal. Here's what I'm envisioning for myself in 2021:

Self care - This is priority number one for me. The end of 2020 was another pretty rough patch for me mental health wise, and holding it together has been really challenging. I need to focus on what feels good, and be okay with whatever that is. If it's more alone time, great. If it's exercising more, great. If it's getting off of social media for a while, great. Overall, I just want to take the pressure off of myself. I have enough external pressure (good and bad) to meet certain expectations, that putting additional pressure on myself is not a smart idea mental health wise. I just want to take it easy this year and figure out where I'm at. Feeling less foggy would be an excellent bonus to 2021.

Creativity - I got a fantastic new sketchbook and marker set for Christmas, which made me think about how my crativity has been put on the backburner for years. Drawing and painting was once so important to me, and I have been so out of practice for so long. So with my new sketchbook, I'd like to dedicate time each day (or as often as possible) to drawing in it, with the overall goal of filling the sketchbook by the end of 2021. I hope this will help with finding my creative self once again, and improving on my (very) rusty drawing skills.

Running - I'm really happy with how my running has transformed in 2020, and I'd like to continue on the same path. I'm still aiming for a sub-5 marathon and I hope to achieve that this year, but I think my ultimate focus in this realm of my life is to keep dedicating time and effort into becoming a better runner overall. I'm in a good place as a runner currently, and I'd like to keep it that way through this year. 

Reading - Probably in direct response to my mental health, reading toward the end of 2020 also took a back seat and I am reading far less than what I have in past years. I'd still like to make sure I'm dedicating time to reading, and am setting my reading goal for 2021 at 52 books, or one book a week. This is MUCH lower than the goals I've set for myself in the past, but in the spirit of taking the pressure off of myself, I think that this is a very reasonable thing for me to achieve this year!

Movie watching challenge - This is probably the closest thing I have to a ~resolution~ or a goal for the new year! It's kind of a running joke in my life of how few movies I've seen, especially movies that most other people have seen and consider to be really important films. I don't really consider myself a movie person, as I tend to prefer watching short-form entertainment, like TV shows or YouTube videos. I had the idea a few weeks back of crowd sourcing a list of movies and trying to watch as many as I can to up my movie knowledge and find a new appreciation for this form of entertainment, so that's exactly what I'm doing! I have a list of over 100 films in a spreadsheet (and growing every day as I receive more recommendations) and my goal is to watch at least one per week, coming out to at least 52 movies watched in 2021. I'm really looking forward to this project, and will be updating you here each month on what I watched!

What are you focusing on in 2021?

Race Goals for Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon 2020

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be hopping on a plane and flying down to New Orleans where I'll be running the Rock n' Roll New Orleans Marathon - state and marathon #13! I am so excited that I'll be meeting up with my pals Erin & Cullen in one of the most fun cities in the country, spending the weekend with them, and finally kicking off Spring 2020 racing season. I've never really set myself race goals before a marathon before. Usually my goal is just to finish! But I've found in my training that having a target in mind has helped keep me motivated when things get tough. I've seen other runners set multiple goals for their marathons before, as the sport is extremely unpredictable, so I thought I'd give it a whirl and set myself A, B, C, and D goals for Sunday!

I'll be running 26.2 miles to earn this beauty this weekend!

A. Sub-5 hour marathon time

This is what I've been working toward all training cycle. I want to see a 4 on the front of my finish time so badly! I believe that I can do it and I am going to push hard to get there. I know that it's going to be a tough fight but I am up to the challenge and I'm actually really excited to see how I can perform after a really productive training cycle. #SUB5ORBUST!!!

B. Marathon PR

If I miss the mark of the Sub-5, I would absolutely love to PR. My current marathon PR of 5:08:24 is about 4.5 years old and I achieved it on the fairly hilly Maine Marathon course in October 2015. I would love to set myself a new personal best on the flat New Orleans course on Sunday and finally beat my 25 year old self at 26.2!

C. Sub-5:30

My most recent marathons have all taken me quite a bit longer than 5:30. It's really uncomfortable to be out on the course for that long and I would love to avoid that happening again! Of course I'm hoping I will be no where near 5:30, but if it comes down to it, if I can get across the finish line under that time I will be very happy.

D. Just finish! 😊 

Hey - the marathon is an extremely difficult and unpredictable undertaking. Anything can happen on race day, ranging from your #1 goal being realized all the way to a DNF. Illness can happen. Injury can happen. Literally ANYTHING can happen along that course. So, if all else fails, I just want to finish the race! Every finish line is an incredible feat and I will be proud of myself for crossing another one if that is the only goal I'm able to achieve. At the end of the day it's all about #finishlinesnotfinishtimes, amirite?

2020 Goals | Blogmas Day 29

As I begin writing this blog post it is 5:35 am on Sunday, December 29th. I've been up since 1:30 am and haven't really been able to get back to sleep, so I'm officially throwing in the towel and deciding to do something productive. I've been meaning to take a moment to write down some goals for the new year and now seems as good a time as any! 😂

I've always been the goal setting type. I've found that if I don't feel like I'm actively working toward something, it has a really negative effect on my mental state. I'm just not usually a ~see where the wind blows me~ kind of person, so having a list of things to work toward - even if I never actually achieve them - makes me feel good! I'm going to break these goals up into a few different categories, for organization's sake.

Reading

-Cut my TBR in half. I had this goal for 2019 as well and it just did not happen. Between being in a huge slump for most of the year and continuing to purchase books, I think I ended the year with about the same number of books that I started the year with. According to my GoodReads shelf I have 134 unread books on my TBR, so I'd love to cut that down to 67 if I could! My physical TBR shelf is a little scary looking. 😬

#yikes

-Read at least one BOTM book per month from the previous month's box. I have a terrible habit of not reading my BOTM books for months or years at a time! I would love to start reading at least one BOTM book a month that was from the previous month's box. So for example, in January I'll read at least one BOTM book from my December 2019 box, and so on. I'll hopefully read more BOTM books throughout each month but I think I can at least make it a goal to read one!

-Clear off my "Currently Reading" shelf. This will mainly be tackled in the first few months of the year, but I currently have 8 books that I'm currently reading and have been sitting on my "Currently Reading" shelf on GoodReads for MONTHS! I hope to knock out at least one or two of these before the clock strikes midnight on New Year's, but I definitely want to focus on reading these books at the start of 2020. The books on "Currently Reading" shelf include:

Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson

November Road by Lou Berney

Talking to Strangers by Malcom Gladwell

Wundersmith: The Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend

A House for Happy Mothers by Almulya Malladi

The Marathon Maniacs by Malcom Anderson

Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe

The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor

-Finish up my re-read of the US Hardback editions of Harry Potter. I didn't read a single shred of HP in 2019 and I was right in the middle of a re-read. I left off with Order of the Phoenix at the end of 2018, so I'd like to resume with my favorite of the series, Half-Blood Prince and finish reading this edition of the series during the first half of the year. I'm trying to collect a few other editions and I want to at least get one of the editions re-read before I continue collecting 😂

Running

-Run a sub-5 hour marathon. This is my ultimate goal when it comes to my running at the moment. I'm working toward it as much as I can at the moment, but I'm aware that it might take me a few tried to achieve this goal. Luckily I have a few different opportunities to chase after a sub-5 in 2020, so I'm crossing my fingers that the stars will align during one of those races and I'll see a 4 at the beginning of my finish time!

Online

-Continue blogging regularly, 3x/week minimum. I've really enjoyed pushing myself to blog daily this month, and I'd like to continue to blog on a regular basis throughout 2020! I'm unsure if I can keep up daily blogging but I'd love to post as much as possible, and at minimum 3x/week.

-Get back involved with Read Your Face Off. RYFO is my baby and unfortunately I had to take a step back from it in 2019. Luckily th elovely Jess has stepped in and taken over since I took a break, and now we're kicking RYFO back off in the New Year with some new ideas! I'm excited to get back involved with RYFO again and be more involved with the book community.

-Maybe return to YouTube? This is something I'm still seriously mulling over. I really miss making videos, but I know that posting videos and having videos live when I was going through a really tough time mentally was not good for me. I'm a little worried that making a return to YouTube will make me backslide to a negative mental space, so I'm still deciding whether or not this is a good idea, but it's something that I'm open to!

December 2018 Reading Wrap Up & Reading Goals for 2019!

Reading poolside on Christmas Day 🤗

This past month I had one specific goal in mind - finish 11 books so I can say I read 150 books in 2018. My GoodReads goal for the year was 100 books, which I accomplished several months ago, and I didn't really have it in my head to shoot for 150 until November when I knew the goal was within reach, so I decided to go for it. I knew this would be an ambitious task, given the nature of the holiday season, but I'm happy to say I pulled it off! I buckled down during the afternoon of New Year's Eve and powered through the last 130 pages of book #150 (which ended up being Misery by Stephen King) and entered 2019 feeling super accomplished with my reading. I will be doing a more thorough wrap up of my 2018 reading later on this month (my January is just as busy as my December x_x), but for now here's how my December reading went:

READING STATS FOR DECEMBER

Participated in 1 readathon (Christmas at Hogwarts)

Completed 1/10 books from 10 Book TBR #3 (3/10 total)

3,108 pages read

11 books completed

BOOKS COMPLETED

Rosie Revere, Engineer by Andrea Beaty

Physical copy, 5/5

Olivia Takes Ballet by Cordelia Evans

Physical copy, 3/5

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Physical copy, 4/5

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

Audiobook, 5/5

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

Physical copy, 3/5

Warcross by Marie Lu

Physical copy, 2/5

Orange, the Complete Collection vol. 1 by Ichigo Takano

Physical copy, 4/5

Orange, the Complete Collection vol. 2 by Ichigo Takano

Physical copy, 5/5

Haruiro Astronaut by Ichigo Takano

Physical copy, 4/5

Landline by Rainbow Rowell

Physical copy, 4/5

Misery by Stephen King

Physical copy, 4/5

~

Now that 2018 is officially closed, it's time to work on some new goals for the new year! I posted this video the other day and am just now realizing that I didn't share my goals here with you all, so let's fix that! I've rolled over a couple of my 2018 goals into 2019 as I'd still like to accomplish them, but I've also added a couple new goals as well which I'm excited to get started on! Click the video below to hear me talk about each goal a little bit, and keep reading to see a list of my goals as well as my full list of reading challenges for the year!

2019 READING GOALS 1. Continue using the 10 Book TBR strategy 2. Continue to work through my re-read list from 2018 3. Cut my owned TBR pile in half 4. Read 150 books 5. Complete a reading challenge PROMPTS FOR MY 2019 READING CHALLENGE
1. A book with a time of day in the title
2. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift
3. A book by multiple authors
4. A book with alliteration in the title
5. A book by an author who uses a pseudonym
6. A book with pictures
7. A book you bought on a trip
8. A bestseller from 2018
9. A book with multiple POVs
10. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read
11. A book published in 2019
12. A book set in a fictional location
13. A book with a form of punctuation in the title
14. A book with 5 or more words in the title
15. A book with a one word title
16. A book set in North America
17. A book set in South America
18. A book set in Europe
19. A book set in Asia
20. A book set in Australia
21. A book set in Africa
22. A book set in or featuring Antarctica
23. A book with a shiny cover
24. A retelling
25. A book with more than 600 pages
26. A graphic novel
27. A book with an animal on the cover
28. A book that was published in your birth month
29. A book with a location in the title
30. A book featuring a historical event that happened during your lifetime
31. A young adult novel
32. A middle grade novel
33. A book with an emotion in the title
34. A book that is the first book in a series
35. A book that has been adapted to a film or television series
36. A book by a favorite author
37. A love story
38. A book with magic in it
39. A book with a face on the cover
40. A book that has 100,000 or more ratings on GoodReads
41. A book that was picked out by a friend
42. A book with a black and white color scheme on the cover
43. A book you're nervous to pick up
44. A book with a main character you have something in common with
45. A book from an author that has written more than 10 books
46. A book you will read within 24 hours
47. A book with your initials on the cover
48. A book you heard about from BookTube
49. A book with 150 pages or less
50. A book written by an actor
51. A book that has won an award
52. A book with geometric features on the cover

2019 Reading Challenge | Blog Ahead #29

Blog Ahead #29
Originally written on October 18, 2018

As the year winds down, it's time to think about goals for the new year! It's been a while since I took on a year-long reading challenge so I thought I'd throw together one for 2019. Similarly to my 2017 reading challenge, I drew these challenge ideas from both the TBR books I currently have on my shelf and ideas that I found on already existing reading challenge lists. There's 52 challenges, so if I complete one challenge a week, I'll be able to complete the whole list! Here are the challenges I plan to take on - feel free to steal! :)

1. A book with a time of day in the title
2. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift
3. A book by multiple authors
4. A book with alliteration in the title
5. A book by an author who uses a pseudonym
6. A book with pictures
7. A book you bought on a trip
8. A bestseller from 2018
9. A book with multiple POVs
10. A book that is a continuation of a book you've already read
11. A book published in 2019
12. A book set in a fictional location
13. A book with a form of punctuation in the title
14. A book with 5 or more words in the title
15. A book with a one word title
16. A book set in North America
17. A book set in South America
18. A book set in Europe
19. A book set in Asia
20. A book set in Australia
21. A book set in Africa
22. A book set in or featuring Antarctica
23. A book with a shiny cover
24. A retelling
25. A book with more than 600 pages
26. A graphic novel
27. A book with an animal on the cover
28. A book that was published in your birth month
29. A book with a location in the title
30. A book featuring a historical event that happened during your lifetime
31. A young adult novel
32. A middle grade novel
33. A book with an emotion in the title
34. A book that is the first book in a series
35. A book that has been adapted to a film or television series
36. A book by a favorite author
37. A love story
38. A book with magic in it
39. A book with a face on the cover
40. A book that has 100,000 or more ratings on GoodReads
41. A book that was picked out by a friend
42. A book with a black and white color scheme on the cover
43. A book you're nervous to pick up
44. A book with a main character you have something in common with
45. A book from an author that has written more than 10 books
46. A book you will read within 24 hours
47. A book with your initials on the cover
48. A book you heard about from BookTube
49. A book with 150 pages or less
50. A book written by an actor
51. A book that has won an award
52. A book with geometric features on the cover

Are you doing a reading challenge for 2019?
Let me know which one you're doing in the comments!

2019 Race Goals | Blog Ahead #15

Blog Ahead #15
Originally written on October 11, 2018

Y'all know I'm a planner, so I like to think ahead in all aspects of my life, including running! I have big goals for 2019 when it comes to my running, and I'm hoping that I can achieve them all. I thought I could share them here ahead of the 2019 race season, then follow up at the end of next year to see how I did!

{source}

1. Join Marathon Maniacs

For those that might not know, the Marathon Maniacs is an international running club. Pretty much every race I've run, I've seen someone rocking a Marathon Maniacs shirt, and they always have support on the course for all runners sponsored by that club! The kicker about joining this club is you have to qualify, and to do that you need to run 3 marathons in 90 days. Woof! That's something I've never even attempted before, but it's something that I think I can do if I really focus and work hard toward that goal! I've wanted to become part of a running club ever since I started focusing on distance running back in 2012 and it'd be so cool to be a part of this crazy bunch of awesomely inspirational runners. Fingers crossed that I can make this happen!


2. Complete at least 5 marathons

So I've been thinking that I want to start being a bit more aggressive about ticking states off my 50 Marathons in 50 States challenge, and why not start running a lot more marathons every year? Of course, traveling and registration can add up financially, but if I can swing it, I'd like to shoot to run 5 marathons in 2019! Here's the ones that I'm looking at to potentially complete:

1. Florida - Florida Marathon (February 2019)*

2. Arkansas - Little Rock Marathon (March 2019)*

3. Delaware - Coastal Delaware Marathon (April 2019)*

4. California - San Francisco Marathon (July 2019)

5. Rhode Island - Newport Marathon (October 2019)

*these are the races where I'll attempt to qualify for Marathon Maniacs!

And if I can fit in another one or two, I totally will! ;)

3. Run a sub-5 hour marathon

This has been a hope of mine for a while now, but I honestly haven't been doing the training to back it up. I need to be better about consistent running to make it happen! It's totally acheiveable, I just have to put the work in. I'd love to come across the finish line during one of my 2019 races with a 4 still being the first number on the clock!

Do you have any racing goals for 2019?

Goals for Marathon #8 | Blog Ahead #4

Blog Ahead #4
Originally written on October 29, 2018

This may be one of the first Blog Ahead posts that goes live, but I wanted this to be one of the last Blog Ahead posts I write so I'm as close to race day as possible. As of writing this post, I am 11 days away from toeing the line at the Richmond Marathon - my 8th marathon in my 8th state - and as this post goes live, I am within 48 hours! Before every marathon, I like to take a moment to think about my goals for the race. I thought it might be fun to include my goals as a Race Week post for my Blog Ahead challenge so you all will kind of know where my head is at going into this race (and I'll almost definitely be reading this again myself as it goes live as a quick refresher!).

{source}

I often get asked if I have time goals when I go into races, and if I'm really honest with myself, I never do. While I'd love to be able to run sub-5 one day, I've never *seriously* tried and trained correctly to make that an obtainable goal. Usually when I train, I just do the best I can and then hope for the best on race day. I'm not a professional runner by any means and I don't think I've ever seen a training plan right down to the letter. Basically, I just make things us as I go along. :P

This training cycle was tough. I originally was training for the Newport Marathon in Rhode Island, but then I started a new job and had this huge lifestyle and schedule change that I really didn't know how to navigate. My training for Newport quickly was put on the back burner, and while I was still hoping to run that race, a failed long run really showed how unprepared I was. I decided to defer Newport to 2019 and shoot for a race later in the fall. That's how Richmond came into my life! Since then, I've had a couple of really successful long runs and while training still has been far from perfect, I'm feeling much better about this race than I did about attempting Newport.

Richmond is dubbed "America's Friendliest Marathon" which is so exciting. I've heard nothing but fantastic things about the crowd, the volunteers, and the entire event, so it's the perfect combination to have a great time while running this race. What's more, the course is SUPER FLAT, and it's been a really long time since I've run a flat course. I train in an extremely hilly area, so I'm hoping that really plays to my advantage on how my legs feel come race day.

In terms of concrete goals for this race, I don't have many, but I wanted to list the few that I do have here, so I can keep them in the back of my mind as the miles tick past.

1. FINISH!

This is always my #1 goal for any marathon. Running 26.2 is a feat in itself. No matter how slow my time is, I'm going to feel accomplished getting across the finish line.

2. HAVE FUN!

My friend Erin is actually coming down from Pittsburgh and bringing her friend Estee along to be my support crew and cheer me on which I am so excited about! Having friendly faces in the crowd always make it so much more fun and keeps me more motivated to keep putting one foot in front of the other

3. RUN/WALK 

I tried out the run/walk method for a couple of my long runs and I've been really liking it. It definitely saves your legs over a longer period of time, so I think I'm going to continue to try this out at Richmond and see how it feels.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a fun-filled race and that I'll cross the finish line with a smile on my face. I'm really looking forward to race weekend, despite how training has gone over the last few months, and I'll be sharing with you all how the race goes when I return from Virginia. WISH ME LUCK! :)

Reading Statistics, Reading Goal Review, and Every Book I Read in 2017!

One of the coolest things about reflecting on yearly reading is looking at your statistics and how they broke down throughout the year. I think it's so interesting to see how my reading progressed throughout the year and I feel like a lot of what the statistics tell me makes a lot of sense. I managed to read more when I had more time, and less when I had less time. Nothing too strange in 2017! Keep reading to see how everything breaks down AND to see every single book I read this year, including my star ratings and what goals or challenges they corresponded with.
STATISTICS
Number of Books Read: 148 Number of Pages Read: 45,887 Month with Most Books Read: November (21 books) Month with Least Books Read: April & May (7 books) Month with Most Pages Read: August (5,549) Month with Least Pages Read: April (1,779)
GOALS IN REVIEW (For reference, check out my 2017 Goals Blog Post!)
Read 70 Books: Completed & doubled! Read Infinite Jest: Completed *Begin 3 New-to-Me Series: Completed Throne of Glass Spinster Club Princess Diaries *Complete/catch up to 3 series: Completed The Lunar Chronicles Chaos Walking Trilogy Lumberjanes *Complete a diverse, non-fiction, classic, and TBR jar book a month: Completed *Complete Reading Challenge: Completed *see the "Every Book I Read" section to see what books corresponded to each of these goals!
EVERY BOOK I READ IN 2017
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold Library book, 2.5/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a blue cover Buddy read with Shannon
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce Physical copy, 4/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a name in the title
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Review) Library book, 4/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a title that stars with your first initial
The Call of the Wild by Jack London Physical copy, 3/5 Classic pick for January
What the Dog Knows: Scent, Science, and the Amazing Ways Dogs Perceive the World by Cat Warren Physical copy, 3.5/5 Non-fiction pick for January
You by Caroline Kepnes Library book, 4.75/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a one-word title
The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness (Review) Physical copy, 5/5 TBR Jar pick for January
We Love You, Charlie Freeman by Kaitlyn Greenidge Library book, 3/5 Diverse pick for January
Buffering: Unshare Tales of a Life Fully Loaded by Hannah Hart Physical copy, 4/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book that features one of your hobbies
Japanese by Spring by Ishmael Reed Physical copy, 3/5
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (Review) Library book, 3.75/5 Sweet Tooth: Out of the Deep Woods by Jeff Lamire Physical copy, 5/5 TBR Jar pick for February
Octopus Pie: There Are No Stars in Brooklyn by Meredith Gran Library book, 4/5
Scarlet by Marissa Meyer Physical copy, 3.75/5 Continuing a series
Saga, Vol. 2 by Brian K. Vaughn & Fiona Staples Physical copy, 5/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A graphic novel
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Adieh (Review) Physical copy, 2/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a red cover
Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding Physical copy, 3.5/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A used book
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster Physical copy, 4/5 Classic pick for February
Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin Physical, 4/5 Diverse pick for February
We Gon' Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang (Review) Library book, 5/5 Non-fiction pick for February
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Library book, 3/5
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick Physical copy, 4/5 Non-Fiction pick for March
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury Physical copy, 5/5 Classic pick for March
You in Five Acts by Una La Marche (Review) Physical copy, 4.5/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book picked out by a friend
The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot Physical copy, 3/5 Start 3 new series (fulfilled 1 of 3)
Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki Physical copy, 4/5
Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire Physical copy, 4/5
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn Physical copy, 5/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book under 150 pages
I Work at a Public Library by Gina Sheridan Library book, 4/5
A Game of Thrones, vol. 1 by George R.R. Martin Borrowed book, 4/5
The Marvels by Brian Selznick Library book, 4/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book a violet cover
The Opposite of Loneliness by Marina Keegan Library book, 4.5/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A short story collection
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie Physical copy, 3.5/5 Classic pick for April
The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country by Helen Russell Physical copy, 5/5 Non-fiction pick for April
My Story by Elizabeth Smart Physical copy, 3/5 TBR Jar pick for April
Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee Physical copy, 3/5 Diverse pick for April
Something New: Tales from a Makeshift Bride by Lucy Knisley Physical copy, 5/5
Giant Days, volume 1 by John Allison Physical copy, 5/5 Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a yellow cover
Lumberjanes, volume 3: A Terrible Plan by Noelle Stevenson Physical copy, 5/5 Continuing a series

Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence

Physical copy, 1/5

TBR Jar pick for May

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

Physical copy, 4/5

Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a title that starts with "the"

Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

Physical copy, 4/5

Classic pick for May

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (Review)

Physical copy, 5/5

Reading challenge fulfilled: A 2017 release
Buddy read with Michael

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

Physical copy, 4/5

Diverse pick for May

A Dog's Journey by W. Bruce Cameron

Physical copy, 4/5

Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with an animal on the cover

Hamilton: the Revolution by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeremy McArter

Physical copy, 5/5

Non-fiction pick for May

Cress by Marissa Meyer
Physical copy, 4.5/5
Continuing a series

The Martian by Andy Weir
Physical copy, 5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with an orange cover

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
Physical copy, 4/5

Replica by Lauren Oliver
Physical copy, 3.5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book over 500 pages

Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson
Physical copy, 4.25/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A YA contemporary novel

Giant Days, vol. 2 by John Allison
Physical copy, 4/5

Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne (Review)
Physical copy, 4/5
Start 3 new series (fulfilled 2 of 3)

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Physical copy, 2/5
Classic pick for June

Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace (Book Talk)
Physical copy/audiobook, 3/5

Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology by Leah Remini
Audiobook, 4/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book that features a character of a different religious background than you

Swing Time by Zadie Smith (Review)
Physical copy, 4/5
Diverse pick for June

You Deserve a Drink: Boozy Misadventure and Tales of Debauchery by Mamrie Hart
Physical copy, 3/5
Non-fiction pick for June

Surrender the Pink by Carrie Fisher
Library book, 4/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book that was published the same year you were born

A Spool of Blue Thread by Anne Tyler
Physical copy, 3/5
TBR Jar pick for June

Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls and Everything in Between by Lauren Graham
Physical copy, 4.5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book by a celebrity you love

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (Review)
Audiobook, 5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book set in a country you've never been to

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern (Review)
Physical copy, 1/5
Diverse pick for July

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwoood
Physical copy, 5/5
Classic pick for July

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon (Review)
Physical copy, 3/5
Buddy read with Anita

What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami
Physical copy, 5/5
Non-fiction pick for July

We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
Physical copy, 4.5/5
Buddy read with Michael

I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Physical copy, 4.75/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book that features an LGBTQ+ character
Buddy read with Shannon

Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid
Kindle e-Book, 3.75/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book set in multiple states or countries

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Physical copy, 3.5/5
TBR Jar pick for July

Lumberjanes, vol. 4: Out of Time by Noelle Stevenson et. al.
Physical copy, 5/5

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
Physical copy, 4/5

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Audiobook, 3/5

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
Physical copy, 5/5

Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
Physical copy, 3.5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book by an author you know you enjoy

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
Physical copy, 3/5

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: the Original Screenplay by J.K. Rowling
Physical copy, 4/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book to movie adaptation (read the book and watch the movie)

Mooncop by Tom Gauld
Library book, 4/5

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
Physical copy, 2/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with an indigo cover

Barefoot Gen, volume 1 by Keiji Nakazawa
Library book, 5/5

Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Physical copy, 3/5
Buddy read with Andie

The Unseen World by Liz Moore
Audiobook, 4/5

Geekerella by Ashley Poston
Physical copy, 5/5
Buddy read with Becky

Barefoot Gen, volume 2 by Keiji Nakazawa
Library book, 5/5

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Physical copy, 4/5
Buddy read with Michael

The Way We Bared Our Souls by Willa Strayhdorn
Physical copy, 2/5
Buddy read with Shannon

Fairest by Marissa Meyer
Physical copy, 4/5

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Physical copy, 5/5
Diverse pick for August

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Audiobook, 2/5
TBR jar pick for August

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas (Review)
Physical copy, 2/5
Star 3 new series (fulfilled 3 of 3)

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice & Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Audiobook, 3/5

Release by Patrick Ness
Physical copy, 4.5/5

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Physical copy, 3/5
Classic pick for August

Mad Women: the Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond by Jane Maas
Physical copy, 3.5/5
Nonfiction pick for August

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling & Illustrated by Jim Kay

Physical copy, 5/5

Reading challenge fulfilled: A re-read

The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Physical copy, 3.75/5

Continuing a series

Tales of the Greek Heroes by Roger Lancelyn Green

Physical copy, 4/5

Classic pick for September

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Physical copy, 4.5/5

Buddy read with Michael

Waiting to Be Heard by Amanda Knox

Kindle e-Book, 3.5/5

Non-fiction pick for September

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Physical copy, 4/5

Finish/catch up to a series (fulfilled 1 of 3)

Chemistry by Weike Wang

Physical copy, 5/5

Diverse pick for September

The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois

Physical copy, 3/5

TBR Jar pick for September

Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Library book, 4/5

Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley
Library book, 5/5

The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a Fuck by Sarah Knight
Kindle e-Book, 4/5
Non-fiction pick for October

Final Girls by Riley Sager
Physical copy, 4/5
Buddy read with Becky & Michael

I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
Physical copy, 4.5/5

The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Physical copy, 5/5
Classic pick for October

It by Stephen King
Physical copy/Audiobook, 4/5
Buddy read with Becky & Michael

Thanks, Obama: My Hopey, Changey White House Years by David Litt
Audiobook, 4.5/5

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
Physical copy, 3/5
Diverse pick for October

The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan Evison
Physical copy, 4/5
TBR Jar pick for October

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
Physical copy, 3.75/5
Buddy read with Megan

Lumberjanes, vol. 5: Band Together
Physical copy, 4/5
Continuing a series

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery": the Authorized Graphic Adaptation
Library book, 4/5

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
Library book, 4/5

Kill My Mother by Jules Feiffer
Library book, 1/5

Class Mom by Laurie Gelman
Library book, 4/5

Bitch Planet, vol. 1: Extraordinary Machine by Kelly Sue DeConnick
Library book, 4.5/5

March: Book One by John Lewis
Library book, 5/5
Non-fiction pick for November

Wonder Woman: Love and Murder by Jodi Picouly
Library book, 3/5

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Library book, 2/5
Classic pick for November

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Physical copy, 5/5
Traveling book

The One-Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg
Library book, 5/5

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Physical copy, 4/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: The newest book to your shelf

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Physical copy, 4.75/5
Diverse pick for November
Buddy read with Michael

How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran
Physical copy, 3.5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a green cover

The Bear by Claire Cameron
Physical copy, 4.5/5
TBR Jar pick for November

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Physical copy, 1/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: The book that has been on your shelf the longest

Member of the Family: My Story of Charles Manson, Life Inside His Cult, and the Darkness That Ended the Sixties by Dianne Lake
Audiobook, 3.75/5

More Happy than Not by Adam Silvera
Physical copy, 4.5/5
Traveling book

Snow White by Matt Phelan
Library book, 4.5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book with a color in the title

Barefoot Gen, Vol. 3: Life After the Bomb by Keiji Nakazawa
Library book, 4/5

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness
Physical copy, 4/5
Finish/catch up to a series (fulfilled 2 of 3)

Let it Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle
Physical copy, 3.5/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book set during a holiday

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Physical copy, 4/5

Classic pick for December

Maus I: My Father Bleeds History by Art Speigelman
Physical copy, 5/5

Reading challenge fulfilled: The first book you see on your shelf

Lumberjanes, volume 6: Sink or Swim by Shannon Watters et. al.
Physical copy, 4/5

Continuing a series

Wing Jones by Katherine Webber
Physical copy, 4/5

Diverse pick for December

Lumberjanes, volume 7: A Bird's Eye View by Shannon Watters et. al.
Physical copy, 5/5

Finish/catch up to a series (fulfilled 3 of 3)

Popular by Maya Van Wagenen
Physical copy, 4.5/5
Non-fiction pick for November

The Shining by Stephen King
Kindle eBook, 4.25/5

Buddy read with Becky, Anita, & Michael

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Kindle eBook, 4.25/5

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Physical copy, 4.5/5
TBR Jar pick for December

To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
Kindle eBook, 4.5/5

It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis
Physical copy, 4/5
Reading challenge fulfilled: A book by an author that is no longer living

Books I Want to Re-Read in 2018

I have so many books on my shelves that I have considered to be favorites of mine for such a long time, but I haven't read in YEARS. I thought that with the new year, this would be a great opportunity to compile a list of books that I'd really like to revisit in 2018 and see if I would still consider them to be my favorites. I'm honestly pretty nervous to see if any of my thoughts or feelings have changed on these titles, but I'm also very intrigued to revisit old favorites and remind myself of the stories. 
Keep reading to see the list of books I will be re-reading in 2018, and watch the video above to see what I think of them now, before I start re-reading!

My John Green Collection including:

Looking for Alaska

Paper Towns

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

The Fault in Our Stars

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Holes by Louis Sachar

Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple

The Book Theif by Markus Zusak

Reading Plans for 2018: The 10 Book TBR & Series Read Throughs

Happy 2018 y'all! It's, of course, the time to set some new goals for my reading and in 2018 I really want to make reading a more relaxed activity than it was in 2017. I feel like I put a lot of pressure on myself in 2017 to read certain books (and honestly I often prefer to have goals and deadlines to achieve), but it became more stressful than I would have liked in 2017, so I really want to change that up in the new year. So, with that in mind, I present to you the 10 Book TBR!

Throughout the course of 2017, I found myself a bit stressed toward the end of each month and felt the need to scramble to get all of the books I set out to read during that month finished. I also felt this need to *still* read the books I didn't get to, and I found myself rolling over books from month to month and felt a ton of pressure (albeit, this was all pressure I was putting on myself) to get those books I was "behind" on completed.  It became exhausting and while I found so many excellent books through setting monthly TBRs for myself, toward the end of the year I did feel a bit of burnout with trying to get everything completed for the month.

Over the past few months, I've been trying to figure out a way to strike a balance between keeping myself motivated with my reading without stressing myself out. I'm a very goal-oriented reader and I thoroughly enjoy setting TBRs for myself to try to accomplish, but I really hate that I sometimes felt stressed that I wasn't able to finish all of the books I set out to read during the month. That's not the point of reading! I came up with an idea that I'd like to try out for 2018 that will hopefully combat reading stress for myself: The 10 Book TBR!

During the course of 2018, I'm going to set 10 Book TBRs. These TBRs will not be monthly TBRs, but books that I want to focus on before moving onto my next group of 10, if that makes sense. Basically, what I'll do is pick 10 books that I want to get to next and focus on getting those read, no matter how long it takes me to get through them. Once I get through those 10, I'll pick my next 10, and the cycle will repeat itself. There may be times when I'm able to get through more than one 10 Book TBR in one month and there might be other times when one 10 Book TBR takes me a few months to complete and both are okay! I really want to find the books on my shelf that I'm the most excited about and actually focus on them instead of worrying about whether or not I can get through them in the course of the month.

There are a few caveats to this plan as it's far from perfect, but here are the things I'm going to keep in mind as I take on this new reading plan:

1. Each 10 Book TBR needs to have at least one book in the following categories:

• Kindle eBook
• TBR Jar Pick
• Book of the Month Book
• A re-read

2. I'm planning to take on several series read-throughs during 2018 (find out which below!) and because I'm not sure at what pace I'll be reading those series and I'm buddy reading a few of them, I'm not going to include them in the 10 Book TBRs.

3. You all know I love participating in readathons and sometimes those readathons have challenges or themes to adhere to which may fall outside of the current 10 Book TBR I'm working on. I'm going to be extremely flexible with myself on this so I can enjoy myself as much as possible during readathons which - again - are meant to be fun!

4. While I'm not going to be posting monthly TBRs, I'm still planning to post monthly wrap-ups because I think it's fun to reflect on how many books you can get done within a designated period of time, so be on the look out for those!

Aaand those are all of my "rules" surrounding this idea for a 2018 reading plan! I'm hoping this will let me feel a little less restricted and stressed with my reading for the year. It's not a perfect plan, I'm sure, but I'm excited to try it out to see how I like it! :D

I'm also planning on reading through several series this year which I'm definitely looking forward to doing. I tend to focus my reading on stand alones, but I do really enjoy sticking with a group of characters and seeing how a story develops over several books. The following series are the ones I will be focusing on getting through in 2018:

The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling*

The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff*

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Steifvater

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Children's Books by Roald Dahl*

*re-read

And those are my main goals for my reading in 2018! I really hope that this year is a bit more relaxed and I'm really exceited to see what my reading year has in store! Let me know what your reading goals for the new year are in the comments and I hope you all have a fantastic 2018!