I’m Back! Hiatus Updates and Plans for 2023

Hi everyone!

Gosh, it’s been ages since I wrote here. I realise that I never properly announced that I would be taking a break except for maybe a post on Twitter but the last few months were extremely hectic for me. I knew there was no way I could write and check in with you all so I decided to take a break. It was so strange because I wasn’t writing but I was also away from bookstagram and book twitter for the most part. Honestly felt like a part of me was missing which is why I’m so excited to be back!

To start things with, I thought I should give you guys some updates. Some of you might know that I’ve been applying for grad schools abroad. I am not at all joking when I say this process took over my whole life. I spent the past six months working on my applications and I’m so freaking happy to tell you all that I’m done with most of them. They’ve been sent off into the universe and it’s all a waiting game now. My days were so exhausting and filled with application processes that once I was done I really didn’t know what to do. Like how do you relax and spend time again?? It was kind of freaky.

And of course, I was still dealing with my coursework so my reading took a back seat too. Things have been just tiring for me since maybe this summer. I was dealing with a lot of anxiety, more so than I usually do and I did end up finding some help (after some unsuccessful attempts) which is honestly how I made it through the past couple of months. Lately, I’ve also been dealing with loss. A loved one passed away and I’m honestly still dealing with that and processing everything.

So yeah, you can say it has been a whirlwind.

I also feel so disconnected from social media. I mean, book twitter might still be fine but I don’t know if I’ll truly ever be active on bookstagram as I used to be. These past few months made me realise that there might never be quiet and huge chunks of breaks in my life like I used to have for me to give the amount of energy and time I was giving to Instagram. And honestly, with the everchanging soul-sucking algorithms and low reach, I really don’t want to put in the effort. I feel like barely anyone I used to engage with is on there anymore and I don’t want to chase the idea of the book influencer I used to be. I don’t want to be on bookstagram just because it feels nostalgic. So like I might post once in a while? Maybe make it more personal because I like to keep in touch with my bookish friends. Not sure yet.

I’ve also started growing tired of tracking my reading so intensively. The pressure of reading books and reviewing them has been making me not pick them up which is truly a shame. In 2023 I intend on working on this. I’ll try my best to find ways in which reading still gives me joy. As it is I accept very few arc requests and make my own requests even fewer. I’ve also stopped actively tracking upcoming releases and will continue to do so because it’s extremely exhausting and only adds to my anxiety of never being able to get to those books.

So yeah, those have been some updates and my thoughts on reading. I will be coming back to blogging and posting maybe once a week, or maybe less, depending on when the inspiration strikes. Either way, I want to dive into 2023 and be more spontaneous. Speaking of, let’s talk about some of my 2023 goals 🙂

My Goals for 2023

I’ve never actively set out goals for the year but this time I want to. These might not be things that I can actively tick off but hopefully I can reflect on them from time to time.

• Read for yourself

• You don’t need to maintain a presence on social media

• Write a review for every book, even if it’s just two lines long

• Write without the fear of maintaining or breaking a blogging schedule

But other than these I do have some concrete goals and challenges as well!

I will be setting my Goodreads goal to 50 books for 2023. It seems very achievable and I’ll lower it further if needed.

I’ll be doing the Beat the Backlist 2023 challenge as well. I usually get myself a list and bingo of all the 52 prompts and try seeing how many I can knock off. That way there’s no pressure of completing certain prompts but I can still have fun. If you want to know how many prompts I crossed off in 2022 you’ll have to keep an eye out for my wrap-up post.

And lastly, I’ll be doing the 12 friends challenge once again! Did I complete the previous one, you ask? Well, I’m not telling you yet, there are still a few days left… But anyway, here’s what my recommendations look like.

I’m not going to be any five-star predictions this time around partly because I’ve realised my book ratings are all over the place lately which I don’t mind at all but it certainly makes it hard to predict which books I’ll fall in love with. And partly because I never get around to them. It’s like all books on my prediction list vanish from existence for me.

But yeah, that’s the plan for 2023 and I’m extremely excited to start a new year and a new reading tracker and get to read more lovely books 🙂 I hope you all are having a good holiday season. Merry Christmas if you celebrate and a very Happy New Year to you all!

What are your reading and writing plans for the next year?

Are you planning on participating in any reading challenges?

And lastly, let me know if I’ve missed anything exciting or a post that you wrote that you’re proud of. I would love to catch up 🙂

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