2020 Reading and Channel Goals

*Alexa, play Roarin' 20s by Panic! at the Disco*

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome to 2020!

Man, I am ready for a new start. I mean, nothing in life is really changing for me, but still. Nothing like the start of a new year to write down some resolutions that you'll likely forget in a month, am I right?

But seriously, today I'm talking about my reading and BookTube channel goals and plans for the year. I only have a few to mention, but they're important enough. So let's get to it, shall we?

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1. My Goodreads Reading Challenge


(First off, I love the color they chose for this year's challenge. Teal is one of those colors that you never really think about until you see it, and then you're like "Oh that's my favorite color!")

If you follow me on Goodreads, you're probably a little confused about my goal for the year. I mean, I read 130 books in 2019, why would I be setting my challenge to 25? Well, here's the thing:

I love the idea of not putting pressure on yourself to read. Like, reading should be a hobby, something you do for fun, or to relax. Not a job. Same thing with having a YouTube channel too, I suppose. (I would also include blogging in there but I know for a fact that some people make a whole living and then some off of their blogs, so that's a little hypocritical to me, ha.) So I don't want to set my goal to 100 or 120 books for the year at the very beginning, and then stress about the numbers I'm seeing, that I'm falling behind or whatever. I know for a fact that I'll read more than 25 books this year (most likely within the first three months, let's be real) but it's still nice to have that leisurely pace.

Once I hit 25 books, I'll up it by 25 more, and so on and so forth. So, my true striving goal is to read 150 books this year. Will I achieve such a goal? I don't know, but going 25 at a time doesn't sound too hard.

2. YouTube Subscriber Count

Currently, I have 149 subscribers. I've been on BookTube for about a year and a half (my first video was the July before last). So, clearly, I'm not growing as fast as most other BookTubers. I'm not frustrated about it or anything, because as I said before, my channel is a hobby, something I do for fun when I have the time.

Keeping that in mind, it would be nice to see some growth on my channel, I'm not going to lie. I'm not gonna make some crazy goal for the year, but let's say...I'd like to be at 200 subscribers by the end of the year. Based on my growth rate, I have no idea if that's possible. However, if I really implement and stick to my upcoming goals and plans, I should be able to gain 50 new subscribers.

Of course, if I end up gaining more than that, that is perfectly fine. Encouraged, even!

3. Gain More Contacts in the BookTube/Blogger Community

I have my cozy group of friends from the community whom I talk with on a semi-regular basis, and I appreciate them so much and support them in everything they do. But again, I'd like to see a little growth on my social medias - not necessarily follower count, but more interaction based. Nearly everything I do for my channel and blog is over on twitter (@allyemreads if you wanna follow!) so I don't think it should be too hard for me to meet some new people.

4. Begin a "Recent Reads" Series on My Channel

One of my favorite videos to watch are BookTuber's "Recent Reads." These are videos where you sit down and talk about the however-many books you've read since the last update. Most people go by increments of ten, though I've also seen plenty of people just make these videos sporadically throughout the year.

I, personally, would like to set up a 10-book plan for recent reads. I'm still going to do my monthly wrap-ups here on my blog, but there is just something so satisfying about hearing a person talk about the books they've been reading. Especially because it's commonplace to mention all the books read, including DNF's. Plus, I like the more candid-style of recall that these videos possess, whereas in wrap-ups, especially blogged, have a sort of formula that you always follow and a kind of cookie-cutter way of talking about the books you read that month.

So, once I finish my first ten books of the year, be on the lookout for a video!

5. Be More Active on Instagram



Kind of like with my channel and twitter, I wouldn't mind seeing some growth on my Bookstagram. I didn't post a whole lot last year, but it's actually my favorite social based around books. I'm personally very proud of the pictures I upload. They're not professional by any means, but I make do with what I have, you know?

Unfortunately, there aren't really any tips or tricks to getting more attention on Instagram, other than posting frequently and having an eye for photography (which I kind of lack at the moment, but don't worry, I'll fix it!) I've been using this muted tone for a while on my photos, but I think I'm gonna have to change some things up. I might archive everything and start fresh this year, how does that sound? 

6. Really Expand My Manga Collection - And Talk About it Too!

This is more of a personal goal than anything. This past year I was re-introduced into anime, and subsequently manga. Some of the stories are just absolutely breathtaking, and I know that I want to incorporate more manga and anime into my book-related socials and my channel. However, I still have a pretty limited knowledge of the genre. Not for lack of trying, but there's only so much manga a girl can read and only so much anime she can watch before the day is over, you know what I mean?

So here's my plan: Along with my recent reads videos, I'll do bi-monthly or monthly anime updates where I just talk about the manga and anime that I read/watched that month. A simple enough thing to say, we'll see about the execution. 

(ps: I also have an anime-only twitter, and an anime blog on tumblr, so if you really want more of that content, including my own artwork, let me know!)

7. Stretch My Comfort Zone

What I mean by this is simple: I want to read more books in genres that I may not usually gravitate toward. This doesn't necessarily mean reading books in genres that I dislike, because I don't think I would enjoy that very much (ha), but more just trying to hone in on what I really like. 

For example; this year, I discovered that I really like the following:

     - High/Epic adult fantasy
     - Dark academia
     - Historical fiction 
     - Suspense/Horror

And tend to dislike genres such as:

     - Most middle grade (I know its an age-range and not a genre, but whatever)
     - Romance of any kind (except usually lgbt+ romance)
     - Science/Dystopian fiction
     - Paranormal fiction

So I've been spending the past few days clearing out my shelves of books that fit the latter categories (mostly) and looking on Goodreads for recommendations of the former. I have very particular tastes about those genres and sub-genres, however. Maybe I'll make a video about that in the future: highly specific genres I like/dislike. 

My main goal this year is to read more of the former genres. I already have a fair amount of high fantasy lined up for the year, as well as historical fiction, in my specific tastes. If you want to check what books I have decided on, my Goodreads is always listed on the sidebar of this blog. 

8. Start Vlogging

This is another tentative plan. I don't do vlogs typically because they take forever to edit, and I also am still slightly uncomfortable being in front of the camera all the time, without makeup and in pajamas and such. I know it's just a matter of getting used to it. Which is why I'm hoping to start doing interim vlogs, whether it's because I'm reading a particular book or there's a particular event happening that I want documented. 

If you have any advice or tips for me about vlogging, please send them my way! I'll take all the help I can get. 

The last two goals are more dreams than anything. As in, I'd love for these things to happen, but it's pretty unlikely they will. 

9. Get My Physical TBR Down to Zero

I know everyone says this every year, but really I think it's possible for me. At the moment, I have 46 books on my physical TBR. Only 46! I know some readers who have a physical TBR of like, 200. Going off of my true Goodreads goal of 150 books, I could easily read all of my TBR by the end of the year. There are only a few things that might hinder that plan:

     - Most of the books on my TBR are huge, high fantasy tomes that will take weeks to get through at the very least
     - I'm constantly bringing in new books whenever there is a sale at my local stores/online
     - I'm definitely a mood reader, so some of the books I have I've had for years now, because I haven't been in the mood to read them, but I know I still want to consume that story, so I don't unhaul it (and trust me, I'm pretty ruthless when it comes to unhauls, so that isn't the problem)

These seem like trivial problems but also huge obstacles at the same time. So, I'll definitely be striving for this, but I won't be upset or frustrated if I don't succeed by the end of the year, especially because there's no way I can go on a year-long book buying ban. 

10. Go to a Book Festival (i.e. YallWest, Book Expo, BookCon, etc.)


I always get major FOMO whenever I see everyone's vlogs about these festivals, but they also cost a lot of money. And I'm pretty much flat broke. So this is by far the least likely goal I'll be able to fulfill. I have some personal goals that might help with that situation, but it's just a matter of circumstance at this point in time. 

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Alright, well those are all my goals and plans for 2020! It's a lot, I know, but personally this year is going to be all about organization and getting my life together. I mean, I don't plan on everything changing right away, but it's time for me to really start adulting. 

Ugh. 

Anyways, that's all for now. Until next time!



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