Last year has been one of my best reading years yet. While I originally set my Goodreads goal to 40 books, I ended up reading almost 90 books – a little more than double my goal! And during that year, I’ve discovered more books I want to read, more genres I want to explore, and more reasons for keeping up with reading.
For 2019, most of the goals I set have some relevance to reading, and I want to share those goals and why I’m setting them. Plus, I have a list of goals you may want to set if you’re looking to read more (or read different kinds of books) this year.
My Reading Goals for 2019
Read 100 Books.
Since I didn’t read too much the first three months of 2019, and still managed to read as much as I did, I don’t think 100 books will be too difficult for a challenge for me personally. I think the biggest challenge here is that I am also generally leaning towards longer books and/or more challenging ones, so we’ll see whether I can achieve this one! I set this challenge on my Goodreads page. where I keep track of the books I’ve been rating, plus my reviews on them. Just being a part of the community alone is one of the things that keeps me reading!Knock books off my TBR.
My TBR (to-be-read) may not be as long as others, but I often find the need to keep the list low before I allow myself to add more books to it. On my Goodreads, I split my TBR list into the books I own and don’t own, so I know which books I can pick up now and which ones I should try to get from the library.Read more classics.
Lately I’ve been getting the Barnes and Noble Collector’s Classics Editions, since I really would like to have some classics in physical copies. I read only a few classics last year, so I’d like to make sure I’m reading more of them. I would like to aim for one classic a month, but I won’t hold myself to that if I need more time to comprehend a more difficult one.Make more progress in the Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge.
This is a challenge based on every book that is referenced over the seven seasons of Gilmore Girls – and there’s over three-hundred of them! Many of these books are literary classics, but others were popular releases at the time as well as a mix of other famous books from different eras. This is a long-term challenge that I’ve decided to take on, not only so I could understand all of the literary references in Gilmore Girls, but also because it features a great range of classics, as well as books that I wouldn’t normally consider picking up. So far it’s been a great way for me to expand my horizons and explore new concepts that I wasn’t previously familiar with.
Attempt the POPSugar Reading Challenge.
This is a more short-term challenge that POPSugar puts out each year that I wanted to try! This challenge consists of a list of 40 prompts (plus 10 bonus ones, if you’re up to it). For each prompt, you must find a book that fits that prompt and read those books throughout the year. This ended up being a great way for me to pick books from my TBR, classics, the Gilmore Girls challenge, and completely new books! I have almost all 40 prompts filled in, and the rest I figure I will find throughout the year. I’m not sure if I will do the advanced prompts yet, but if I’m going for 100 books, I will likely try it.Read books more critically.
At the moment, I try to review most of the books that I read on Goodreads. At the moment, I don’t review classics though, as I feel I’m not critical enough of a reader to grasp the elements beyond the story. As I read, I want to do my best to consider all of a book’s elements and be able to reflect on those things. I have found that I am better at this since I started to review books, and I want to continue developing this as I think it’s a great way to develop my critical thinking skills.Reading Goal Ideas
If you’re looking to read more this year (or if it’s the middle of the year, never too late to start!), why not try setting some goals? Here’s a list of goals you may want to use to read more books this year or branch out from your normal genres. If you’re looking to find out how to read more in general, be sure to check out this post.Read X amount of books/pages this year.
This is the goal I set on my Goodreads, which is a great tool since you can check your progress on the site. When making this goal, however, make sure that the goal you set is realistic for you. Rushing through books or picking shorter ones to complete the challenge can defeat the purpose and take the fun out of reading. So if you’re not sure how much you’ll read, keep the number lower – you can always change it later!Try a challenge.
Challenges like the POPSugar Reading Challenge are a good way to increase your exposure to a variety of types of books. If you’re looking to try new things, this is a good goal to work with. There are a number of reading challenges online, or you can make your own! Your challenge prompts could include books published from other countries, diverse characters, books from different decades or centuries, genres you haven’t read, and so on. And by attempting a challenge like this, who knows – maybe you’ll find a new go-to read, or learn about something mind-blowing?Read longer books.
The definition of a “long book” may vary from person to person, but many of us may shy away from these books, no matter how popular they are, because of their length. Try reading more of them – specifically, the ones you have been avoiding – and see how it goes!Read more challenging books.
As great as it is of a feeling to finish any book, there’s something special about finishing a book that really challenged your thinking. I just finished As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, and while the book is fairly short, the stream-of-consciousness dialogue was something that I struggled to grasp at first – plus, there were several parts of this book where I needed to take more time and think about what Faulkner was getting across in his writing. I enjoy the process of reading books like these, and that in itself has been motivating me to read more classics. When setting this as your goal, consider plotlines of books that interest you; ones that have themes or other elements that you want to explore. You could also try using a reading journal to document your thoughts, quotes to remember, or questions you have throughout. A reading journal is great for any type of book, but I feel it would be especially useful here!Replace scrolling with reading.
As I read more, I find that I’m scrolling on my phone less. I found that, while being on my phone, I kept returning back to check for updates that weren’t happening, and ultimately I was just wasting my time. Now that you can read books on portable devices like your phone, it’s easier to make unintentional scrolling a cue for switching to your reading app. And with the help of your library, you can check out ebooks from your phone too!Read X amount of minutes/hours/pages/chapters a day.
Part of why I am able to read so much is because I am able to create a habit out of reading – and for me, that is right before bed. If you’re starting from reading very little or not at all, I’d recommend starting with time, not with content. I say this for the same reason as setting a book goal for the year – if you’re getting tired or want to stop, you may end up speeding through the pages! But once you know your general reading speed and read more often or more habitually, you’ll have a better idea of what you can read each day.
Create a reading habit.
Building off the last goal, it’s easier to read more if you create a habit out of it. I decided last year to make a goal out of reading before bed almost every night – and so I did! You can also decide to read when you wake up in the morning, listen to an audiobook on your commute, or even when you have a spare minute to do so.Take more time to reflect.
When you’re reading a lot of books, it’s easy to just fly through one and go straight to the next one. If this sounds like you, try making a goal out of spending more time on reflecting on the book once you complete it. What did you like about it? What didn’t you like? What were your opinions on the storyline, characters, world, etc.? I do this through writing reviews as much as I can as I feel this helps me formulate my opinions on books, and gives me a chance to give them the reflection that they deserve.Read more fiction/non-fiction/expand your horizons.
As someone who has been reading more fiction lately, I always try to make sure to have some non-fiction books in my queue too. And if you often read non-ficiton, make sure to pick up a fiction book every once in a while, too. Both have benefits to reading them, although sometimes different ones, and it’s not a bad idea to read out of your comfort zone every once in a while. Breaking down fiction, do you usually read contemporaries and historical fiction? Try a fantasy or sci-fi! Do you usually go for business and self-help books? Try a book on philosophy! Even within fiction and non-fiction, there is so much to explore that may be out of your comfort zone – and removing yourself from that comfort zone is a great way to find new things you never knew you’d be interested in.Did this list of goals inspire you to take on some of your own? Let me know below what your current goals are – bookish or not!
Thank you reading – and good luck with your reading goals this year!
Sincerely,
Julie Anna
