My Bookish Life Since Blogging and How I'm Improving

I've always loved to read! I started reading chapter books like Jennie B. Jones in kindergarten, and haven't stopped loving books since. I've always been a reader, and I hope that never changes because I really do enjoy it. I love discovering new places through books whether real or fantasy, and I love having new experiences through books, and my faith has grown so much from my reading.

But since I started reading, my bookish world has expanded greatly!

Before I started blogging last year, I never had a huge physical TBR pile. I read a book or two then I went and got another one. I never got free books, other than when my parents would buy them or I borrowed them from the Library.

I didn't have a way to discuss books though I desperately wanted to.

Now, I've discovered bookish people all over the world! I've discovered so many wonderful books because of awesome reviews by awesome bloggers. I've learned a lot about the book blogging community, and have been so welcomed by them. I truly appreciate all of the opportunities my blogging has led me to, from fellow bloggers to connecting with authors!

I've discovered so many books and amazing authors!

How has my reading changed?

My TBR pile has grown so much! I used to only have 1-3 unread books at a time, and now I have more than I can count. My reading is sometimes dictated by review books and I can't always be a mood reader (I'll have a post on this soon). I love review books dearly, and I'm not going to stop accepting them by any means - the best books I read last year were review books - but sometimes I miss the unpredictability of following my reading whims.

This year I hope to do a little bit more of that! I'm going to get back to following my reading whims and being the mood reader that I am at heart. I'm going to make a dent on that TBR pile that has stacked up over the last year as I found free books, and requested a few to many from Netgalley. I can't resist books, guys - that much has never changed! While I'm not as likely to buy them full price, I still can't resist them!

I am going to conquer those reading challenges I entered this year! I will not be defeated by them and all of the review copies this year.

I will figure out just the right balance between review books and my reading whims!

If I'm not into a book, I won't fear to put it down. That only happened once or twice last year, but I've always had a problem with putting books down! I dnf'd three books though, which is probably more than ever before.

 I'll stay organized! Half way through last year, I realized that with all of the review books, tours, and scheduling posts, I seriously needed some mass organization improvement with my blog. I started a homemade clipboard calender, and got a nice agenda for 2015 to keep up with all of my posts and timelines. That organization helped me stay chill and I'm so thankful for it! Yes - it's color coded - duh!

Social Networks and getting my blog out there! I got some followers last year through email, Twitter, and Google+ which was so thrilling! A little over a week ago, I discovered how awesome Blog Lovin is, and signed up there, claiming my blog and everything. I hope to get more followers this year, but if not then oh, well - I'm doing this for fun not for followers!

Need To Work On Blogging Wise

I still need to work on a few things!

Crossing reviews with B&N and Amazon - I did okay with this with most review books. For fun books? Not so much! I am good with Goodreads though, even though that's only because I put my review in there after typing it in order to get a picture and summary of the book together easier!

Keeping my challenges and blog organized! I really need to work on updating my challenges weekly when I do my week wrap-up posts instead of attempting to do it monthly. I think it would be a lot easier and make me feel like I'm actually making progress on the challenges!

DO MORE DISCUSSION POSTS! I love discussion posts! They are the posts I enjoy the most from other blogs as well, and I would really like to do a lot more of them this year!

What has blogging done to your bookish life? What have you done about it? Any tips?