I am a goal-oriented reader, so striving to read a certain number of books each year is an annual tradition. Once again, I’m challenging myself in other areas as well. Do you think I can achieve my 2018 Reading Goals?
- DNF without guilt.
This was one of my goals last year. Technically, it was a success. I gave up on a handful of books that that just didn’t click with me, including some Advance Review Copies (ARCs). The struggle was real, though—especially with ARCs. The guilt! Oh, the guilt! I convinced myself that I needed to get through a certain percentage before throwing in the towel. The truth is that sometimes you know early on that an author’s writing style isn’t for you, or maybe the main character rubs you the wrong way from the start. My reading time is precious, so I’m not going to pay attention to that little percentage indicator on my Kindle this year. If it doesn’t excite, then it’s time to say nite. - Conquer my TBR list.
It’s easy for me to get swept up in the hottest new releases. There’s nothing wrong with that, and as a blogger I love giving readers my opinions on books before they’re even released. However, there are a ton of books that have been gathering cobwebs on my TBR pile. It’s time to dust off some of those books published before 2016 and hopefully discover some great gems. - Go on an ARC diet (again).
I had such great intentions last year, but sadly I fell off the wagon and agreed to way too many ARC requests. It’s definitely a privilege to be given a complimentary copy of an author’s work and entrusted to honestly evaluate it. However, a lot of time goes into reading a book, writing a balanced review, and promoting it prior to publication—and sometimes you may not get the book until one week before the release. ARC overload leads to anxiety about meeting deadlines and sucks the joy out of reading. Not to mention, it doesn’t help with goal #2! My goal this year is two-fold:
1) Do not accept more than five ARC requests per month.
2) Only sign up for an ARC if I feel passionate about the book and/or the author. - Get caught up on my favorite series.
The Naked in Death series by JD Robb (Nora Roberts’ pseudonym) is a mystery/suspense series that is one of my all-time favorite series! I’ve been addicted since I devoured the series while on bedrest with my first child. Robb continues to release two books each year. There are currently 47 books in the series, but I’ve fallen woefully behind. I’d like to get all caught up this year. - Give new-to-me authors a chance.
Taking a chance on new authors can be risky but it can also have a huge payoff. I discovered some new favorites by going out on a limb and reading new-to-me authors last year, and I would like to continue to challenge myself that way. My goal is to read a book by a new author each month. - Meet my Goodreads Challenge.
Reading 100 books a year is typically easy for me. My work schedule and hours spent blogging, though, have seriously eaten into my reading time. I’ve set my goal for 100 books again this year, and I hope meet it.
I may need your encouragement to keep me on track. What are sone of your goals? Here’s to an enjoyable year of reading!
One of my main goals is to close out series that are completely published that I have already started to read. I have 11 that I know of, so I would like to finish those in January – February, before I start a brand new series.
Start Charley Davidson series, but only read 1-2 per month in preparation for the last book to come out in October.
Read more physical books on my book shelf.
Read more historical and paranormal romances. I used to read a lot of those a couple years ago, but mainly historical is my biggest neglect in all of the genre types I read.
Go to my library and get a library card since I recently moved to a new state.
Those are some great goals! Last year’s goal was more variety in genres. It was a good exercise that I plan to continue. I’m going to add finishing a particular series to my goals!!! Thanks for the inspiration.
Great goals!! I always want to limit my ARCs so I read more of what I’ve purchased or re-read some of my favorites but I always end up signing up to lots of ARCs LOL
PS: I don’t give it much thought to DNF. I always think time is very limited to waste it in a book (or TV show or movie) that doesn’t touch my heart 😀
When I contact you about being afraid to DNF, you can give me a little push. 🙂
I will help you with that!! Hahahhaha
I have the same problem with guilt over DNFing ARCs but I feel like I started to come to terms with it this past month. Good luck on your resolutions!
It’s a process, isn’t it? I’ll try to stay strong. 🙂