My latest Reading and Book Blogging Goals and challenges for 2022
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My Book blog now in December 2021 is one and a half years old. And my book blogging and the reading journey have been delightful, enlightening, and thoroughly enjoyable so far. I had not created this post last year, because frankly there wasn’t much to discuss or show in less than a few months.
But from now on every year I’m going to create this post, baring all, I plan and envision for my books and blog in the hope that maybe it might help at least one of you. And I also have a personal motive, which is when I lay out in the open here, I will be more motivated to achieve my targets and positively thrilled if I surpass them.
There was a fair share of ups and downs on the way, but hey everyone has those don’t they? The important thing is to keep going. Isn’t it?
So let me take you through this journey starting from January 2021 specifically. I started my year with the first paid review assignment for my blog and there was no looking back since then.
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Current statistics and facts - 2021
Reading Statistics 2021
Goodreads Goal
I started with the same goal as my previous year (2020) of 50 books. So about a book a week. But gladly in May, I surpassed that goal and then upgraded my reading goal to an ambitious 100 books.
Books Read

Pages Read

Book Read by Publishing Year

Also adding some stats from Storygraph

Mood of the books read

Pace

Number of Pages

Genres Read

Star ratings Awarded
Well, I’m happy to announce I accomplished that and finished a total of 126 books in 2021.
Here’s my post highlighting every book I read in 2021.
And here’s the post of my 5-star reads of 2021.
Read Something Each Month
I started with a goal to read a few pages every day of every week even if it’s just 5. But gradually as my reading pace picked up I was able to properly plan my reading. And in time managed to read at least 2 books a week, sometimes even 3 if they were short ones.
Book Blogging Statistics 2021
Pageviews – 36671
Users – 22633

Top 3 countries for blog visitors
- India
- United States
- United Kingdom
Top Channels

Top Sources or Medium

Most viewed top 5 pages
- Kindle-unlimited-in-India-everything-you-need-to-know
- Best-new-releases-of-2021-by-indian-authors
- 10-free-personal-development-and-self-help-books-on-the-kindle-unlimited-you-must-get-today
- 9-books-if-you-liked-ikigai
- 26-quotes-about-death-from-books
Other things I did for my blog and reading in 2021
Sort Out My TBR
I had about 100 books on my shelves at the beginning of the year. The first thing I did was go shopping for all the best books of 2020 and from then I shopped for books almost every month.
I also tried a few subscriptions boxes but soon realized that bookish accessories and fluff are not something I’m very keen on. Although I love my bookish candles. So instead I decided I’d shop only for books directly.
And through the Instagram community, I discovered so many independent booksellers in and around India and Pune and a great library too.
Post at Least Once a Week
For my blog initially, I decided to post a review a week. But since I was working only part-time I could squeeze in more reading and could read two books a week and so progressed to two review posts for the blog. But then a couple of months into 2021 I decided I also needed book lists for my readers. There isn’t much fun in just reviews so book lists and how-to guides became my additional posts every week.
But I may not be able to keep up this pace in 2022 as I am moving to full-time work at the workplace.
My Google rankings stagnated owing to Core Web Vitals and Page speed problems so October was the month I hired help to work on my overall blogs speed.
Start a Bookstagram
I did start my bookstagram handle @mrusbooksnreviews and in months was thrilled to get 1000 followers. So I moved on to creating a Twitter and Pinterest handle as well but did not see much success on those by the end of the year.
So that was all about 2021. But things are now much clearer for me in 2021. And I have some great posts (lists) planned (at least 52) and an Indian reading challenge.
New Book Blogging Goals for 2022
Reading Goals for 2022

Read 100 Books again
Maybe, maybe not. Not sure right now. Like I mentioned before I will be starting full-time work from the second quarter of the year so I may not be able to devote as much time to my reading.
So frankly I’ll start with 52 books for the year as my goal, we can always crank it up, right?
Read more books outside of my comfort zone
Yes, definitely. I keep reading thrillers and classics most of the time. So this year I am going to read more literary fiction. More books from Indian writers and yes more books from diverse authors and different countries. China, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, and so on.
I also want to read some award-winning books and listen to audiobooks more often.
Read Books I Own/ Read from my Shelves
As far as possible, I plan to read from my shelves. Fortunately to aid my read diversely goal and out of my comfort zone challenge, I have bought enough and more books in 2021. So I'll just browse through my shelves and Kindle Library whenever I want to pick a book next.
Buy Less
Yes, to continue the earlier point I will read from my shelves. I won’t promise a book buying ban because you and I know very well, it’s not gonna happen. So the important word here is less. Buy less. That’s my mantra for 2022.
Read from E-Books bought or downloaded
I just published a post in 2021 featuring 100 titles on Kindle Unlimited that are highly rated and reviewed, ranging in almost every genre, including contemporary. I am going to scrape that collection every time I feel like I need a new book.
Listen to audiobooks
Audiobooks are my new favorite. Especially for thrillers and memoirs. Hearing the voice of the person who wrote the book is such a magical feeling, that I discovered only in 2021. And I have so many memoirs running through my head right now that I want to listen to on audio. Will Smith, Trevor Noah, David Goggins, etc.
Use the Library
If I still have a craving for new books in paperback/hardback. I am going to put my library membership to use. Read and Brew get the latest titles to their store. And at any given time I can borrow 5 books from them. So I am settled on that score without adding a burden on my shelves. This gem of a library was another 2021 find for me.
Continue reading diversely
Yes, more specifically – different genres. Different countries. New authors. Translated fiction. Women authors. Authors from different ethnic backgrounds. LGBT authors and so on.
Continue taking part in reading challenges and readathons and buddy reads
I love, love participating in these. For now, I’m sticking to Uncorked Reading Challenge. BookList Queen’s Challenge and adding Booktube Queen Kayla’s Buzzword reading challenge to the list.
Continue participating in Blog Tours, but reduce the number of Blog Tours
I read some awesome ARCs last year – some YA mysteries, some Rom-Coms, and even participated in some feature events and cover reveals. I want to continue to do that this year as well but to a limited amount. Because honestly I already have such great content planned for you, for the blog already that I don’t have space for much else.
Read One Nonfiction Book Every Month
I had put up this challenge for last year as well and I did read a good amount of non-fiction books. So I want to continue reading this genre. I want to do this because as much as reading fiction is for fun and entertainment and sometimes food for thought. Reading non-fiction is essential to improving on self.
One of the things I look forward to working on in 2022 is my writing skills, specifically blogging skills. Also, I want to work on my productivity and time management. So do hang around to check what books I pick and learn from.
Read NetGalley ARCs every month and get the next badge
I was super-duper thrilled to get the top reviewer badged from NetGalley. Although honestly only after I received it did I check what it meant?
It meant at least three of my reviews were selected by the author/publisher to be featured on the book cover and website. Yay!!!
Now this year I would be thrilled to get my 25 reviews badge and some more batches. Yay. And look forward to reading some great new books.
Participate in Buddy Reads
That’s something I want to do on Instagram. Last year I discovered some gems like Kim Ji Young through buddy reads. And also read some mysteries with my booksta pals and it was exciting and fun, to say the least. So I plan to continue doing the same this year.
Read at least 5 Days/Week
This is a given I want to read every day. But as much as I want it’s not always possible. So at least 5 days a week that’s the target and at least for an hour a day. Most probably before I sleep, because that’s the only real me time I get in the day. Or maybe I’ll catch up on weekends.
And to do this I plan to use a reading tracker this year. Just to log in and see if I read every day. Or maybe I’ll also put in the number of pages read. Let’s see.
Read 100 Books Based in India or Written by Indian Authors
Ah yes. Reading 100 Books Based in India or Written by Indian Authors is my major project for the year.
I’ve identified 100 good books either written by Indian authors or based on India that I want to read over some time. Not just 2022, but maybe in the next five years.
I’m going to put up that list for all to see some time in February and I will add short reviews of the books I’ve already read of that list in that post. Of course, over the years the list might grow from 100 to say maybe 150 or 500, based on new releases and new books published every year. That’s okay. But I want to commit to it.
One because being an Indian I want to promote these books through my reading journey. And second, because of some of these books that I’ve already read, I have loved immensely and some not so much. So I want to find all the hidden gems and treasures of my country and bring them to you for your enjoyment.
Book Blogging Goals for 2022

Do More Blog Hopping and interact more with other bloggers
For the first year of my book blogging journey, I was completely focused on my blog, my content, my books, stats, analysis, and so on. But I’ve realized that getting feedback, sharing common likes and dislikes, or just simply saying hi goes a long way in networking with a community. And book bloggers are a lovely community.
My first interactions were with stalwarts in the blogosphere like Rachael from Booklistqueen and Christine from UncorkedLibrarian. And unfortuntely it was for technical problems with my blog. And they did reach back to me and helped me out. Without having ever interacted with me before.
I was pleasantly surprised, so glad I had a dependable set of people to help me out, and beyond grateful that they wholeheartedly helped a newbie like me. So I decided I would do the same and give back to the community and interact in whatever way possible for me.
Plan blog posts/write in advance
I had done this last year as well. But this year I have my content calendar ready right in January and feel proud of that. I have even outlined the posts of my first quarter and have a clear idea as to how I want them to grow and develop. It’s just going to be a matter of filling in the details.
I want to continue doing this for every quarter of this year so by the end of the third quarter I want to start working on my content for 2023. That’s how organized I want to be. Fingers crossed.
Also for my writing every day, I want to write at least 5 days a week, 500 words a day. I think it’s achievable without being too stressful.
Blog Traffic
You’ve already gone through last year’s numbers. To better those this year I want to work on three things, in no particular order -
- Long-form content
- Keyword research.
Maybe, hit 50000 page views by the end of the year. Again fingers crossed.
Increase blog followers
Hit a substantial number of email subscribers, hopefully.
Interact with more publishing houses and authors
Since my blog numbers and Instagram and Twitter followers look pretty decent now, I hope to interact directly with publishers and request physical copies of books I would love to read.
Wish me luck!
Start doing mini-reviews?
Maybe, not sure. You let me know more about this. What kind of content would you like to see?
Post at least twice a week
Earlier I posted thrice sometimes even four times a week. And one point I felt burnt out, exhausted. But to root me in the blogosphere I think it was necessary. But now since I have decided to concentrate my focus and my attention to SEO and long-form content, I think twice a week should be perfect. So expect fewer posts but more quality and in-depth content based on what you the readers want, good research and first-hand knowledge.
Social Media Goals for 2022
Reach 1500 followers on Twitter
I am Currently around 700 ish.
Reach 3000 followers on Instagram
I am currently on 2k.
Get more active on Pinterest and get 200 followers maybe and 100k page views per month.
Currently have 130 followers and 60k pageviews.

Conclusion
That’s it. That sums up my vision and expectations for 2022. It should be obvious to you that I have been modest about my goals for 2022 and very realistic. I’m not expecting magic. But I don’t underestimate my hard work either. I’m pretty proud of what I’ve accomplished so far, and the numbers all inspire and motivate me further to do better and do more.
I am passionate about my reading and my books. And I would love it if even one of you was influenced by this passion enough to read a book I recommended and remember me for that. That’s all I aspire to.
If anyone feels like reaching out to me, send me an email or message me on Instagram. Love always.
Happy 2022. Stay Tuned and keep reading!
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