In Which I Remember I Set Reading Goals For This Year

“2016 Reading Goals” – does that phrase sound familiar to anyone? I recall a post I wrote, titled exactly that! As June rapidly comes to a close (wait, wasn’t it just April like two days ago!?) I begin to recall that I set some reading goals for myself…and unfortunately, I’m not doing a great job of sticking to them.

I try not to get too caught up in “what to read next” or “how much I read” because my real goal is to just immerse myself in the wonderful worlds that books have to offer. But when your TBR is so massive it’s practically sentient, it’s nice to set some goals.

I set myself an overall goal completing 112 books this year, which I’ll admit is pretty lofty, especially because last year I read a lot of graphic novels. So far, Goodreads is telling me I’m 8 books behind schedule. Yikes! That’s about a month of reading right there, give or take a few books.

I also told myself that of those 112 books, 40 of them should be from my “dusty bookshelf” – meaning books that have been moldering in my TBR pile for years (or at least, prior to 2016). This is probably the most important goal I set myself because I often feel guilty that I have so many fantastic sounding books in my personal library that have been ignored for so long. Please tell me I’m not the only one that has this problem! So far I’ve read 17 dusty books, which I think gives me a pretty good shot at completing my goal!

After that (yes, there’s more!) I told myself I would complete six series that I’ve yet to finish, some of which will include re-reading from the beginning because it has simply been too long since I last read them. Of those, I’ve read one book each from only two of the series. I’m not likely to complete this goal this year unless I completely refocus my reading habits and stick to just these series.

That being said, I have to admit to myself that I’m not exactly trying to achieve the goals I set for myself. Yes, I enjoy setting reading goals and I do try to read at least 100 books a year, just to try to keep up with my insane (unhealthy) TBR pile.  But I don’t enjoy being told what to read, even if it’s by myself! I’ve never been one to even attempt a monthly TBR like many other readers do. I like to skip from genre to genre, depending on how I feel after my last read. Or sometimes I launch right into my newest purchase, rather than condemn it to my shelves for all eternity.

Did you set yourself any reading goals this year? I’d love to know if you’re on track (or not, because misery loves company) and how you’ve achieved that!