On Reading Goals

Hey folks!

As the title says today's post will deal with reading goals! (2018 and 2019!)

I've read 65 books this year and am going to start reading the 66th (probably) tomorrow. That's approximately twice as much as I managed in the years before that for various reasons. A bit less than a third of the 65 books (20) were non-fiction.

A few of my 2018 favourites were:

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley (definitely my number one favourite this year)

The Wrong Stars by Tim Pratt (love Tim Pratt! You must read his books! And he's such a chill and approachable guy.) 

Medusa Uploaded by Emily Devenport

Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh (surprisingly awesome YA romance set in a fantasy version of feudal Japan)

Planetfall by Emma Newman (also surprising considering the main character was actually a complete mess)

Thoraiya Dyer's Titan's Forest novels (these are such great fun!)

The Tangled Lands by Paolo Bacigalupi and Tobias Buckell (a short story collection with interconnected stories)

Witchmark by C.L. Polk

Semiosis by Sue Burke

The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham

I had a vague goal in mind at the beginning of 2018 to read 52 books this year (one book a week). In the first third of the year (January to April) I didn't have a lot of time because of work and wasn't able to read much. In the second third (April-August) I did most of my reading. I then started to do a degree... and had absolutely no time to read at all. All the carefully selected books that I'd bought to read (way too many!) started collecting dust on the shelves. BUT fast forward to mid-November and I've decided to quit the degree in favour of focusing on things that matter to me (including my health).

I've read about 5-6 books since then.

If everything goes well the plan is to read 2-5 more books this year. As always depending on how much time I have to read (in addition to writing and planning) and how my depression is doing day to day. I'd actually love to hit 70 books this year. That'd be an achievement! Almost twice as much as I've read in the years before.

If this goal is achieved then next year's goal is obviously to top it. 70 books this year = at least 71 books next year. Or more. I'd like to get to the 100 books a year mark at some point, but 60 is the absolute minimum.

The list of books for next year (up to 60) is almost complete... However, I've actually already started reading from it so might need more suggestions. These are easy to come by apparently. Just yesterday I thought 'I'll never be able read all the books on my (other, huge, ongoing) list' and yet kept adding more and more to them. Today, too. I've found approximately 5 new books that definitely need to go on some reading list.

This means 2019's Reading List (the beginnings of which can be found here) has had a few books added. (And a few subtracted that I've already read. Soulbinder by Sebastien de Castell, The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham, and The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy - although the last one will require a quick re-read considering I only had it on audio and audio is not ideal for me to retain information).

The new books are these (and I have no doubt the list will be even longer tomorrow...):

44. China Mountain Zhang
45. The Shattered Gates (Rifter)

46. Journey to the Center of the Earth

47. The Skeleton Tree (maybe)

48. For One More Day
49 Total Focus by Brandon Web
50. Nightflyers by G.R.R.M.
51. Spellslinger 5 (Absolutely love Spellslinger! You should definitely read it if you're into YA-ish fantasy Westerns)

52. Focal Point

53. Among Others by Jo Walton

54. The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

55. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham

How about you guys? How's the reading goal going this year? It's almost time to tally up! How many books do you still hope to read this year?

All the best with your goals from WriteBot! Have a good night/day!