2015 was a very...... bumpy year for me. Overall it was good but there were a lot of lows and the amount of highs don't overshadow the lows. I often hesitated taking opportunities because change, especially big changes, scare me. I don't like it and because of that I missed out on a lot, not just in my "real life" but also with blogging. It's like I am purposely keeping myself stuck in the same routine and in the same place and I'm both frustrated that I'm stuck and I've done it to myself. Added to that is 2015 had a lot of family crisis for me. I don't want to go in depth because I don't know how my family would feel if I told you guys it, but needless to say they didn't make 2015 an especially good year for me.
There were good things that happened this year, though. I started college which was kinda of overshadowed by the stress that I haven't really figured out what I want to go for. I got a new job! Its not the best but it is still so much better than my last job which I sucked out and all of my colleagues hated me because I was bad at it. I did Nanowrimo once again and won! Yay! I take a lot of pride in this because I was behind in my word count for the majority of the month. The first two days were the only days I was caught up. When I had four days left in the month I was 10K behind my word count for that day. However, I somehow managed to get caught up and I finished it with hours to spare. Yay! I also meet one of my best friends. I don't have a lot of friends, and I'm not ashamed of this, and so whenever I meet another one I am so happy! She is da best and we were actually Nanowrimo buddies and we both won, yay!
Even though 2015 wasn't the best year I am very hopeful and optimistic that 2016 will be better. 2014 was a really good year and 2015 was kinda shit. According to the cycle 2016 will be another great year! Its a new year and a new start. I know I sound sappy and cliche but it's the solace I am taking refuge in.
Moving on from that overly sappy and emotional rant. The books. Because of all that was going on this year; starting college, getting a new job, doing (and winning), Nanowrimo, I didn't really get to read a lot. I actually got into a huge reading slump in the end of August when school started and I never really got out of it. I used to read 6 to 8 books a month with zeal and eagerness but when August hit that went away. I don't even really know why I never got out of the reading slump. I'm hoping the excitement of the new year will kick start my love for reading once more.
~Quick Stats~
Number of books read (according to Goodreads): 52 books
My goal was 100 but I don't care that I didn't achieve that. I have actually never achieved that number, it's just the automatic goal for me. Someday I will get it *raises fist in determination*.
Also, I re-read a number of books multiple times so the actual number is probably more like 60 books.
Number of Re-reads: 15
When I'm in a reading slump I re-read a lot. So these 15 re-reads make up most of the books I read in the last few months.
Number of Pages Read: 16,305
Again, without measuring my re-reads.
Faves:
Queen of Shadows + Heir of Fire + A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. M
Because, duh Sarah J. Maas is the queen of fantasy.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman
This was such a breathtaking love story and I loved reading every single page of it!
Nowhere but Here by Katie McGarry
I loved this contemporary not only because of the relationships, both romantic and family, but also because of the setting. A motorcycle gang that's portrayed much more realistically, hells yah!
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
The writing was just beautiful and stunning!
The Heart of Betrayal by Mary E. Pearson
I needed to know how this series continued and it was just as good as the first!
I get into much more depth about these books in my Best Books of 2015 post.
I did not blog as much as I wanted to in 2015. I am so ashamed of this because I love blogging and I love my blog! I am so happy when I'm blogging and I don't like how I pushed this happiness away simply because I was busy. This next year I will definitely try to blog more. However, I'm not going to feel bad if I don't post as much as I want. I'm not going to let the fact that I don't publish two reviews, or even two posts, a week make me feel guilty. I realize it's okay not to blog that often nothing' wrong with it and so you shouldn't let it stress you out so much. Blogging for me is about getting away from the stress of my life and talking about books. Although, I will try and not take so many breaks from blogging. I took way to many breaks from blogging this year and I don't want to continue doing that.
I did redo my blog design a couple times this year. Every time I redo my blog it takes forever. I am very picky and I want it perfect. However, the only problem is I don't have a clear picture of how I want my blog to look. So there's a lot of experimenting and failing when I redo it. But I still love redoing it. I love how I get to be creative and I get to really make this blog my own. I am in love with the design of the blog as it is now and it took my a long time to get it this way.
How was 2015 for you? Good, Bad, Great?
Happy 2016 reading!