#AMonthofFaves: I resolve to ... & I challenge myself to ...

  • Monday, December 28, 2015


A Month of Faves is an awesome event is hosted by GirlXOXO, Traveling with T and Estella's Revenge. Check out the full sked here.

Wooh! I know this is really late but I pop in and out of this event at will so I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? :)

Wed. | Dec. 23 – Challenges {The Year End Updates on Reading Challenges, Personal Goals, Resolutions}– how did you do? Are you going to do more challenges next year?

How I fared, challenge-wise

This was an interesting year by way of challenges. I took part in quite a few but never really stressed myself out in any of them, a far cry from my usual ohmygawdihaventgottenanythingdone mode during challenges.



Bloggiesta - I took part in the Spring, the mini one in June, and the Fall one too. I love this event because I always manage to get quite a number of things done and it's always fun to check in with fellow book bloggers!

During the Fall Bloggiesta, I challenged you to clean up your email boxes ... and I wasn't disappointed. I am also still at Inbox Zero so it looks like I am sticking to this system. 

I look forward to joining again in 2016. I'm thinking of hosting another challenge so let me know if you have any ideas.



Travel the World in Books - this is one of my perpetual challenges so my Book Map is the best indicator of how I've been doing. I've continued to read across the world although I notice I still get plenty of temptation when book tours roll along.

I was pretty excited when the hosts invited me to co-host the Travel the World in Books Readathon in October and I honestly was on the roll during the month! Check out all my posts including some freebie printable bookmarks!

With this being a perpetual challenge, 2016 holds reading adventures galore. Can't wait to dig through my TBR and see where else I'm traveling.

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I joined in a few themed challenges and got in a few books read and reviewed. The downside to joining these challenges is that my TBR is now at ridiculous proportions... I know you know I'm not kidding!
  • Diversiverse - this ties in really nicely with Travel the World in Books you'd think this would be a cinch. My second year, I managed to knock off The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy off my TBR. It was a book that I started-stopped and needed to be read ... I'm so glad I did!
  • Paris in July - finally got crime-thriller The Bones of Paris by Laurie R. King read! 
  • Austen in August - it's no secret that I shy away from classics, so joining in this challenge through an easy-to-digest coffee table book at least made me resolve to join in again next year. 
  • RIPX - my first time trying this challenge and I realized that scary reading is not really in my thing. However I eased into the genre with a children's book inspired by Edgar Allan Poe. 
  • Nonfiction November - oh, a bust. I wanted to read one book but didn't get it done.
  • Foodies Read - another perpetual challenge. I love foodie books and only managed one book this year.


My Reading Resolutions

My resolutions are simple. I dislike stressing myself out over reading and blogging so I've resolved that:
  • Less is more - I enjoyed that fact that my reading was slower in 2015 and hope to carry on like this next year. I want to enjoy the act of reading and not have to rush through things so much. The world is busy as it is; I don't want my reading life to feel like a chore but to bring me enjoyment.
  • Read what I want - Be picky, really picky. I want to keep reminding myself to pick up books that I know I really want to read ... and other reasons should be secondary. Secondary reasons include but is not limited to: Everyone reading it. I can't pass up a free book in a tour. Someone is pressuring me. The publisher/author is really nice/persistent/annoying.
  • Join only challenges that truly appeal to me - In the same vein as above, the challenges I will join in the new year are ones that are aligned to my desired reading. I am continuing Travel the World in Books, joining in #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks (because I have so many books unread here!), and focusing on getting at least one Nobel Prize winning book read for the Read the Nobels, a challenge I have neglected. 

Let's see what else I end up joining!
What about you? How did 2015 go and what are your reading plans for 2016? 


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© guiltless readingMaira Gall