2012 Goals Review & the Setting of Some for 2013...

2012 was the first year that I started as a 'proper' (for which read established) blogger, knowing what I wanted to do with the blog and having some aims. I set myself a fair amount of goals, some of which I've achieved and some that I haven't. 2013 will be very different. I have a nearly 3 month old baby now and we're hoping to move again in the New Year to be closer to work and family. I've also been trying to get to grips with not working and doing stuff with the baby and suchlike. So my goals for 2013 may be a little different from the previous year!

Anyway, I just thought that now would be a pretty good time to look back and see what I've done this year, and what I'd like to do in the next.

Goals for 2012:

• Go longer than three months and a week without buying books - I entirely failed at this; I think I lasted approximately a week, but I'm trying again in 2013 with the caveat that if I find Stitch and Bitch: Superstar Knitting in our local independent bookshop, I can buy it because I didn't get it for Christmas and I feel that it's necessary to the continuing of my knitting education (speaking of which, I'm knitting multicoloured fingerless gloves at the moment, and I love them.)
• Go the whole year without buying anything from Amazon - In this, I have spectacularly succeeded, and for most of the year I wasn't even tempted! I will be continuing it next year and for the forseeable future :-) I'm also extending it to try to shop in independent shops as often as possible.
• Make a list at the beginning and end of every month tracking what I've read - I mostly failed at this. I think I did it for the first two months of the year, but after that everything got a bit mental, what with being pregnant and everything. I'm not going to plan to do it again in 2013, as with the baby what I'm in the mood to read changes pretty much daily and my attention span is pretty short at the moment! I've made a list of what I want to read over the course of the year, so I'll just be going off of that I think.
• Continue to read more non-fiction than I did last year - in 2011 I read 14 non-fiction titles. This year I have read exactly the same number, but only 85 books total so the percentage is higher, which is definitely a win. I'm going to try to continue reading more non-fiction in 2013, as I am enjoying it increasingly more.
• Complete all of the challenges I sign up for (ha!) and post a link - up every month for the Telling Tales Challenge - I did complete the last half of this, and I am aiming for it again in 2013 as I've signed up for quite a lot less challenges so far!
• Comment on blogs and make an active attempt to discover new blogs - I've done this all year, although commenting has been more difficult since October! I've found loads of new blogs this year and I've started following a lot more craft and baking blogs as well as book blogs! I'd love to keep this up in 2013 as blogs are such a source of inspiration to me :-)
• Participate in RAK every month - I've done this every month except one, I think, and will continue to participate in some way in 2013. I love it so much and the excitement of getting a parcel from a total stranger hasn't got any less!
• Get over my aversion to YA - still not totally over it, but I'm getting there and I have a list that I'm excited to start getting through next year! I've also developed a love for John Green.
• Re-vamping the blog - I had a total design change midway through this year and I love it :-)

There's a lot of other stuff I want to do in 2013, but I figure I'd better not get carried away! I also want to participate in at least one readathon, but it probably won't be the 24 hour one as I think that would be a little too intense for me with the baby!