June 2014 summary

Back at the beginning of the new year, I listed my 2014 reading and blogging goals. I plan to post monthly updates on my goals as one of my Saturday Conversation posts near the end/beginning of each month.

1. GoodReads Reading Challenge… 100 Books.
   In June 2014 I finished 12 books:
   Book #44: Catch a Ghost by S.E. Jakes (June 2, 2014)
   Book #45: Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (June 3, 2014) – Audiobook
   Book #46: Awakened by Virna DePaul (June 8, 2014)
   Book #47: Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews (June 12, 2014) – Audiobook
   Book #48: Azagoth by Larissa Ione (June 15, 2014)
   Book #49: Long Time Gone by S.E. Jakes (June 17, 2014)
   Book #50: Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews (June 19, 2014) – Audiobook
   Book #51: Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (June 21, 2014) – Audiobook
   Book #52: Over Exposure by Stephanie Julian (June 24, 2014)
   Book #53: By the Sea by Katherine McIntyre (June 25, 2014)
   Book #54: Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews (June 28, 2014) – Audiobook
   Book #55: Gunmetal Magic by Ilona Andrews (June 29, 2014) – Audiobook
   As you can see, in June I started listening to audiobooks! This is new for me. I am doing a “re-read” of the Kate Daniels series, and I’m loving it so far. I will be posting more about that in July. If I want to finish 100 books by the end of the year, I need to read on average 8.33 books per month, which is 50 books through 6 months. Therefore, at 55 books so far this year, I am right on track!
2. Reading books off of my TRB pile instead of picking up new-to-me authors and series.
   I actually did read a book from my TBR this month! The Hell or High Water series by S.E. Jakes has been on my Kindle since B. reviewed it for the blog. I’m also doing the “re-read” of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews just for fun. This is my favorite UF series, and I’ve been wanting to re-read the series for about a year. I’m glad I’m finally getting to it!
3. Featuring more LGBTQ authors and books on the blog.
   In June 2014, we featured three reviews, one guest post and three blog tours of LGBTQ books.
4. Spending more time reading and less time tweaking the blog.
   Other than working on updating old blog posts as new books were reviewed in the series, I stayed away from any major changes.
5. Opening up Sunday Snippets to authors as a chance to spotlight his/her work.
   This has REALLY taken off! Three of the five Sunday Snippets in June were submitted directly by the authors and/or publicists.
6. Continue Saturday Conversations Posts, but open them up.
   As I wrote in my post dated March 15, 2014, I’m dropping the weekly Saturday Conversations post for now. It’s just not working for me with the time spent on posts versus the readership of the feature. I will continue to post monthly updates, and perhaps in the fall, Saturday Conversations will return for a more regular appearance.

I’ve also been participating in the #BookBlogWalkers challenge hosted by Felicia The Geeky Blogger. I do weekly updates on this goal HERE, but I’ll also do monthly updates with my monthly goal updates.

My goal for June was moving with purpose for 30 minutes for at least 5 days per week with no more than 1 day off per week. I also joined two “fitness challenges” on LoseIt! for June. The first was to track my food and exercise for every day in June. The second was to lose at least 3 pounds during June. Also, I was still part of the challenge I started in May to lose at least 5 pounds before June 21, 2014. 

Overall, my June went well. I had no problems keeping up with my walking challenge. I also continued to track all of the food I consume. I am happy to report that I had a very successful month, and on Thursday June 26, I reached my goal weight!! I got past the plateau and met the goals I set for weight loss.

Coming up for July, I plan to continue my goal to walking/moving 30 minutes/day for a minimum of  five days per week with only one day off per week. I also plan to continue to track my food. I am starting a two-week vacation today – with a two-day drive bookending the trip. It’s going to be a challenge, especially because I love to eat and drink while at the lake over the 4th of July.

So how did YOUR June go? Did you accomplish any goals? Did you set any new ones? 

Thanks for stopping by to chat!