Goals Update: How'd I Do?

[@chantararix]

"I forgot that was a goal..." Literally me everytime I realize I doomed myself with distractions.

[@armandvanzyl4937]

My two cents: Ye did good, Merphy.

[@skynikan]

You're really hard on yourself, even the ones you failed you almost succeded, SO DON'T EVEN PRETEND YOU DIDN'T DO AMAZING!

[@merphynapier42]

Awe thank you ❤️ I don't think I did poorly! I'm really happy with how I did! 😊

[@nerdyempress6745]

I read 23 books this year. 4 science fiction 3 political 2 religious 2 poetry 2 classics 4 self help 6 fantasy

[@talson3001]

My goal this year was to read 100 books. I didn’t do that before and the highest number of books I read a year was about 30. I reached now 90 books and I’m so proud of myself! I want to continue reading to reach 100 before the end of the year but unfortunately my finals are taking so much time ): Anyhow, great video and keep up the good work!

[@myleemartin4297]

OMG GREAT JOB! That is amazing of you! I’m also a student and I know how hard it is to balance hobbies with finals, but you did something really cool by completing that goal! Congrats!

[@elbeeproductions2733]

Throughout my military career, I would spend hours writing as an outlet, but never seeing any of them through to completion. From notes on napkins to complete rough drafts, all tucked away in a box that never was reopened. Last night it was opened after years of procrastination. Today I'm starting my first complete novel. Thank you Merphy for becoming my writing inspiration.

[@chantararix]

May the deities of pens and papers bless your work, sir.

[@shamsham1229]

Elbee Productions hell yes

[@merphynapier42]

This is beautiful. I can't wait to read your book someday!

[@eduardoo31]

you did so well, though, merphy. congratulations! as for me, i didn't really make any goals but i'm super proud that by the end of 2019 i will have read at least 40 books (i'm shooting for 42 but that remains to be seen haha), including wheel of time, mistborn eras 1 and 2, and many others. you and daniel greene rekindled my love for reading this year and i'm so grateful to you guys!

[@merphynapier42]

Congratulations!!! You read some amazing series this year! ❤️

[@lyckamodin2983]

i love how your chanel still feels like a small chanel, although its kinda big, its something about the cozy feeling :)

[@edwardlayer4259]

I haven’t really read much at all this year. I didn’t really read until I discovered this channel in September. So thank you Merphy for bringing books back to me. I am aiming for one book a month next year. Or 12 in the year all in all.

[@TheBookRefuge]

You did great Merphy! I love Live Chats, obviously. :) I'm excited for what you try next year.

[@mikesbookreviews]

You did fine. This is the whole reason I don't set unrealistic goals like the people who set 100+ books a year. Fantasy novels are way too wordy to do that many since I can't listen to audio books (ADD). So I traditionally set a goal of 50 and usually exceed that. Hit 58 this year.

[@christopherbacon1077]

Okay, yes you only read one Historical but you were way over goal on the other three genres so that should count as a success. Remember the key is creative bookkeeping.

[@daniel_arevalo_6490]

Great video! I am a newer follower and learning more about all of the books you read and goals you set. Whether you reach them or not, it’s always a blast! Thank you for sharing!

[@bookswmadi]

I've been here since you had 6k subs and I'm so happy more people are finding you!

[@g.chatterjee2296]

Same. She's wonderful.

[@bloodspatteredguitar]

I missed that you'd read North & South! Such a beautiful book, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@marin3933]

I had a great year reading this year Read 43 books and i Read a lot of stuff that has been on my TBR for a long time😁😁 Real proud of myself 😊

[@merphynapier42]

That's amazing! Congratulations!

[@alexalovesbooks]

I think you kicked butt at your goals for 2019! It’s super inspiring 😊

[@becklebooks]

You definitely smashed your tome goal!! And it makes me so happy to see Sanderson in there plus Lightbringer. Nailed. It. 👏🏻👏🏻

[@tanyapateriya]

I wanted to read 16 books in 2019 and I read 38 till now! Hoping to get it to 40 by New Year.

[@merphynapier42]

Wow that's amazing, congratulations!!

[@talson3001]

That’s so good! I’m proud of you, Tanya. Even though I don’t know you personally;)

[@tanyapateriya]

Thank you Merphy!

[@tanyapateriya]

@@talson3001 thanks!

[@SunflowerSpotlight]

Phillipa Gregory has some... less than awesome entries, but A Constant Princess is my favorite historical fiction book ever. It really shines a light on an interesting woman in an extremely interesting time. The tension of being stuck, no one really fulfilling their roles, being far from home without friends or means, stuck waiting with an uncertain future and little choice, it’s well done.

[@samkathryn4825]

You did really well! I totally feel the TBR. Mine is over two hundred books, so I made a second one that is just standalones and first books in a series. That one ended up being over a hundred, I think. 15-20, that’s a nice number.

[@ahmednadim5859]

Ken Follett does historical thrillers. He has two trilogies where each book is relatively self contained.

[@dailycarolina.]

I loved Fall of Giants. Currently reading Winter of the World and I'm enjoying it too !!

[@SunflowerSpotlight]

My second audiobook ever was Pillars of the Earth. I became an audible member like 10 years ago, before it was bought by Amazon, and I picked it as my first real purchased audiobook. I’ll always have a soft spot for him for that. 😅

[@insuburbia]

Wow, excellent job! Even the goals you deemed as failures were very close to being accomplishments. That alone has inspired me to actually set some goals for myself in 2020, so thank you for the motivation!! :)

[@tracey_bay]

You accomplished a lot of goals! Congrats! ^^

[@witchf4ce310]

My reading goal this year was 60! I got to 100 today!! 😊 and it’s called The Final Empire, not Mistborn goddammit!! 😁

[@merphynapier42]

Oh my gosh congratulations!!!!

[@OnlyIfForAPage]

So many tomes! You did really well :- ) Regularly reviewing and/or adjusting goals is essential for me, otherwise I would just forget about half of them :- D

[@TalibHOB]

Goals! Given the fact how miserably I fail in these I quit giving them to myself a long time ago😂

[@nerdyempress6745]

High on Books Don’t give up

[@bookbabble]

Great job with your goals! If you do the rereadathon again for 2020 I would totally be down to host again!

[@skijumpnose]

My goal of reading 50 books this year was easily done, Although the majority were graphic novels, God bless graphic novels! And manga

[@nerdyempress6745]

skijumpnose Graphic novels don’t count. That’s like counting a magazine as a book.

[@ioanam.2374]

@@nerdyempress6745 I think it would be fair to let people count as books whatever they want to count as books. It's their reading list not ours. And graphic novels are amazing pieces of storytelling. Plus there isn't really a way to agree with people on what is the length that makes a book "count". There are books you read in two hours and books you read in two weeks. I can't tell for you if you've read enough this year, only you can decide this for yourself.

[@ioanam.2374]

Congratulations on your accomplishment! :D

[@nerdyempress6745]

@@ioanam.2374 Yeah, I read comics as well. I read over 40 this year, but I still don't count them in book reading lists unless it is a large selection of works done by an author over a long period of time. Graphic Novels and Manga I tend to put into their own separate category of 'picture books' to encourage myself to read other books as well, but that is just my opinion. I'm not going to start adding all my magazines and newspaper articles into my reading lists, nor audiobooks, that's just how I organise my list. Books, Graphic Novels, Audiobooks, Language studies, written work, and News.

[@ioanam.2374]

@@nerdyempress6745 And that's fine, you organize books the way you want, considering what's important to you. It's good that you clarified what you meant, I just felt the need to comment because I believe if someone reads novels and graphic novels for the very same reasons, there's no point in telling them "that doesn't count" it's a story and if that's what they wanted to read, they did exactly that. People on the internet don't know what kind of a person you are in real life and dismissing them in a few words just seems rude. Not saying you were rude, I got your intention, but still, it comes off as rude. Also Merphy counts audiobooks and manga as books, so it is to be expected that a big number of her subscribers do the same.

[@williamstewart6454]

Glad the rereadathon is continuing in 2020

[@SunflowerSpotlight]

My goal had been to read more generally. I found that if I read more books at the same time, I read more. Sometimes I’m not in the mood for high fantasy and a historical book is great. Or a memoir. Or young adult fiction. Or true crime. I read about four times more than usual for several months this year simply because of that. I also doubled up on the audiobooks I read. A fantasy and a memoir usually. Mixing it up helps!

[@oana-mariauliu5828]

Historical fiction - have you tried Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series? The Pillars of the Earth is very good - and so is World Without End - I have yet to read the third book. Philippa Gregory is no longer so popular as she used to be, but (keeping in mind that her novels include several inaccuracies) I think she could make a great starting point for historical fiction. Try The Other Boleyn Girl, The Queen's Fool, or The Constant Princess. You may enjoy them. I can also recommend The Apothecary's Daughter and The Spicemerchant's Wife, by Charlotte Betts, The Brewer's Tale and The Locksmith's Daughter, by Karen Brooks, A Vision of Light, by Judith Merkle Riley, and, of course, The Dovekeepers, by Alice Hoffman.

[@nnicsu]

Your hair has grown so much in one year, I think that warrants extra points

[@kvan8046]

you did so well!!!!

[@berentook]

I didn't have any goals for this year but i did read 10 book from the realm of the elderlings series so i am happy.

[@sparklyunicorn5431]

You didnt fail Merphy, you did great! Thank you for re-inspiring my love of books and got me reading like crazy again, I feel like I'm 10 again!😄

[@merphynapier42]

I love this ❤️

[@TheWilyx]

You did very good this year! Regarding historical fiction, you should check Ken Follet, he has 2 really good trilogies of the genre, each book is lengthy but they are quite self contained and can be read as stand alones (specially the first book of each trilogy, which to me are the best). Since you have enjoyed all my favorite authors you've read (Tolkien and Asimov) maybe you'll enjoy Follet as well.

[@merphynapier42]

Oh thank you! I trust your opinion so I'll look for him at my library this week!

[@kytesandfaeries]

Awesome job, Merphy! Have you read the Books of Pellinor by Alison Croggon? It’s a beautiful, lyrical high fantasy I think you would really enjoy!

[@MaryAmongStories]

yay you did so well!

[@KierTheScrivener]

Giving me some fantastic ideas for goals. I also really failed at my getting my TBR down this year. Always love your videos 💕

[@BasicallyBrittx]

Uhhh you did so amazing?! Damn you read so many big books. I'm also always so intimidated by big books, so I hardly read them lol, and you still read them anyway!

[@nonfictionfeminist]

You did so well! I'm planning out my 2020 goals, and I think I'm trying to do too much already, but there's just so many cool readathons and book clubs out there that I'm excited about, as well as personal goals I want to work on. At the same time, I want to go back to school, so I know I'll have to cut back on my reading. Good thing I'm a planner, I'm planning for it to be an organized chaos

[@merphynapier42]

You can do it all!

[@juliamcdonald3518]

If you are looking for good historical fiction, I would recommend Philippa Gregory's The Cousins' War (1st book is The White Queen).

[@grimmraith7753]

If you are looking for more Historical Fiction books to read maybe check out the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik. It is a low fantasy series set during the Napoleonic Wars where dragons exist and are apart of the military.

[@UdyKumra]

Merphy: Let's make fun of me for all the goals I failed Also Merphy: completes 3 goals and *almost* completes the other 3

[@kenseidrake3233]

Another great list! I've been wanting to read self-published books too, as long as they're good. How do you go about choosing a self-pub?

[@joshuaboyer2838]

For SciFi I really hope you consider The Expanse! Leviathan Wakes (the first book) is AMAZING

[@mecahhannah]

You're channel is awesome I'm sure it's going to grow recommended it to a lot of my friends I would love to do a live chat with you that would be awesome

[@merphynapier42]

Awe thank you so much ❤️❤️

[@danielleculler]

I don’t know if you’d be willing to do this but I think it’d be really interesting to hear more about you experience narrating audiobooks.

[@chiunc]

I just noticed your subscriber count. Did you gain 20k subscribers in 2 months??? 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

[@karenryan490]

There are sooo many books to read. I have never reread a book. I get bored and want to move on to something new...

[@cts2922]

Love the channel! Use your reviews for evaluating my own writing. Would you ever be open to editing manuscripts?

[@merphynapier42]

I'm not an editor so I don't think I'd be much of a help but good luck on finding an editor!

[@emmaelizabeth3373]

Didn’t you read Where The Crawdads Sing this year? That’s another historical fiction for you!

[@kallinathkayakmath6489]

I read 22 books this year, apart from my medical books😁

[@Canuckskid55]

I'm going through a bit of a slump right now. I am about halfway through It by Stephen King and I've been reading it for 3 weeks now. Any tips to get out??

[@touche5616]

Re-read a favorite. Or read something easy like a middle grade. That's what I do.

[@Canuckskid55]

@@touche5616 Thanks; I'll give it a try.

[@Nasser851000]

how many books are you planning to read for next year?

[@merphynapier42]

I don't usually set a goal for numbers so I don't have an amount in trying to hit, just goals around growing my reading scope 😄

[@TheWordN3rd]

I feel like making 3 liveahows out of 4 is a success. I'm impressed.

[@deanneekstrand4128]

I... Completely failed at my guess this year. I wanted to read 35 books, I wanted to read 3 biographies, I wanted to read more historical fiction, I wanted to read three sci-fi books, and I had some other random, silly goals like read a book with a shoe on the cover just to make the challenge more fun. You know what I didn't factor in? Being a senior in high school. You know how many goals I met? Zilch.

[@merphynapier42]

Lol! They're all for fun anyway so nbd. You'll I'll it next year 😎

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

oof, if I looked back on my 2019 goals I don't think I completed any but my read 150 books xD

[@adairpoyer3589]

I REALLY need to get more into self pub books... and historical fiction.... and probably SciFi.... does anybody have any recommendations? Preferably YA?

[@anicealien]

Kinda off topic, you said you would do a Death Note discussion sometime after you finished it. Are you still planning on doing that before the end of the year?

[@carlwilliams9642]

Ya know, even her failures weren't utter failures. She came pretty close to meeting most of them.

[@magikai6016]

How do you get into narrating audiobooks? o.o

[@qbanboi069]

You did well! It's impressive how well you kept to your goals actually. But I have to say.. When I saw you read and reviewed the Assassin's Apprentice, I paused the video and immediately went to that review because I had to see if you disliked it as much as I did. Sigh.. alas you were just meh with it, haha.

[@Firu_auf_Youtube]

did you read the black magician trilogy by trudi canavan?

[@catharinaribaric9197]

If you want a GREAT historical fiction, read The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. There are 4 books in the same universe, but you can read them separately and it's perfectly fine.

[@fbch32]

I love to read but I sometimes I lack the motivation to read and then you add my reading slump from June to late August/early September, and I'm surprised I actually read 14 books and might end up reading 16 total depending on how fast I finish these 2 books! Note: apparently I set a goal for 20 books on goodreads.

[@merphynapier42]

Congrats on what you read! In sure you can get those last two done easy 😎

[@fbch32]

@@merphynapier42 Thank you!!! Can't believe I got a response from my favorite booktuber!! 😁😁 And I realized that finishing the last 2 would mean completing 80% of my goal so I got some extra motivation lol

[@saberzer094]

I low balled 35books and ended up 56 not including audiobooks I listen to during mundane activities.

[@gaber.24]

You've never posted a review of HERO OF AGES. Maybe a reread is in your future?

[@merphynapier42]

For sure this needs to happen!

[@gaber.24]

@@merphynapier42 Yes!

[@unprofessionalcritic3107]

You read The Count of Monte cristo Merphy. That was definitely a tome right?

[@merphynapier42]

Ooo yes! Forgot that one!

[@sofievb1994]

My goal this year was to read 100 books and I'm currently at 117!

[@merphynapier42]

Wow congratulations!

[@michaelkuttler6021]

My goal was to read five books and I failed. I'm terrible, terrible, terrible at reading (or prioritizing reading) lately.

[@merphynapier42]

Next year is your year! 💪

[@decramore306]

Please read The Song of Achilles and Circe by Madeline Miller

[@TheMelodramaticBookworm]

I forgot that was a goal - SO ME XD

[@rachelloretto4833]

Home after dark

[@RD22TT]

Any tips on rereading? I never actually tried to reread a book I've liked and I'm having trouble jumping back into The Lies of Locke Lamora.

[@CupCakeUnleashed]

Read Berserk already!

[@CupCakeUnleashed]

I can barely get through one book a month.

[@supershinigami1]

My only goal that I set on my Goodreads acount is to read a certain amount of books every year but it's always different. Somewhere between 25 and 30 books. This year is not yet over but if I finish the book I'm reading rn then I'll have 30 finished books out of the 25 that I wanted to read this year. Or I could add/substract from that. Saga volume 9 is made out of multiple chapters. I also read all Narnia stories that were contained in just 1 book. Should I count it as 7 books or just as 1? Same with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. I had one book with all of the stories written by Douglas Adams in it + the short story. (Also, please pronounce the A in A Game of Thrones. Otherwise it's just a bad tv show.)

[@Sohiawrites]

Jeez lady you read a lot