Blogging & Reading Goals for 2021

I’m linking up with Top Ten Tuesday. Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out upcoming Top Ten themes on Jana’s blog!


When I started writing this post, I realized that I had not done a “resolutions” post since 2018! I guess I gave up when I failed miserably with my goals that year. But I feel like 2021 is a good year to bring back some type of formal goals in my reading and blogging, so here we are. I’m keeping things fairly simple this year. I’m not joining any reading challenges, because I simply forget about them a few months into the year and then feel really bad about it.

This year I want to focus on keeping up with my review pile as much as possible, but I’m also determined to read some backlist books and catch up with some 2020 titles that I missed.

Reading goals:

1. Goodreads:

Last year I set my goal at 85 books and ended up reading 93, so this year I’m pushing myself a little and setting my goal at 95 books. I think that’s completely doable for me, and I may even try to stretch to 100 books. I know this is a pretty low goal compared to some bloggers, but I’m just not that fast of a reader!

2. Read at least 10 “new to me” authors:

I always end up reading quite a few new to me authors anyway, but this year I have some specific goals in mind. Here are two women authors that I definitely want to cross off the list, and in fact I’ve chosen specific books of theirs that I want to read:

FONDA LEE: Yes, I SWEAR I will read Jade City and Jade War before the September release of the final book, Jade Legacy. I have nine months to fit these two books in, and I would be a sad blogger indeed if I couldn’t manage that goal.

MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL: Kowal has two series I’m dying to get to, and both the Lady Astronaut and Glamourist Histories series have been highly recommended to me by several bloggers I follow (you know who you are!). I’m planning on buying Shades of Milk and Honey with some Christmas money, and if I love it, I’ll buy the rest of the series too. I already own The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky, so really there’s no excuse not to read them.

3. Catch up on 2020 ARCs:

OK, so I have way more than four ARCs to catch up with, but these four are the ones I really want to try to read this year. Lobizona has a sequel coming out this year, I’ve heard so many good things about These Violent Delights, I just want to experience it for myself; same with Unconquerable Sun, plus Kate Elliott would also qualify as a “new to me” author; and I’m sick that I never got to The Doors of Eden, so I’m going to try very hard to read it!

Blogging goals:

Day to day blogging schedule: I already have a good blogging schedule set, and I don’t intend to change it this year. I work best when I can schedule posts ahead of time, so I try to write up posts and reviews the week before I post them. My current schedule is:

Mondays and Thursdays: Reviews

Tuesdays: Top Ten Tuesday when I like the theme, or leave open for author interviews/events, or simply skip this day.

Wednesdays: Future Fiction

Fridays: The Friday Face-Off

Saturdays: the occasional review and book haul posts (usually only once or twice a month), otherwise I skip Saturday posting.

Sundays: Buffy’s Corner/Weekly wrap up

Blog design revamp: I had actually intended to redo the blog design in time for the new year, but it just didn’t happen. I get tired of my blog design every few years and it doesn’t hurt to do a refresh now and then. So, sometime in 2021 I expect I will make time for this!


And that’s it. My blogging theme for 2021 is “Steady as she goes.” I just want to keep on going, continue to find and read amazing SFF books, keep up my blog hopping and discover new blogs. No drastic changes or goals this year, which means that overall I’m very happy with my blogging and reading. Which is a good thing!

Let me know if you have any goals this year!

Posted January 12, 2021 by Tammy in Top Ten Tuesday / 73 Comments

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73 responses to “Blogging & Reading Goals for 2021

  1. 95 books is still a lot of books! 😀
    I really want to read Jade City as well, I don’t think I will be able to read the entire trilogy but I want to at least start the series! I also want to read The Calculating Stars but I’m nto sure I’ll get to it this year!
    Unconquerable Sun was very good and I’m lloking forward to the sequel, hopefully it will come out in 2021 when the first book is still fresh in my mind. 🙂
    Maryam recently posted…24 Books I Want to Read in 2021My Profile

  2. Kowal’s Glamourist series is on my list to read this year, too:)). I think leaving everything nice and relaxed this year is a sensible strategy – right now this year is just as bad, if not worse, than 2020 so far… No point in putting any pressure on yourself! I am always a bit awed at folks who regularly change up their blog furniture and I look forward to your blog makeover, Tammy. Mine is exactly the same as the day I posted my first article waaay back in 2009:)). Except for the steady growth of my own book titles down the right-hand column of course!

  3. Keeping it simple, I like it. I haven’t thought through many goals this year, other than slightly upping the number of books I’m trying to read. I think you’ll enjoy Kowal. I read Shades of Milk and Honey, and though I wasn’t all that into the regency romance aspect I did really enjoy the writing. I’ve heard one of the latter books is more a heist novel so I may try that eventually. I haven’t started the Lady Astronaut stories though I did thoroughly enjoy a short story in that series. I’ve also been thinking about a website/blog design change for a while now, just haven’t taken the time to explore it yet. I’m onboard with this year’s these: Steady as she goes! 🙂

    • Tammy

      It just doesn’t feel like the right year to make big changes, you know? I just want to get my vaccine and eventually move on with life:-)

  4. I’m trying to keep it simple this year. While I still have a few 2020 releases to read, I pretty much wiped the slate clean at the end of the year – I don’t need that pressure going into the new year. This year I want to be more selective with my ARC requests so I can read more from my shelves.

  5. I have the same problem with reading challenges. I join them with the best of intentions, but they inevitably end up falling to the wayside and then I feel bad about it. xD Catching up on ARCs is something I need to do myself, especially since there are so many ones I was looking forward to at the end of 2020 that life just swatted to the side.

    Oooh, a blog design revamp is always exciting! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. 🙂 Here’s to hoping 2021 is everything 2020 wasn’t.
    Sammie @ The Bookwyrm’s Den recently posted…2021 Bookish Resolutions (Ft. Me Being Wildly Optimistic)My Profile

    • Tammy

      Yes, I want to have high hopes for 2021 but I’m going to be a little conservative, just in case things don’t go well.. Well that was depressing, sorry!

  6. I enjoyed Shades of Milk and Honey and hope you will too. I haven’t read any farther in the series yet. I like to change up my blog look every now and then too. I think the one I have now is the longest I’ve gone without changes . I think it may be time. I wish you luck with your goals! Simple is good.

    • Tammy

      Yes, I think simplicity is the way to go this year, especially since so many other things in life are up in the air.

  7. Great goals! I’m going to be pretty laid back this year, but I usually end up reading plenty of new authors and hitting my goodreads challenge. What I really need to work on is catching up with 2020 ARCs before they fall by the wayside!

  8. I think these are fantastic goals, Tammy! I hope you get to check out Kowal’s work–I really enjoy it. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first Glamourist History book but the rest of the series is great! I HIGHLY recommend The Calculating Stars. Good luck with your goals!

  9. Holding steady is what I’m going for, too, although I would be better off if I were more organized with blogging than I am. I used to make resolutions and sign up for challenges, but it got depressing to fail at them so badly! Looks like you’re off to a good start for 2021!

  10. It’s very important that you are happy with your blogging and reading and at your own pace, and I’m totally rooting for you, Tammy! 😀

  11. Good luck with your goals!! I have Kowal on my TBR too, and I really hope to read those books! To be honest, I am not so sure about the Lady Astronaut series, but I am so so curious about Glamourist Histories! Let’s hope we would love them!!!

  12. That’s a whole lot you read last year!
    Keeping the goals simple is the best way. Good luck on your blogging and reading this year!

  13. You absolutely smashed your reading last year. I wound up being short and only read 98 (boo) my final two books that I was hoping to complete fell by the wayside due to too many other things going on.
    I hope to do better this year but also I’m going to try and be chilled out about it.
    I think you will make the 100 😀
    I must pay more attention to some of the arcs I didn’t manage to get to due to covid brain.
    Lynn 😀

  14. Sounds like a solid plan – I’m always impressed by your consistency, so best wishes for 2021 (and I look forward to the redesign – I’ve been wondering about one myself, although I might limit it to fresh fonts and getting my head around the new WP editor 😉

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