Alli the Book Giraffe

Hello readers! How is everyone? It’s October and that means we are in the 3rd month from the end of the year. This month I have a few posts about the last quarter and the one we are currently in, starting with my goals for the rest of the year.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish in 2010 and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week, you pick your top 10 of the topic provided.

October 3rd Topic: Reading Goals I Still Want to Accomplish Before the End of the Year (We’ve just begun the last quarter of the year! What bookish goals would you still like to accomplish? If you participated in TTT’s Bookish Goals for 2023 topic this past January, update us on which goals you’ve achieved, which you’ve given up on, and which ones you’re still working on!)

I did not start doing Top Ten Tuesday regularly until late Spring, so I did not do that January post, but I do still have some goals I want to reach!

ONE. At the beginning of the year, I set my goal to read 150 books. Now, it isn’t October just yet as I’m reading this, but I am at around 90. When I took a few months off reading, I dropped it to 50, raised it to 100 in late August and just recently put it at 125. I’m not sure if I can hit 125, but I have been reading a TON the last few months. I always drop my yearly goal so I can hit it, though!

TWO. My other main goal is to not take in so many ARCs. I have TEN for this month and I realized it’s getting out of hand. I do love helping Indie authors, but I’m going to find better ways to do it. I do promo for them on Tik Tok and IG and I share every post about needing ARC readers on both platofrms. I also use Kindle Unlimited like crazy and try to review indie author books on Bookbub and Amazon when I have time. I do support them a lot and I think I just need to learn when to stop. I’m thinking I’ll go for 4 to 5 a month. I already have 3 for November, 1 for December, 2 for January, and 1 for February. It’s too much.

THREE. On that note, I’d like to join some more indie authors permanent ARC teams. I have joined Meagan Spaid, Emily Antoinette, Ro Singh, and Gayla Reel’s. It is just so much more fun joining an author’s team and helping to promote along with being in a group on Facebook or Discord of other readers.

FOUR. I need to finish some series! Since getting Kindle Unlimited in August, I have started a lot of series. Some of them aren’t finished, of course, but many of them are. I would like to spend December focusing on some series that I started this year.

FIVE. Speaking of KU, I would like to get through more of my TBR on there. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been reading a lot from the list, but I’d like to whittle down my list. I am always finding new books to add. When I stop getting so many dang ARCs, I can read more from there, including some from number 10 on this post.

I’m actually thinking of starting a TBR jar or something just for KU where I put 2 or 3 each month and read them. I’m going to make sure I get my moneys worth.

SIX. I would love to try and find more romance indie authors that are POC or disabled. I have no issue finding indie books that are LGBT, but indie books by other marginalized authors are hard to come by.

SEVEN. This is one I have had a bit of help with on Booktok, but need even more! I want to read more romances that have male main characters who are not super buff or chiseled. Mostly, I want plus size men, but I’ll take anything. Most that I have found are either age gaps, which I don’t like, or are mlm romances. I am looking for f/m romances here! I read one last month, but it was both an age gap and a mlm romance.

EIGHT. Continue to read multiple books at once. This way of reading has be THRIVING right now. I usually have one main book and then I’ll read 5 chapters of the others each day. I am never feeling slumpy because I’m always in the middle of a book I’m enjoying. This also allows me to read ARCs a little slower to review better.

NINE. I want to read 3 or 4 more books by Rebecca F Kenney! She is becoming one of my favorite authors. I have joined her ARC team for her next book, but I also want to read more of her backlist. I read 2 of her books in August and 2 in September.

TEN. My last goal is big project for November that I’m doing. I did one in July and you guys really loved it, so I want to try more of them. I might as well tell you guys since I’ve talked about it on Tik Tok and Instagram and only those who are reading this post will really know about it. Feel free to join me! I am hoping to read the romance books for the Goodreads Choice Awards. I have already started this project because I believe quite a few of them will be sequels, so I am going to spend what extra reading time I have in October to read through these giant romance books whose sequels I think will be on the list. Seriously, why are romance books so freaking long these days?!

I am currently reading Things We Never Got Over because I think the sequel will be on the list and it is almost 600 pages. I also have to read through roughly 900 pages of the Dreamland Billionares trilogy this month for the 3rd book, which I think will be on there. I have other predictions, but I’ll keep those as a surprise for a post later this month!

Where to find me: https://linktr.ee/Allithebookgiraffe

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