After some really excellent feedback from you guys, I’ve had a think about how best to do this blog – and indeed how to approach my reading this year – and here’s what’s going to happen:
- My reading challenge goal has been revised downwards from 205 to 120. I can’t read 205 books, work full-time, finish my novel, and have a social life this year; I just can’t. 120 is the lowest reading goal I’ve ever set, so it seems reasonable to imagine I’ll be able to surpass it, which will be a nice mood boost, and it’ll keep the pressure off. (Plus, if you think about it, that’s still a lot of books.)
- Instead of trying to read as many books as I can, I’m going to try to genuinely enjoy as many of the books I read this year as possible. This will mean a lot of DNFing, I imagine. So many things I’ve read since Christmas have been so good that it’s really put me off trying to get through something mediocre just because we’re guaranteed to sell a lot of it at the shop.
- I’m also going to try to fill in some of my classics and 20th-century gaps.
- Re blogging, I’m going to try the following: a weekly reading diary which (as vacuouswastrel suggested) will be, quite literally, one or two lines on everything I’ve read that week. Fortnightly (approximately) I’ll choose one or two of the best books read in that period to feature. Less regularly – I don’t know at this point how often – I’ll do a proper deep-dive review into something that really demands that amount of attention. I’ll also carry on doing Three Things at the end of each month.
And hopefully, that will work. Sort of. Well enough.
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120 books is still a ton considering everything else you have going on. I’m with you — I’d love to improve the quality of my reading, replacing lots of forgettable 3-star books with 5-star books. The problem being that it can be so hard to know in advance which those will be! (Even with great input from fellow bloggers, reviewers, etc.) So that’s why I’m going back to reading at least one classic per month. It seems a surefire way to inject some literary quality in my reading.
I love your blogging plan; it sounds just right. I hope you’ll enjoy it and not find it a chore to keep up.
I’ve been thinking the same about DNF, it’s too easy to waste time on books just to say I’ve finished it. Now I throw in the towel whenever I feel like it!
Sounds like an excellent plan, Elle! 😊
Sound most sensible. And yes – abandon a book if it’s not working. Life is too short! 😀
Great plan. Especially giving yourself more time to enjoy the best books, with a less lofty, (yet still substantial) total to aim for.
Its good to have a plan, but be prepared to be kind to yourself. No beating yourself up if you don’t manage to stick to it, do you hear?
Yes ma’am!
Sounds like a great plan and very do-able. My goal is 100 books this year which is a lot along with work and kids. And you’re right. We should focus on enjoying books rather than counting numbers. Good luck with your reading year!
Thank you! You too 🙂
Love the idea of a weekly reading diary, and wishing you luck with finishing your novel and reaching your reading goal this year! DNFing mediocre books seems like a smart move, with everything you already have going on.
Thank you! It’s going to feel weird (I’m a completist at heart), but I’m going to have to lean in to it.
Sounds like a great plan, Ellen! 120 is still a lot of books, particularly when you focus on reading the ones that bring you joy. Good luck with your novel, too 🙂
Thank you! I’m hoping for a very fulfilling reading/writing year…
Good luck; I hope this works well for you. Not just from the perspective of a well-wisher, of course, or even of someone who reads the blog, but also a bit because now I’ll feel guilty if it doesn’t…
Given how many books you read, do you plan far ahead, or is it all just spur-of-the-moment?
Haha! I’m sure it’ll be a weird adjustment period and I’ll forget to make things short and sweet and then I’ll have a minor panic attack about my terrible work ethic and my inherent laziness and how much of a failure I am, but here’s hoping.
I don’t plan very far ahead. I know the proofs I have at any given time, and try to read them in order of pub date. The rest of it (what I think of as “non-shop” or “non-work” reading) is up to me, and I’m fairly spur-of-the-moment.