2016 was a year of contradictions.
We said goodbye to many artists who made the world a better place, including but not limited to Prince, Carrie Fisher, George Michael, and Alan Rickman.
We said hello to great movies and entertainment, like Stranger Things, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Moana. Also, Hamilton the Musical continued its streak into fame.
We got an American Authors album that rocked my mind.
We got a president-elect who is pushing the boundaries of our nation.
The book blogging universe exploded several times from scandal, fraud, and dishonesty. Racism and poor representation burned through social media. The call for diverse books, authors, readers, and editors was met with strong disagreements.
The book blogging universe exploded with support for one another. Events like DiversityDecBingo and Loveathon shared the blogger love. Countless bloggers campaigned for diversity and representation on every platform available.
The highs and lows were reflected in every area of life, especially in my reading goals and accomplishments.
Reflection
My original goals for this year were lofty. If you want to see naive, young Tessa boast and brag about everything she wanted to accomplish, you can read my Goals for 2016.
If you have not caught the drift yet, 2016 was a disappointing year for me. But, it was also pretty exciting.
I am 25 books short of my Goodreads goal of 80.
I got my first physical ARC thanks to brittanysbookrambles.
I did not get to plan another readathon for summer.
I continued to write a lot of discussion posts.
I did not post as consistently as I would have hoped.
My blog is somehow still alive. My 5th blog anniversary passed this year, and no matter how often I posted, I consider this longevity a success.
2016 had the least posts of my blogging career. I would love to blame this on my cobloggers, but ultimately the blame has to fall on me. I have written about 60 posts this year, which ends up being about a post a week. My original goal was to double that number, but my busy life made that goal impossible.
I started a bookstagram account. You can find me @storysnapshots. But I have not been able to develop my account as much as I would like due to the overwhelming nature of my life.
There is a mountain of 2016 debuts and releases that I just never got around to reading.
I did read some great debuts, series finales, and releases.
Changes for 2017
This year also marks the first year without the support of my co-bloggers. This year, Cassia has fallen away from blogging. Max is also going the same way despite her infrequent appearances on the blog. As I go into 2017, I will be doing it alone. Crazy for YA is not going to be a co-blog anymore, but my own blog to do with what I will. I am not sure what that will entail yet since I am still coming to terms with the situation.
I also want to focus more on reviews and discussions than memes. While I will still do an occasional Top Ten Tuesday if the topic catches my eye and my monthly Waiting on Wednesday, I hope that most of my content will veer from the rigidity of memes.
Even though I am not completely sure how it would work, I would love to host some guest posters on Crazy for YA. If you are interested, send me an email and we can talk about how to plan it!
Goals
My new goal for 2017 is to post however often I can without driving myself crazy. There will not be a number so that I don't have to slap posts together in order to satisfy a quota.
I am going to set my Goodreads goal at 80 again this year.
I am also planning on participating in the 2017 Diverse Reads Book Challenge hosted by Mishma @ Chasing Faerytales and Shelly @ Read Sleep Repeat. Even though I am notoriously terrible at yearly challenges (see my failed promise to participate in the 2016 Debut Authors Challenge) I am willing to give it a shot. Sign-ups are still open for this challenge if you want to diversify your bookshelf and help bring awareness to quieted voices.
UPDATE: I am also participating in Naz's (from @Read Diverse Books) challenge, Read Diverse 2017. I have been told that both challenges will correspond and not interfere, so I am going to give it a shot. All I have to do is write reviews for the diverse books that I will already be reading thanks to Mishma and Shelly's diverse books challenge. Hopefully, this will keep me more accountable to myself and to all of the marginalized and suppressed voices that are waiting to be heard. Bonus: You will get to read about more diverse books on my blog throughout the year!
Finally, I am also planning on participating in the Of Wonderland Book Club hosted by the wonderful ladies (Inge, Aly, and the newbies Ella and Anissa) at Of Wonderland. It is not a traditional book club in the sense that everyone is going to read the same book (which is the reason I have never joined an actual book club). Instead, they will pick a category every month and the members will pick a book to read from it. Thankfully, it offers a lot more freedom than other book clubs, which will hopefully help me stick to it!
Thank You
Of course, this post would not be complete without a hefty thank you to everyone reading this. Whether you are a first-time reader or a life long fan, I appreciate each and every one of you. I am glad that you went through the ups and downs of 2016 with me. I cannot believe that after weeks of radio silence and gibberish there are still people willing to read my words. I hope you and yours have an amazing new year and I wish you all future health and success.
What did you think about 2016? What was your greatest accomplishment? Biggest failure? What are your goals for 2017? What would you like to see from me in 2017?
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