2nd Quarter Blog Review

At the end of each quarter, I reflect on my initial blogging goals and the progress I've made so far on them.

Leave More Comments
I've been falling off on this lately, but I have definitely been leaving more comments. Leaving comments is important to me, because I know the effort it takes to maintain a blog and I like to encourage other bloggers and let them know their blog is being read. Plus, it's how you make friends.

Review More Than Books
I recapped LOST and have been "reviewing" Supernatural with Elizabeth but that restaurant review from January remains unwritten as do the last several films I saw.

Be More Active in Promoting Literacy
Nope, still failing at this.

Pre-schedule as many posts as possible.
HA!

Give my Favorite Authors and Books Better Coverage
The book sales drive and party for Nothing But Ghosts along with the Week of Pure Passion are examples of doing this, and I hope to continue doing it.

Host Challenges and Memes
So far so good, even launched Summer of Hitchcock and working on Christy challenge with Deborah.

BBAW 09
Basically waiting on the blog to get everything else going. This should be sorted and promotions launched in the next few days.

The goals I had for my other two blogs aren't even worth mentioning.


Looking for some summer reading? Here are the books in I read in the second quarter that merited a 4.5 or higher...

5 Star
The Midwife by Jennifer Worth
A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
The Body of Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci
Nothing but Ghosts by Beth Kephart

4.75
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
According to Their Deeds by Paul Robertson
If I Stay by Gayle Forman
Breaking Up is Hard to Do by Anne Dayton and May Vanderbilt
The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

4.5
The Ruins by Scott Smith
An Offer You Can't Refuse by Jill Mansell
The Secret Keeper by Paul Harris
Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Gulland
Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove

How are you doing on your goals so far for the year? Have you made any adjustments? What's the best book you've read so far this year?

First Quarter Blog Review 2009

The year is one fourth of the way finished. I'm not even kidding. While I don't wrap up my accomplishments and reading on a monthly basis, I thought it might be beneficial to look at how things are going on a quarterly basis--based on my initial blogging goals for the year.

Leave more comments. I do think I'm doing better at this. Some days, though, I only get about 30 minutes of blog reading time in and comments are less. I would say I leave 10 (my goal) on most days, though.

Review More than Books I've really been enjoying recapping LOST this year. While you all may not be as enthralled as me, it's been fun to try different ways of doing it. A good writing exercise for me. As far as actual reviews, I'm not doing a good job of reviewing more than books. I want to really put the So Cal Lit Scene feature into high gear and also Elizabeth and I will be reviewing Supernatural soon (better than you think!) I still have a review of Mad Men season one languishing in my drafts folder (it's really long) and a restaurant review that I want to write.

Be more active in promoting literacy. Ugh. I have a few ideas for this, but apart from a few posts, haven't done much.

Pre-schedule as many posts as possible. What can I say? FAIL.

Give my favorite authors and books better airtime.Yeah, not happening. Although, I will be hosting a week for Julie Lessman soon.

Still hosting all of my challenges and memes but haven't started the movie challenge, yet. I think I'll launch it at the end of the TV season again.

BBAW '09? I'm so behind on this I want to scream. I started out strong, but got a huge new assignment at work that cut my blogging time in half. (um, yeah, don't tell anyone) I plan to start setting aside time each day to work on it.

I also had goals for my other two blogs..and I'm failing on all accounts there. I have so much work to do on the Friendly Book Nook, that I just keep letting it pile up. I've also added a few things, like the So Cal Lit Scene and the Book Blog Social Club that need work. I'm the sort of girl that over commits...what can I say?

Reading Review
The best books I've read so far this year.
5 star books
A Reliable Wife
The Echo Within
The Passion of Mary Margaret
Undercover
The Reader

4.75 Stars
The Hunger Games
The Unlikely Disciple
Tender Grace

4.5 Stars
Secret Keeper
Winter in Madrid
Trail of Crumbs


Challenges Update
Rather than talk about how I'm failing most challenges, I'll just say that I've read 2 for the LOST books challenge, 3 for Buy One Book and Read It, 2 for the chunkster, 1 for the War Through the Generations, and none for the rest of them. Big huge sigh. :)

How about you? Are you keeping up with your blogging goals and resolutions? If you don't blog, are you keeping up with your New Year's Resolutions? Do we have any of the best books of the year so far in common?