The 'Take Control Of Your TBR Pile' Challenge (March 2015) Goals & Readathon Sign-Up Post.

This post is really just serving as a reminder that I am taking part in this challenge this month and I am really looking forward to it! My goal for this month is obviously to get through the seven books that I have posted for this month's Planned Reads post, which would mean seven entries into the giveaway at the end of the month. Of course I would love to do more, and I have a few books lined up in case that happens. I won't give those away just yet though, because I don't want to put too much pressure on myself!

Another quick note, for those wanting to take part in something like this but can't see themselves committing to a full month (those people that have a ton of arcs to get through for example) why not take part in the Readathon instead?

It gives you the chance to catch up on one, maybe even a couple of those books that have been sitting on the shelf for some time. I'll be taking part (as part of the Challenge) and it looks like a lot of fun with prizes to be won!

I'll let you guys know how it goes!

Top Ten Tuesday: My picks for 'Goals/Resolutions for 2015'.

I can tell already that this topic will either be super easy or very difficult. I've never been good at New Year's Resolutions or keeping them, but there are a few that concern this blog or my reading habits that I would really like to stick to this year.

1) Don't pressure myself. Since I have moved to London, my reading pace has dramatically lessened. I've gone from reading a good 6 books a month down to 4 at the most. This was a big shock to me at first and I kept trying to force myself to spend every moment of my spare time reading, at the cost of being social, getting other things done, or even sleeping. Mat (my lovely boyfriend) has told me that I simply need to stop pressuring myself to get so much done, as working five days a week will affect my schedule. Next year I'll try to relax.

2) Don't let challenges rule my reading schedule. I didn't exactly get heavily involved in challenges last year but I kept forgetting that they were a fun little extra task and stressing out if I thought I might not complete them. I'm worried that if I keep pushing myself to read like this, it will no longer be fun and become a source of stress. That is something I do not want. It doesn't mean I won't be taking part in challenges, I just won't let them take over.

3) Make this blog more interesting. Of late, I have begun to feel like this blog is getting a little repetitive. That is to say, I post the same things every week! I would love this year to find new ways that will mean more interesting posts and ensuing discussions.

4) Catch up with my Netgalley reads/First Reads wins. I am so behind with these reads and I really ought to catch up with those that I have been approved to read. I'm pretty impressed with the number that I have been given actually, and it has all become a bit overwhelming. The same goes for all the books I have won in Goodreads 'First Reads' contests because I'm very behind on those too. 2015 will be a year of catching up, I think! 

5) Sort out my TBR list on Goodreads. Okay so I have too many books on that list. I don't even know what half of them are, nor do I remember putting them there. I really ought to sort them into levels of how badly I want to read them too, because the volume of books is getting far too many for me to even contemplate!

6) Finish the many series that I have been promising I would all year. You all know the series that I mean. The 'Daughter Of Smoke & Bone' Trilogy? 'The Hunger Games' Trilogy? What about 'The Lunar Chronicles'? Not to mention 'The Grisha' Trilogy. There are just so many series that I start with good intentions and never finish. If 2015 is a year for catching up then I need to read these.

7) Really get into all the writing I have been planning on doing. Along side this blog, reading and working I have in fact been trying (rather unsuccessfully) to sort out my life and kick off my writing career. I really think it's high time I got into it and tried to write my first book. If I don't I just know I will become caught in the routine I have built so far, which is work, then eat, then sleep. I think it's time to step into the world of Adulthood.

8) Organise my time more efficiently. I am not very good at this it would seem, but I think I need to actually make myself some sort of rough timetable in order to get things done and still have time for fun! I generally need to become more organised as a person I think, because it's my constant procrastination that causes problems.

9) Do more things with my Friends/Family/Mat. This isn't so blog related, but since moving to London I don't feel like I have done all of the things I would have liked to. This is mostly because of laziness and the lack of time. If I manage to achieve number 8 however, then I will have more on my hands and I can find time to do things with the people I love.

10) Try to be more sensible about buying books. Actually during more recent months I have been pretty good at this one. My goal is to keep it up because there isn't enough room for hundreds pf books and I should really only buy the ones that I really want.

Daily Shenanigans, 09/02/2014: Patriotic and proud!

Well considering it has been my day off, and Sunday is normally 'laze around and get nothing done' day, I have been ridiculously productive. And a fair bit has happened. So, first off, I posted earlier about all the challenges I am going to be taking part in over the course of this year (so far, obviously I may add to this) and you can read about that there, so I won't ramble too much now. All I can say is that I am very excited about every single one. I feel like setting myself these will not only give me more focus and direction with this blog, but will help me to integrate myself into the blogging universe a bit more and meet like-minded people! What could be better? I feel a little more like my life is coming together the way I want it to and that makes me happy. My boyfriend read my blog for the first time last night and I could honestly cry because he told me that he was proud of me, and that was so nice to hear. This might sound a bit cheesy, but more than anything, it is wonderful to know that someone is so supportive of my decision to give up time to really focus on doing this in order to better pursue my rapidly changing life goals.

As well as this, you remember that end of year project for Uni I talked about? My multimedia final piece? Well as I type, my arty friend has just messaged me and told me she's doing the first couple of sketches right now. They're only pencil drafts at the moment but it has just filled me with fresh excitement about this whole thing! I cannot wait to have this show, my show, up and running and ready to perform to all of my friends and family. Who knows what could arise from it? Sometimes I worry about not being able to see what the future holds, and how scary it looks to not have anything to hide behind anymore. But at times like this, I feel like the world is literally at my fingertips and actually, my future will be what I make it. So I'd better get cracking!

As for the rest of my day, I have been mostly working on my blog and Goodreads. I did watch Top Gear (I love this show) and I won't say much but I have to say how happy I was that Tom Hiddleston was driving the Reasonably Priced Car! Most of my TV watching today however was taken up by the current Winter Olympics. As a British Citizen I am proud to announce that Jenny Jones, Snowboarder won Britain it's very first ever Winter Olympic medal on snow! How cool is that? A remnant of London 2012 Olympic spirit perhaps? A sporty person I really am not. But I am rather patriotic so I had a bit of an excited dance over that news. Well done Jenny Jones! Really I should be off to bed now because I have to get up early tomorrow (6:15am, why?!) and I've got a very busy day. Just one more note, before I end this post: I am wearing socks with foxes on them. I don't think I can begin to describe how happy this makes me.