I know I'm almost two weeks late here...but aren't I always? I'll try better next month? January was a pretty busy month for me. I settled back into a normal blogging schedule post-holiday craze which was nice. I've already realized that I won't be reading as many books this year as I did last year which is both good and bad. Good because I'm spending more time with the hubby and with friends. Bad because, well, books. I've also really cut back on my number of posts per week on the blog. I used to post 4-5 times, but I'm down to just two now and it has been amazing! I don't stress so much on the weekends now, trying to get 4 posts scheduled. I'm able to slow down and take my time with the two posts I'm working on so they're better quality. I take the time to take pretty photos (hopefully you think they're pretty...) and just overall improve the quality of the posts. I hope you guys like what you're seeing. And get ready for some more big changes in the near future that I'm not quite ready to share yet. Just know they're coming and I think you're going to love them.
So what did you miss on the blog?
Reviews:
Just a Few Inches by Tara St. Pierre: 3 Stars
About a girl who takes diet pills and ends up shrinking vertically. Lots of good stuff in this one on body image and the societal pressure on women to be perfect.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins: 5 Stars
About a girl who is sent to Paris for a year of studying abroad. She then meets a swoony British boy. No, that was not a typo, he's British. And cuteness and squishy feels ensue. This was probably my favorite read of the month.
Chronicles of a Lincoln Park Fashionista by Aven Ellis: 3 Stars
About a girl fresh out of college trying to carve out a career for herself in Chicago. Awesome setting and super hot guy, but the main character annoyed me for the first 80% of the book...
This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp: 4 Stars
A moving story that takes place during a 54 minute long school shooting. This one was poetic and beautifully written. A very important story in this day and age.
Writing:
Something I wanted to focus more on this year is writing. Not even necessarily my writing, but just writing in general so I'm trying to post some kind of writing tip or related post once a month. This month's post was How to Build Better Characters Using MBTI. For those that don't know MBTI is the Myers Briggs personality types and it is quite fascinating and very useful when trying to develop a character's personality.
Blogging/Organization:
The blog is going to have three focuses this year: books (obvi), writing and blogging/organization. The focus will definitely be remaining on books, but once a month I plan on doing some kind of blogging and/or organization tip. This month's was How to Maximize Your Weekdays and I even made you guys a free weekday goal planner to use!
Other Bookish Fun:
And of course, my other bookish fun...two posts this month including a list of books I vow to read this year. Yes, Harry Potter is one of them. Please don't kill me. And I also made a list of ten bookish Instagram accounts you should be following if you like drooling over fabulous book photos. What bookworm doesn't enjoy doing this, let's be honest?
Stats:
Most popular post on the blog last month: How to Maximize Your Weekdays
This makes me so happy! I hope a lot of you are getting use out of my goal planner I created. It was my first ever pdf so please comment with some feedback for me so I can improve in the future!
Referrals: Alexa Loves Books and Paper Fury
Thanks guys! You're the best! I believe Alexa shared by how to maximize your weekdays post on her blog and Cait shared my bookish Instagram post.
Top Social Networks: Pinterest actually came in at #1 last month which surprised me. Normally it's Twitter, but I guess that means I'm getting better with my graphics right? Twitter was still a close 2nd though.
Search terms: "a book for my husband"
This one probably landed them on a Top Ten Tuesday post I did a while back called top ten books I recommend to my husband.
"how do u write a love letter"
Well first of all you spell out the word "you" because you're writing a letter and please dear god can we use actual words and not text speak. I have no idea how this got them to my blog. Maybe some of the Blogger Loveathon posts I've done in the past.
On Instagram:
I've been working really hard on my photo-taking skills and this is what I came up with for the month of January. I hope you guys are enjoying the more bookish feed I've been providing on Instagram. If you're not following me yet, you can find me @librarycanary!
Posts You Should Read:
8 Worthy Blogging Investments Guaranteed to Save You Time from Nellie & Co.
Free Ecourses: Blueprints, Brands, Business & Pinterest from Nellie & Co.
How to (nicely) Attack People with Friendship on the Internet from Paper Fury
Do You Need Scrivener in Your Precious Writerly Life from Paper Fury
3 Reasons You Don't Need an E-Course from Nosegraze
6 Fairytale Mash-ups That Would Make Excellent Books from Loony Literate
Why Don't We Love Female Villains from Fiery Reads
Is the Traditional Book Review Dead? from Bookmarked
I've really been slacking on hopping around the blogosphere. I'll do better next month, I promise!
How was your January? What was your favorite book you read? What blog posts did you enjoy that I should be reading? Are you enjoying the new focus on this blog? Do you have any suggestions or comments?
You're very welcome! I really loved that post. And I'm slowly, but surely developing better weekly habits and being more productive. Now if only I could say the same about my writing habits :(
ReplyDeleteYay! Omg I know. My writing has been horrible lately. I think I told you that I would have stuff to send you in February, but yeah, no. I've like barely started my rewrite. I think I have a total of like 1,500 words. Ugh. I just can't get the juices to flow lately...
DeleteLove the photos!!! How do you do that????? Ok, the Cassandra Clare books, are those different books than what I have?
ReplyDeleteI've been really struggling with my blog. As you know, I took off about 2 months, from both blogging and commenting, and I've started back but I just don't know. It's great that you're trying something different, I just feel like I'm doing the exact same thing and it's so boring and I'm completely uninspired. I thought taking the break would help, but it really didn't. Just not sure what to do. Oh well! I'll be looking for those changes and visiting again on a regular basis (even if I end up stopping my blog). ~Pam
So I got this shiny new camera for Christmas and I've been playing with it ever since. But it's super hard!! I have to take like 40 pictures of the same damn book(s) before I have a shot I like. I'm getting better, but it's like learning a foreign language. Iso and aperture and shutter speed. Ugh. Complicated. But the results are worth it. I sometimes stare at my pictures and am like uh did I really take that? lol
DeleteI'm so sorry to hear you've been struggling with your blog! I've kind of been feeling the same way lately and that's why some big changes are coming. I'll email you about them. I hope you find your inspiration again! I would so miss your blog if you stopped.
Oh and also, yes those Mortal Instrument books are different. They changed all the covers and released that gorgeous box set last year and I got it for Christmas! Isn't it so pretty???
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