2016 will go down in the books (Haha!) as the year that I decided to stop watching the book community from the sidelines wishing I was partaking in all of the book discussions, fangirling, reviewing and opened up Lairofbooks…a blog…something completely outside of my comfort zone. I really just wanted a place to connect with other bookworms and talk about all things books but I ended up getting so much more. This community is AMAZING & most welcoming, at any hour of the day/night I can find someone who has just finished a book and is looking for anyone willing to rant or rave. I’ve made some pretty awesome friends in the book blogging community in such a short period of time & for that I am truly grateful…
2016 FAB Moments
๐ Starting this blog after being on the sidelines of the book community for 2 years has brought me so much happiness. A place where I come to de-stress & reach out to many other bookworms who are doing the same. A safe place to be myself, May 24th was a very good day for this bookworm โบ๏ธ
๐ Lairofbooks finally motivated me to put my Twitter to good use LOL, another platform that has connected me to so many great bookworms & authors
๐ Meeting my Book Twin Gretchen over at ChicNerdReads has been one of the highlights of this year. I’ve mentioned it before here on the blog but i’ll say it again, Gretchen played a key role in motivating me to start LairofBooks & she didn’t even know it ๐ This year has been made all the better because of our friendship ๐
๐ Attending my 1st Bookcon & acquring some physical ARCS early October made my rest of the year LOL
๐ Getting approved by HarperCollins on Edelweiss after a slew of declined emails, taught me to never throw in the towel ๐
๐ Reading 71 books out of the 60 I set as my goal, the most I’ve read any year…I don’t see myself setting the 2017 challenge at 100 but I do think i’ll mentally be cheering myself on to the 100 finish line lOl *over achiever*

2017 Goals
๐ To keep on keepin on? Lol nah, I’m not very good at sticking to my goals but I sure do try. I’ll keep it simple though…To continue having fun reading, blogging, and meeting new bookish peeps ๐
๐ Working up the nerve to post my 1st discussion…it’s coming this year *pinky swear*
๐ Participate in any reading challenge or Read-A-Thon (I used the dashes not sure if that’s a thing)
๐ Possibly hit that 1K mark on my Bookstagram Lair_Of_Books ๐ค๐ธ๐
๐ Read outside my go-to genres starting with Poetry & a bit of Horror
๐ Continue reading Diverse Books & supporting Own Voices authors

Challenge Guidelines
๐ The challenge will run from Jan 1, 2017 โ Dec 31, 2017.
๐ Anyone is welcome to join. You do not need to be a blogger, just post your reviews and come back every month to link them up.
๐ Any genre, release date, request date, length, etc. counts so long as it came from Edelweiss or Netgalley.
๐ At the beginning of each month there will be a roundup post for you to add your reviews.
๐ If you forget to link up one month itโs not a problem just add your reviews next month.
๐ If you would like to move up or down levels that is completely fine and at your discretion.
๐ If you have any questions tweet me @BookishThings or e-mail katrina@bookisthingsandmore.com!
Levels
Bronze โ 10 Books
Silver โ 25 Books
Gold โ 50 Books
Platinum โ 75 Books
Diamond โ 100 Books
This being my very 1st reading challenge, i’ll set my goal level at 25 & move up (hopefully) as I progress. No pressure but a good way to keep me motivated with the good ol’ ARC pile ๐
Happy New Year my Bookish Peeps, wishing you all a FAB 2017 filled with great books along the way!!! ๐๐พ๐๐๐