At the end of each quarter, I reflect on my initial blogging goals and the progress I've made so far on them.
Leave More Comments
I've been falling off on this lately, but I have definitely been leaving more comments. Leaving comments is important to me, because I know the effort it takes to maintain a blog and I like to encourage other bloggers and let them know their blog is being read. Plus, it's how you make friends.
Review More Than Books
I recapped LOST and have been "reviewing" Supernatural with Elizabeth but that restaurant review from January remains unwritten as do the last several films I saw.
Be More Active in Promoting Literacy
Nope, still failing at this.
Pre-schedule as many posts as possible.
HA!
Give my Favorite Authors and Books Better Coverage
The book sales drive and party for Nothing But Ghosts along with the Week of Pure Passion are examples of doing this, and I hope to continue doing it.
Host Challenges and Memes
So far so good, even launched Summer of Hitchcock and working on Christy challenge with Deborah.
BBAW 09
Basically waiting on the blog to get everything else going. This should be sorted and promotions launched in the next few days.
The goals I had for my other two blogs aren't even worth mentioning.
Looking for some summer reading? Here are the books in I read in the second quarter that merited a 4.5 or higher...
5 Star
The Midwife by Jennifer Worth
A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Nothing but Ghosts by Beth Kephart
4.75
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
According to Their Deeds by Paul Robertson
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The Host by Stephenie Meyer
4.5
The Ruins by Scott Smith
An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell
The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove
How are you doing on your goals so far for the year? Have you made any adjustments? What's the best book you've read so far this year?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
2nd Quarter Blog Review
Posted by Amy at 10:32 PM
Labels: Quarterly Blog Review
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17 comments:
Blame the lack of progress with BBAW on me. I take full responsibility for Bluehost hating me. LOL
I see you read The Ruins. I couldn't put that book down when I read it! I didn't think that book would scare me as much as it did. I was in the mood for a scary book when I read it... I sure found what I was looking for. :-)
Does lending people books or gushing about your favourites count as promoting literacy? I hope so! I also think commenting is so important (hence this!). My "physical" friends don't read as much as me, so I'm very grateful for a healthy blogging community to gush about books with. Squeezed my heart that you gave such high-ranking reviews to Nothing But Ghosts and Twenty Boy Summer. I think I'm going to like these.
One of my goals for this week is to sit down and evaluate how I'm doing on my goals for the year. I haven't done it yet and we're expecting company in a couple hours. So, I probably won't get this week's goal done - that's probably an indication on where I stand on my goals for the year too.
I need to do something like this for my own blog, and maybe I won't let it suffer as much as I have been. :)
As for favorites so far this year, it would have to be all 3 of Julie Lessman's books. I read all 3 of them, and just could not get over how incredible each book was. I am so anxious to read her next book!
I try not to stress out over my blogging goals. You had a fabulous reading quarter!
Well, my goal was to start my own book blog this year, and I think I'm off to a decent start! I'm still struggling to figure out an identity and focus for my blog, and my own unique voice as a blooger, as well as learning what makes a good post and what doesn't. Readers are coming, slowly, but they're coming.
It's beginning to feel like a full-time job, there's so much to do: read as many books as possible, post regularly, read other people's blogs, comment, keep abreast of what's going on in the literary world, network on Twitter, discover new blogs... It's overwhelming!
Goal-setting is a great way to stay focused on what needs to be done; however, it's always important to be willing to set your goals aside as things arise that are more important or will have a greater impact in the bigger picture. You, Amy, have done a fantastic job of that, as far as I can tell.
Let's see. I've only been blogging for four weeks so my goal for the moment is just to figure out what on earth I am doing with a book blog. Oh, and to not bore my loved ones to death in the process. ;) I am enjoying myself and it's putting a new spin on the books I read since I actually have an outlet to write about and discuss them. As for my favorite book, I think, I'd have to say either the Great Perhaps by Joe Meno or The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.
I'm so impressed by all that you have accomplished. Keep up the good work!
Wow -- I haven't read ANY of the books in your list above! Need to get out the TBR list...
Best book read so far this year? Fortunately (for me), I read KRISTIN LAVRANSDATTER this spring; unfortunately, that makes it really hard to be fair to all the other great stuff I've been reading -- because can they be better than the Nobel Prize-winning KL? If I take that off the table, the best book would probably have to be Janna Levin's novel A MADMAN DREAMS OF TURING MACHINES, which happens to have been the first book I read this year. Excellent.
Wow, that's an awful lot of good books! I had two 5-star rereads in the second quarter, (which I won't count in my Best Of posts, as they've already had their turn!), along with six 4.5-star books:
CORAMBIS by Sarah Monette
DAUGHTER OF THE BLOOD by Anne Bishop
HEIR TO THE SHADOWS by Anne Bishop
QUEEN OF THE DARKNESS by Anne Bishop
DREAMS MADE FLESH by Anne Bishop (obviously I did a series binge!)
CARTER BEATS THE DEVIL by Glen David Gold
Re: blogging goals, I really wanted to leave more comments and let people know I was reaidng and enjoying their blogs. I've definitely stepped up the pace, but I could still do more. I also wanted to become more active on Twitter, but it looks like that's going to turn into a third quarter goal instead.
I didn't set any book blogging goals. How's that for being a slacker!
I'm glad you did this post, because I need to re-evaluate my blog goals. I had vowed to leave more comments and I've actually been leaving less! Something to do this horribly rainy holiday weekend, I guess, besides watching my 3 new DVDs of Supernatural!
I have noticed you leaving more comments on my blog :)
I just put up my quarter blog review as well. I don´t talk about my goals because I didn´t really make any...other than to have more author interviews this year. Which I did!
OMG - just finished Catching Fire!! I NEED to talk to someone about it. You read it last month right?
Lovely wrap-up. I am impressed by the goals you set for yourself ... you are ambitious!
You're doing a great job! It seems to me that you have more than your fair share on your plate and being one person only allows you to do so much. Hopefully well be able to get the tv blog up and running soon. :)
I think you're doing great. I have the same problem with comments, as I love so many blogs yet have so little time online. The one goal I've kept to this year is reviewing every book I read.
--Anna
Diary of an Eccentric
я думаю: восхитительно.. а82ч
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