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August 2017 Reflection



Can you believe August is already over? I don't know about you, but this month has felt like it never even begun — and yet, somehow, it's over. Wow. But you know what that means, right? You guessed it: another monthly reflection! Basically, my monthly reflections are a way for me to to reflect on what happened for the bookstagram and blog in the past month, allowing me to more easily improve within the next month and giving you guys a wrap-up of what happened. I also write about my goals and plans for the next month, keeping myself on track and giving you all a sneak peek of what's to come! With that, let's begin! (You can look at past monthly reflections here.)

Looking Back Into August

The Blog

Unfortunately, the blog did a bit worse in August by only 4 pageviews, or 1.6%. So, you could say that the blog did around the same, that pageviews were pretty consistent and that they're fairly steady, which would be a good thing. I also published a post on every publishing day this month, which definitely is good!

Bookstagram

It suffered. Again. I didn't even post anything and we didn't even take pictures, so I think I'll just skip over this... Oh, wait. Right. I think we lost around 50 followers and our status of 1.6k, ending at 1,594 followers.

I completely forgot that I posted on our bookstagram. Wow. I think that just says something about how out of bookstagram I've been. So I suppose that's improvement... But we did lose around 50 followers. That part is true.

Goals

I think I said I was going to remember my goals for this month, but I honestly only remember one.


  1. I actually did this one. (I also lied — I remember two goals.) While I had started to have some sort of theme for my blog graphics/blog title images/whatever you want to call them, I wasn't too fond of it. I was usually just using a circle that that was the same color of yellow as in the blog design. But I thought that matched too much. So I made a sort of white, transparent theme instead. I originally was going to do a black transparent theme, but that's what I used to do, so I decided that white was going to be my "color." Besides, it makes it more airy and clean.
  2. Are you kidding me? No, I didn't even post once on bookstagram. 
  3. Yes, I did post more book reviews this month. In fact, I posted three book reviews this month, which is great improvement considering I haven't posted one since last November! I also somehow managed to do it despite the fact that I haven't been reading as often lately due to a reading slump... I suppose that's because I read one of the books a long time ago and the other two I read prior to my reading slump. 

Comparison — August 2016 vs. August 2017

I actually forgot to do this in July's monthly reflection, but not this time! It looks like the blog had the old gray/purple/blue theme, and if you don't remember that theme then consider yourself lucky. But, while the blog was doing worse than it is now, our bookstagram was actually doing shockingly well. That's when we started to post better pictures, and we actually got featured on several bookstagram feature accounts, including @bookstagramfeatures

Coming Up in September

The Blog

I'm sorry to say that I have no idea what I'll be doing with the blog this month. I don't really have any posts planned (which means I'm in trouble for Monday's post), and I'm still not sure if I'll continue my summer schedule of a post on both Monday and Friday. I think I'll make that decision soon, once I can see how school's going in the beginning. I do know that I will switch to my other posting schedule — posting on every Monday and the first Friday of the month (for monthly reflections) — at some point during the school year.

Bookstagram

When I say that Em and I will try to post, I really mean it. Fall is one of our favorite picture-taking seasons, and if I had to be honest with you, I would tell you that my favorite time for our bookstagram feed was during the fall when we were able to get some really nice outdoor photos. 

Goals



  1. Post regularly on bookstagram. I am making this goal #1 because I really want it to happen. We have been inactive on bookstagram way too long, and I'm starting to miss it.
  2. Draft some posts to put in stock. This goal is less of something that you guys will be able to see and more of a goal for myself. As I told you earlier, I don't have anything planned or written for September, and I would like to get back to having at least a post or two written a week early. You will be able to see the results, however, in the way that my posts won't be as rushed. (That is, if I complete this goal...)
  3. Find and read other book blogs. This one's even more of a personal goal, but I feel like if I read other people's book blogs, I can get an idea of what people typically write about, not only giving me more post ideas but also (hopefully) making my content more enjoyable for all of you! (Psst... If you have a book blog, feel free to leave a link to it in the comments!)



And with that, I'm wrapping up this monthly reflection! Things haven't been the best in August, especially for the bookstagram, but there have been successes as well. I'm looking forward to another month on the blog where I can hopefully stay active despite school. I'm also looking forward to joining the bookstagram community again! I think September will be fun. But who knows? I guess we'll know next monthly reflection, but until then, keep on reading, everyone!


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This Month's Popular Posts

Quotes: The Nightingale

I realized that, over a year ago, I wrote a post called "Quotes: Audacity" , and that this post did really well (it's actually Reading is Inevitable's most read post!), and yet I never wrote another post of quotes from a book. I liked writing that post, too. I like sharing quotes I like from books. That's why I started doing it on our bookstagram page . So why did I never write another one of these "quote blog posts"? I don't know. But I intend to write at least another one. And that's why I'm here today. Well, there's that, and then there's also the amazing book that is The Nightingale.  If you've read some of my recent blog posts or have poked around a bit, you would know that exactly a month ago I published my book review on The Nightingale , in which I explained my love for it and why you should read it yourself. And while I actually have another post in the works on that book because it definitely deserves more than on...

August 2016 Reflection

Since the last day of August was this past Wednesday, that means that we are due for a monthly reflection! If you already know the drill, you can skip the following paragraph and move on, but if you don't know it or want a refresher, then go on a head. In these monthly reflections, I look back on the month for our blog, Reading is Inevitable, and our bookstagram (book + Instagram), @readingisinevitable . I also review the goals I had made the previous month. Then I write about what this month will be like for the blog and Instagram, as well as some goals for the upcoming month. The reason why I do these monthly reflections is so that I can see our growth and progress, and see what's working and what's not working. In these reflections, I make changes according to this. You, as a reader, can also see our growth, and get a sneak peek at what is to come. With that, I hope you enjoy this monthly reflection. I believe that August was a very good month for Reading is Inev...

Quotes: Audacity

As some of you may know by looking at my posts on our social media page (@readingisinevitable on Instagram), I am currently reading Audacity by Melanie Crowder. It is a beautiful book written in free verse, and follows the life of Clara Lemlich, a female Jewish immigrant who came to America in the early 1900s. (For the full summary of the book, click here .) I absolutely love books written in free verse, or any type of poetry, in fact! This book is so lovely that I have decided to dedicate a whole post to some of my favorite quotes or parts! (Note: I am only on page 294, and there are 366 pages, not including the extra content at the end of my local library's copy.)

Movie Adaptations: The Light Between Oceans

On September 2nd, The Light Between Oceans started to be shown in movie theaters. I saw it the same day, a handful of months after reading and falling in love with the novel by M. L. Steadman in which the movie was based on. I think that the movie was a very good adaptation of the book. Sure, there were a few things that were changed, but I feel like not too much was lost in the movie.