Hello beautiful people!
…I think I’m just going to admit that 2018 has just NOT been a good reading year for me. After reading Kelly’s discussion post regarding Reading Slumps, I’ve started to realize some key things that cause me to read less: having too many unread books on my shelves, reading series that are too massive and complex, books with too many POV’s, and not reading at least one paranormal and one realistic fiction book a month.
It’s crazy how reading tastes change! I was trying to read more fantasy this year since it used to be my favourite. And though I still enjoy this genre, I realized I’ve moved towards urban fantasy/paranormal and realistic fiction. My biggest goal of 2019 is to STOP reading books I think I HAVE to read and to simply read what ACTUALLY interests me.
Now that my discussion on reading life is over…here’s my REALLY SAD wrap up!
The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee
Rating: 
“In this highly anticipated sequel in the Montague Sibling series, Mackenzi Lee’s The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy provides thorough entertainment and grand adventures for a wide range of readers to enjoy. Trying to make a name for herself in a male dominated period, Felicity Montague begins her own story with unimaginable mysteries and despicable villains. But with her two wonderful companions, nothing will stand in her way of truth and triumph!”
There were A LOT of great posts this month, but I don’t feel as though I really spread my horizons with bloggers as much as I would’ve liked, so I’m not filling this section out this month.
I did not request any NetGalley Books during November 2018 (wow…what a shocker).
Due to the fact that I KNOW I won’t finish 50 books this year, I lowered my reading goal to 40…let’s see if that goes well…
Okay…has anyone ever experience “social media” anxiety? Well, I have. This year has been REALLY hard on me regarding keeping up with my social life and fitness goals and this blog. This was STARTED to help me read more…now I find I read less.
The thing is, I have OCD with a mix of anxiety…I know, I’m the life of the party folks. I LOVE LIFE! Truly, life is a gift. However, I get overwhelmed stupidly quick. When I have too many things going on in my funny brain, I just get tense and panic. With trying to work out more, eating a more nutritious meal set, going out with friends and “socializing”, keeping in touch with you lot, finding the time to read, working more to improve my work performance, and finding the time for blogging and the social media elements that go with this…I begin to freak out and hide from the world…and then get nothing accomplished…yay me!
Soooo…I decided to make some changes:
- Change Number One | No More Twitter: I really never cared for Twitter to begin with, so whichever. I had no motivation to go on it, and then I got anxiety from all the missing notifications…good grief.
- Change Number Two | Less Focus on Instagram: I love Instagram…like LOVE it! I will never delete my account – however, I refuse to get hung up on it. If I post, I post. I’m not making a set schedule or this NEED to post every day or week or month.
- Change Number Three | Not Caring About Follower Number: Obviously, I will celebrate big achievements with giveaways and such, but I also refuse to get anxious over a number…I’m not even paid. The more followers means the more friends, which is wonderful. But I don’t want to feel like the number defines how great (or not so great) this blog is.
- Change Number Four | More Bullet Journal Posts: I have become obsessed with Bullet Journals. Rather than so many tag posts and stuff, I really want to start posting not only monthly spreads but information discussions and what not. There’s a lot of information out in the world already, but whichever. I like it…so I’m doing it. WOOOT!
- Change Number Five | More Focus on Quality over Quantity: Let’s be frank, I haven’t really been posting that much. And when I DO post, it’s a stream of tags and then a random review. I love tags, but this space was originally to help me read more. So I want to start focusing back on reviews and the quality of them. I’ll obviously participate in tags, but I’m not going to feel bound to do EVERY SINGLE TAG I’M TAGGED IN! #sorrynotsorry
The only other changes I can think of is I might try some aesthetic changes. I wanted to use a free template outside of WordPress…but the Business Plans costs a lot! So as much as I love the aesthetic I have now, I want to explore some new ones. This is probably a mid to late 2019 goal…but writing it down always feels more official.
It’s so hard to keep up with everything in our lives and social media can really eat up a lot of time. Good move cutting back and not worrying about followers etc. If you do change your blog design, keep those coffee cups – I love them! Happy weekend!
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Awe thanks! Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be keeping those…they’re so adorable!
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Oh, so glad to hear!
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I completely related to this… I had a bit of a reading slump, and I’m not reading as much now as I used to, and for me that’s because my job changed… I got a puppy… I just have less time to read… but I did feel terribly guilty about it! Like there’s a “should” attached to how many books I read… I just realised, it’s self-imposed, and I’m going to have to start being a bit kinder to myself – I’m doing the best I can. And social media… follower numbers… yeeeh. This matters to me more than I think it should… I have an Instagram for my blog. I love Instagram in general. But… it’s hard to remind myself that what matters isn’t the numbers. I actually sat down and worked out the average followers and hits for a book blog, like, it scares me how terrified I am that my blog won’t be “successful” – whatever success even is…
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I feel you – life can just get super busy. I’m not unhappy by this though, because they’re all good things! But it made me sit back and really think about what the point of my blog is…it’s to discuss books and chat with awesome people! It sounds so silly, but LITERALLY deleting my Twitter account made me feel so much better. That angst and anxiety dissipated just a tad. I’ve never really been HUGE into social media. So even though having all those things help build it, I’d rather not haha! I’m like you that I love insta and I love tumblr, so I’ll most likely keep those.
Don’t be nervous love. I used to compare all the time as well, but follower number doesn’t necessarily equate to success. THAT took me a long time to get my head around. I guess success depends on you. For me, success is getting more into reading again, which is what made me realize I needed to take a step back.
Thank you for posting your thoughts love! Your blog is great and just remember to have fun!! 💙
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Thank you Jenna! I’m so glad you posted this, it’s just such a good discussion to have
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Life can get super busy, and the pressures we put on ourselves for blogging and social media, plus the need for all that reading time and all the real life tasks…it is a lot to deal with. I feel like I got into a really good groove with my blog in 2017, but I struggled for most of 2018. I’m finally starting to get a grip on my new schedule, and I hope you figure out the life/blog/reading schedule that works for you. Good luck with reaching your Goodreads Reading Challenge for the year, and good luck with your blogging challenges.
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Thank you so much love! ❤ Here's to a great 2019 for us both 🙂
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Exactly! I think 2019 is going to be a great day.
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Great year. Wow phone. Thanks for that stupid auto correct.
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LMFAO!
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I don’t get why my phone likes to change words to something spelled completely different. I’m tempted to turn autocorrect off again.
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But sometimes…the autocorrect can make for a funny story 😛
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Before we started dating my fiance and I were talking about the Fantastic Beasts movie and his phone kept changing beasts to breasts. It is still an amusing story for us. Other than that, autocorrect has been a nuisance.
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Lmfao!!!! That’s too good!!
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Social media can definitely get a bit much. I don’t go on Twitter nearly as much as I used to (so. much. drama.) but I’m enjoying Instagram. It comes in waves for me. Do what you need to do to keep your mental health in c check.
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I deleted my Twitter account and I feel SO much better. It’s a lot of drama and it gets overwhelming. I love Instagram and I would like to get more active in 2019 again, but I am SO picky with my feed so I will have to work even harder on finding my style ha-ha!
Thank you very much! It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who feels this way ha-ha
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I’m excited for you! I know you will finish out 2018 so strong!
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Aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! You’re just so flippin’ adorable and nice!! ❤
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Great post, Jenna! I totally understand the feeling with social media anxiety and getting hung up over follower numbers and such. After posting a controversial discussion last month and receiving a lot of hate from it through Twitter, I really tried to not let it get to me. Twitter really is wonderful sometimes, but if it’s becoming or is a source of negativity or anxiety, I see no problems with cutting a bit of it from your life! Sounds like a great step!
I wish you the happiest of reading love, and hope you’ll be able to kick yourself out of your slump! You’re such a sweet friend and have an amazing blog, and I’m looking forward to all your upcoming posts!❤️
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Kelly…you just make my day ALL the time. That’s really awful about the Twitter situation. I’m all for everyone having their own opinions, but the hate can be removed from that equation. I removed my account and I feel much better 🙂 I’ll be keeping my Tumblr and Instagram, but I’m not going to be super active on it for a while.
Again…you’re such a lovely human being. Thank you for being such an epic person ❤
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Awww, Jenna, you’re too sweet! Wonderful friends like you are why I love blogging! ❤
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*blushin’ now* ❤ ❤ ❤
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I can definitely relate to you over SM, so I think you’re making a good call and those are really great goals. I don’t think I’ll ever really understand twitter either 😉 Great wrap up!
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Thanks! I already feel better about removing Twitter. It seems silly, but this isnt my fulltime job and I have other interests that also take up a large portion of my life. So cutting back a bit really helps. I’m glad so many people seem to relate to this haha.
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You’re welcome! I really hear you there!
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