New Year, New Blog! Where I've Been and 2020 Goals

Hello everyone! I'm "Nox", and welcome to Nox the Reader!

For those of you who are new, welcome! It's very nice to meet you!
For those of you who know me, some might be thinking that the blog looks, and sounds, a bit different. You might have some questions, like:

What's going on with the blog?

I've been on an on-and-off blogging hiatus since about June of 2019. Nox Reads was a lovely space, but it didn't feel very... me, in a way! For some reason, I wasn't able to edit the site's design, and in the end, I needed to create a new space and move my posts somewhere else, so here we are! I would've loved to keep the domain as Nox Reads (like my Twitter... and my Instagram... and my Booktube...) but unfortunately, my new domain meant a new name for the blog.

If you've seen any of my social media, you may know that I absolutely adore Laini Taylor's Strange the Dreamer, and have a way-too-large-and-not-entirely-fictional crush on Lazlo Strange.

ID: A screenshot of my Twitter header. The bio reads  "please spin me a tale of your desire choo choo | where love goes to die | in love with Lazlo Strange | Hufflepuff | she/her | nik nak | latinx + black". The part that says "in love with Lazlo Strange" is underlined in red.

And in true Nox fashion, I was inspired by my husband  favorite character and chose to put the blog under a name that Lazlo would be proud of:

Nox the Reader

I'm glad to be back to blogging! As much as I love Booktube, which I will continue to do alongside my blog, I missed being able to simply write up and format a post without the editing and filming (plus, blogging is something I can do in the living room in my pajamas while filming required me to find a time when my family was asleep in the hopes of being able to get a video). I also had a great time redesigning the site with colors and texts that I enjoy, while also trying to make it accessible.

Shoutout to Ja-Mel, Dusk, and Jules for looking at the site and telling me what they thought! It was a great help and I loved being able to run it by my friends.

So what else is changing?

Not much, I swear! I still kept most of the posts from Nox Reads with minor edits, and I'm still going to be writing similar posts! I still refuse to use the 5-star system so I still have those weird ratings, and I'll still be posting book rambles and the other mini "series" I have on here. I'll still have wrap-ups, but TBRs are on my Booktube.

The format of the book rambles has changed! I'm writing them into sections instead of just spoiler-free/spoiler-talk, that way people can look for what's most important to them and see! I'm also hoping to add more memes and references into them, the way I did with my Radio Silence book ramble, which is one of my favorite book rambles yet!

Overall though, I'm hoping to include the following sections in the rambles:

• Two-Sentence Synopsis
• Content Warning
• Representation
• Characters
• What I Loved
• What I Disliked
• Rambles and Raves

Other than this, I can't think of anything else changing!

So what's left to do?

Honestly? I don't know! I would absolutely love to get a blog banner one day, one with a space theme! But design-wise and format-wise, I think I'm all set!

The only thing left to do is write!

And since I've been explaining everything this whole time, it's time to get back into it! Without further ado, I present to you:

My 2020 Bookish Goals!

1. Read 80 books this year! As of typing this up, I've read 76 books this year and hope to get to 78. Although I think it'll be a bit harder to get to 80 in 2020, I think it's possible!
2. Read more backlist books! This is kind of a contradiction to last year, when I said I wanted to read more new releases, but there are so many books that have already been published that I want to check out!
3. Post at least once a week on the blog! As of my current schedule, I'm hoping to get posts up every Sunday and Thursday, with the wrap-up on the last day of the month. However, I also have school, two jobs, the Harry Potter club, Booktube, and a book club on my plate, as well as general household stuff, so if I miss one of these days, I'm going to cut myself some slack.
4. Post at least once a week on Booktube! Similarly to my blog, I'm currently aiming to post videos every Monday and Friday, with a TBR on the first day of the month. But once again, if I miss one day a week, I'm not going to sweat it.
5. Post at least once a week on bookstagram! I love bookstagram so much, but trying to keep up with the monthly challenges is a struggle! I'm going to do my best to post often and consistently, but once a week would be an upgrade!
6. Participate in more book clubs! If you don't follow me on Twitter, you may not know that I'm a cohost of Spook Squad Book Club, which focuses on reading a paranormal book each month! This is our third month and we're still getting the hang of it, but it's incredibly fun and I enjoy seeing what everyone chooses when we put out the poll each month. I've also been reading the picks for Papercut Book Club, which has been really fun, especially during the liveshows! With each of these book clubs, I'll be posting reviews on my Booktube, but I'll definitely be mentioning them here too!
7. Read more diverse books! I read so many amazing diverse books in 2019 and I absolutely loved it! 2019 was definitely a year that I saw myself in books, whether through ethnicity or mental health, and I also loved reading books with characters from different backgrounds than my own. I'm definitely participating in the South-Asian Reading Challenge, which is focused on reading and appreciating South-Asian rep in books! I highly recommend you check it out and join in!
8. Uplift other diverse creators! I got to meet some amazing friends through the online bookish community, and many of them have been champions for diversity and inclusivity in the community. I have several platforms, and though not a lot of people see them, there are people who do, so I should be using those to uplift others. The world won't become a better place until we make it one, and this is a small way that I can try to.
9. Make my media more accessible! I've learned a lot (and still am learning) about the need to be accessible with my content. I hope everyone bears with me as I learn how to add image descriptions so that screen readers can pick up the pictures, or as I learn to caption my videos and stories. I want my sites to be easy to navigate and pick up on for everyone! Speaking of which, if there's a post or a video that I haven't made accessible that you want to see, please tell me so that I can make it easier for you. It may take me some time, but I'll do my best to get to it! This is heavily influenced by a group of my friends, and Jesse from Bowties and Books has a great video talking about the importance of inclusivity and accessibility.
10. Last but not least, make some bookish friends! I love the groups of friends that I've made so far: the DnD Campaign Group, the Booktube Support Group, and of course, nik nak! But I would love to make more! Please don't hesitate to message me and say you want to be friends! I have trouble doing it myself, so if you want to connect with me, comment on my stuff! Message me on Twitter if we're mutuals! Let's be friends!

Thank you so much to everyone who read this! I know it's quite dense, but I had a lot to cover! I can't wait to get back into blogging with all of you!

Thank you for everything, and Happy New Year!

~ Nox