2021 was A Year, for sure, but it was a pretty good year for me blogging-wise. I managed to write at least four reviews every month (except for May, but that was Wyrd & Wonder month when I produced a fair bit of non-review content) which is my baseline goal. I read 220 books!

I kept up my Must-Have Monday series, which I’m absurdly proud of and have a lot of fun doing, and belatedly discovered Can’t-Wait Wednesday, a bandwagon I IMMEDIATELY leapt upon. I wrote myself a new About page, which I much prefer to my old one. And I clawed my way up to a Netgalley feedback ratio in the 90s, and kept it!

As for blog traffic…yeah, no, I try not to look at that. Hits and shares and subscribers – nope. I’m a tiny, super-niche blog and I have made my peace with that. I’m not looking to monetize Every Book a Doorway – I doubt I could if I tried – and I refuse to obsess over my popularity. I’m just gonna keep doing my thing and hope people like it.

So what’s next?

What I’d really like is to hire someone to make the blog pretty, but a) I don’t know where to even begin looking for someone with the necessary skill-sets and b) I’m not going to poke anyone until I’ve saved up a decent amount of money for it.

I’d also really like to FINALLY start blogging about book-specific pop culture magic. I’ve been saying that for a while, though, so don’t hold your breath just yet.

On a totally different note: WE’RE HAVING A THE HOURGLASS THRONE PROMO!!! In 2019, Kathy and I co-ran a promotion for the release of KD Edwards’ second book, The Hanged Man. Well, we’re doing it again for the third book in the series!!!

I say ‘we’ – it’s far from just Kathy and I this time, and every single member of the team has already proven themselves invaluable. First up: the cover reveal for The Hourglass Throne, which will hopefully be taking place later this month, or early February at the latest. Follow the TTSPromo twitter account for updates!!!

If the promo works out like I think it will, it’ll be the focus of my Spring, but it’s going to be so much fun!!!

Bookish Resolutions

My biggest reading fail has been, unequivocally, how few BIPOC authors I read. So I’m making a rule for myself that from now on I need to read at least three books by BIPOC authors a month.

(I know, three is pathetically low. Obviously I’m hoping to do a lot better than that. But there have been months in 2021 where I didn’t even make three, so, baby steps I guess.)

My second bookish resolution is to try and read more Horror. I’ve spent years thinking I can’t handle horror at all, but I’m starting to suspect that’s because I read Billy Martin, aka Poppy Brite, at a formative age. I’ve only been dipping my toe in, in 2021, but it tentatively seems like most horror is nowhere NEAR as scary as Martin’s stuff – and some of it I really enjoy.

Lastly, I do massively approve of Jo of Once Upon a Bookcase‘s resolution to read more books that feel magical;

The sense of wonder, being completely captivated and enchanted and awed, reading books that feel like fairy tales that weave their own special kind of magic. 

I’m definitely going to be giving that a try too. Need to come up with a tag or Goodreads shelf for books that read like that. Suggestions are welcome!

I think that about covers it. May we all have a wonderful 2022!