Happy Sunday everyone! We are in the last Sunday of 2018 which basically means that I've been thinking about my reading goals for the upcoming year for weeks. Yep, I'm a bit nutty like that! In 2018, I focused on tracking my reading with a goal of 75 books read. I'm not going to make it but I came close at 71 books read for the year. I've been tracking my reading now since I started my blog and I think this number is pretty average to what I usually read. Last year I only finished 59 books but the two years before I finished 80 each year. I have never quite hit that golden number of 100 yet - the closest I have come is back in 2009 when I was able to finish 93 books. I really haven't come that close since then. I'm planning on working on wrapping up my 2018 reading year in a different post hopefully in the coming week. I will also be sharing my top reads for 2018 soon as well. Even though I don't think that I'll finish another book this year, I will wait until January 1st just to be sure.
Back to my reading goals for 2019 though! I feel like I had a solid year of reading in 2018 so I would like to continue that trend in the new year. I haven't quite settled on my Goodreads goal yet - do I aim high and shoot for an eighty book year which is more than I read this year? Or do I lower my goal so that I am able to put less pressure on myself number wise and put more of a focus on the quality of what I'm reading? Honestly, I just want to enjoy what I'm reading so really I'm not too stressed otherwise. I do have some reading goals that I would like to meet though which include the following:
- Read one book a month from my TBR list - I did this in 2018 as well and was moderately successful. I created a list of 50 books that had been on my TBR list since at least 2017 (no new 2018 releases included) and used the random number generator to pick a book off of my list to read. I just didn't consistently try to read a book off of this list as much as I hoped that I would. For the new year I have bumped up that list of books to one hundred and added any 2018 releases that I wanted to read but didn't get to. I'm really hoping to make a dent in my TBR pile with this goal. My first book for this goal in the new year will be Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower which is the beginning to a cozy mystery series that I've been wanting to try!
- Read more nonfiction - I add nonfiction books to my TBR list at an alarming rate when you consider how little of it I actually end up reading during the year. I only read one nonfiction book this past year which is just pitiful. There are SO many great sounding nonfiction reads out there so I really want to make an effort to read more of them in the new year!
- Share about each book that I read - This is one goal that I really, really want to focus on in the new year! I've been horrible in writing up reviews this year and sharing my thoughts on books. Honestly, I'm hoping that I'll continue working on catching up with my 2018 reviews in the new year but who knows if that will actually happen. I would really like to do better with this in 2019! Now that I'm on Instagram I'm also hoping to share about EVERY book that I read there as well as on Litsy! I don't feel the need to write up reviews for rereads or books that are part of long series but I would like to share about them on these sites.
And that's just about it! There are other things - focus on reading more diversely and stretching my reading a bit more.....but these are my main three goals. I'm going to continue to reread and binge on my favorite series. I'm going to continue to switch up genres and try to keep my reading feeling fresh. I'm sure that I'm going to try and read the many 2019 releases that sound absolutely amazing (and are already adding to my TBR list). I love the fresh start feeling that a new year always brings! And I'm excited to bring that feeling to my reading in the new year! What goals do you have for your reading in the new year?
A quick reading update though before I wrap this post up...
The Long Goodnight (The Grimm Files) by Selene Charles will most likely be my last read of 2018. I am such a HUGE fan of this series at this point and am anxiously awaiting the third book. I'll be sharing my thoughts on this one soon but I recommend it!
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen will be my first read of 2019 but I'm starting it this afternoon. The hype on this one is huge so I can't wait to check it out for myself! I received a copy of this book from the publisher and have been saving it to read until closer to the release date. This book releases in January so I'm ready to finally crack it open and jump in. I'm in the mood for a good thriller so I'm excited to begin!
I'm off to relax for the day! I just want to wish all of you a wonderful year in 2019! Thank you for always stopping by and commenting - and just being my reading friends!
Always love seeing a post from you! Good luck with your goals. Me - I'm choosing to make 2019 the year of 'whatever I want'. No aims. No plans. We'll see how I fare. I think it will be good. I think many of us tend to put too much pressure on ourselves and, for me, it ends up feeling not so good. Anyway, enjoy your 'first read'. I've got that one to try at some point too. I want to go down the garden path of series and rereads and authors that I've meant to try forever. See you in the reading garden!
ReplyDeleteI think a year of no plans is brilliant! We do tend to put too much pressure on ourselves as readers! I hope that you have a wonderful year of reading in 2019!!!!
DeleteI think it is good to have plans. I try to be realistic. I am doing 3 challenges I did last year : New Release, Audiobook and Library-Love. I am contemplating a Backlist / TBR type challenge. I have lots of things I have purchased and never get to read as I am reading ARCs or library books which have due dates. I also LOVE COYER and short term challenges to keep to focus on specific areas. I do my own meme Thrifty Thursday every month at least to get through some of those Kindle freebies. I post all reviews on Goodreads with about 80% on my blog.
ReplyDeleteAudiobooks have really helped me add to my quantity of reading. 4 years ago I had listened to NO audiobooks. EVER. I started with Harry Potter, which I had not read before. This year I listened to 110 audiobooks while traveling, cooking, doing chores, running errands, shopping, waiting at my daughter's medical appointments, raking leaves, over lunch at work, formatting blog posts, etc.
Happy New Year! Anne - Books of My Heart
Anne, I love participating in COYER as well!! I love the sound of a library challenge since I use my library so frequently :) I do listen to audiobooks but not very often. That’s definitely something I could do more of!! The Harry Potter audiobooks are my favorite! I hope that you have an amazing year of reading in 2019!
DeleteYou had a great reading year! It's so fun to make plans for the next reading year isn't it? I'm with you, I'd like to read more non-fiction as well. Wishing all the best in 2019!
ReplyDeleteIliana, I adore making reading plans for the new year even if I don’t always follow through. I hope that you have a wonderful year in 2019 as well!!
DeleteThese all sound like great goals, Sam. I kept my goals pretty loose this year, but the big one is to read more. I feel like I chose other things over books too often this past year--some of which was more important, but also some of which was time wasting (phone games/watching too much TV). We'll see how it goes this year. I hope you have a wonderful 2019.
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