It’s the end of the year. 2019 has come and gone, straight up flown by, hasn’t it!?
This time of year brings out our reflective side. We look back on the last year and look forward to the upcoming year. We consider our accomplishments, gauge our lives in a sense, and wonder what the next year will hold. This is the time we start thinking about our goals and life direction and all the grand things like that.
We’re so small, living in such a big world, and I think it’s perfectly natural to look back to assess and to look forward to plan. It’s part of living intentionally. To live on purpose, you’ve got to make a plan. Happen to life instead of letting it happen to you and wondering where it all went in the end.
With that in mind, I thought I’d try a 2019 wrap up here, too. And next week, I’ll look forward into the new year with goals and such for 2020. We’ve never done this kind of post before, so let me know what you think! We may do it again next year 😉
Reading Wrap-Up
Cause we all know I’m a hopeless bookworm! I actually read 81 books last year (2018)!! So, my goal this year was to hit 80 again, because that was pretty awesome, just sayin’. But, it looks like I’ve fallen short. Like way short. And, I know there are still a few days left–and believe me, I’m planning to make the most of those few days!–but I realized partway through the year I’d have to adjust that goal. It just wasn’t going to happen this year.
In the last nearly five years, I’ve not read less than 50 books a year. Even more important to me was the goal of beating the previous year’s page count (thank you, Goodreads!!!). So a few months ago I reset my goal for 60 books. I read fewer pages this year than last–and fewer than the year prior, too. But I’ve also done some beta reading this year that I couldn’t count toward my official Goodreads goal, so I’m not terribly upset.
So, as of right now, according to my Goodreads challenge, I’ve read 59 of 60 books and 13,257 pages! Wow!! How cool!
I read two series for my bestie, Melissa, one called Reign of Secrets that was a pretty engaging read. (You can see my thoughts on the first book here.) I also continued the Keeper of the Lost Cities series for my other bestie, Catherine. Y’all know that took a bit for me to do XD but I’m in the middle of it now and not planning to let up anytime soon.
I also finally read K. M. Shea’s Snow Queen retelling! That had been on my list for a while to do. I stayed caught up with J. M. Stengl’s Faraway Castle books and even got to ARC read the newest one! And I met my yearly goal of reading all of Brittany Fichter’s books!! That was a feat! And such a fun one, too. I adore her books!
I fell a little behind on Melaine Cellier’s books, but I got some good children’s books in this year that I’d never read (as well as some classic favorites, of course!) I did meet my goal of reading three devotionals and I’m only one book shy of meeting my goal of reading twelve non-fiction books this year.
So, overall, I think I did pretty good on my reading this year! I’m hoping to do even better next year, though. 😀
And just for the fun of it 😉 here is a link to my GR 2019 Year in Review (yes, we have established that I am a dork and I am totally nerding out about this feature again!)
GraceBought Wrap Up
This was my second year (officially ends in Feb) of blogging and I think I’m definitely learning more. I’m excited about next year and to set some better goals for GB. I sort of just continued with it this year and made loose goals, like “blog more consistently.”
Guys! Guys! I just looked! And we are at an even 100 followers! How cool is that!! I’m honored. Thank you!! Last I remember, I was aiming for 30! (Maybe we should try to do something fun? Any ideas? Comment below! I’ve never done anything like that before XD)
I’ve added a Book Review Index and actually received a few review requests this year, which was tons of fun! And I think I managed to post book reviews more consistently this year than I did last year. I only missed a few Mondays. I didn’t keep up with Thoughts on Thursdays as well as I would have liked, but I did get several posted and am learning how to do that more consistently, too. We got a few Tags on Tuesdays in, too. Those are always fun.
I did actually post some Writing on Wednesdays this year, short stories and flash fiction. It was kind of embarrassing at first, since they’re first drafts and older works, but I think it’s been good and preparing me to post more consistently and some fresher works. I didn’t post many Author Spotlights, but I do have a few drafted for next year. And we did add the new WWWednesdays feature, which you guys really seem to like, and I absolutely love doing them.
I also changed things up here on GraceBought a little bit, regarding my reading. Last year, I limited my reviews to standalones and books that were the first in a series. But, I realized that you guys like the follow-up reviews, and it made it a lot easier for me to post consistent reviews, too, since I do read so many series. I definitely think we’re going to continue with that trend here.
This is the 84th post this year (last year had 83 total) and GB’s wordcount is up by almost 10,000 this year, too, which is exciting! Overall there has been more interaction from you guys this year than last year, comments, views, likes, etc. And that’s encouraging. So, thank you! Thank you guys for being a part of this journey and walking with me 🙂
Writing Wrap Up
I hit some pretty awesome writing goals this year that I’m kind of stoked about! I attended my first ever writing conference, which was actually like stepping into Narnia for three days. I will cherish that experience for my entire life and am very much looking forward to the next one.
Furthermore, I met Brittany Ficther this summer! Like actually met her! We spent an afternoon walking around Barnes and Noble talking and nerding out!! That was the highlight of my year! It still makes me grin goofy! It was the best afternoon and her beautiful little prince and princess are adorable <3
I also saved up enough money to purchase a laptop solely for writing! I’d been thinking about this for a while, but it actually happened last month. My brother helped me find just what I needed and now I have a lightweight laptop that’s easier to carry around than my normal computer and has enabled me to write in more places and with more focus. (I’m actually on it now.) I’ve been very strict about what I allow myself to use it for and I think it’s making a difference.
Ooh, and I did NaNo for like the first time since 2016 this year, too. I didn’t win, but I put a honkin’ dent in my yearly goal. My goal for my WIP this year was to hit 50,000 words (75,000 as a bonus). I wrote almost 40,000 for a prequel novella and have come out with a total of 52,680 for the actual story itself. So, that’s definitely a win!
Personal Wrap Up
On a more personal level, aside from my reading, writing, and GraceBought goals, I did a few really cool things this year that I’m super excited about.
I already mentioned that I met Brittany Fichter, which was amazing! And I went to my first writing conference, which was incomparable! But I also marked something off my bucket list–something I’ve dreamed of doing since I was a very little girl. My sister and I went to see the Nashville ballet live! We watched a live performance of The Nutcracker and I am still giddy about it! It was absolutely stunning, everything I dreamed it would be!! We may need to make that a new tradition!
I also, sadly, had to let go of my first car this year. A few months ago it gave up the ghost after serving me faithfully for the last five years. I may have cried just a little bit…so, I now have my second car and am doing my best to get used to it. I, of course, had to customize it with a new TinkerBell towel in the backseat 😀
In other news, my sister graduated from high school and started her first year of college. And my brother proposed to his girlfriend. They were married just a few months ago and are now expecting a little girl!
So, all that said, it’s been quite an eventful year for me! What about you guys? I’d love to hear from y’all. What things did 2019 hold for you? What are you proud that you accomplished this year?
Love always,
Coralie