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The last couple of years were kind of a doozy when it came to my reading life. It wasn’t just an issue of being busy and stressed — I was in survival mode. And when you’re in survival mode, you simply don’t read as much. Well, at least I don’t.
That’s why I’m super excited about this year. The things that were causing mega issues in my life were resolved about halfway through 2022, and I slowly started to feel my life get back to normal, which also included my desire to settle down and read a book. All I can say is that it’s nice to be back.
What I Want to Avoid
Now that I’m ready to embrace reading again, this has also caused me to think a lot about what I want my reading life to look like, and what I don’t.
In previous years, I would find myself getting caught up in all the new releases that people were saying were the “must reads” of the year. And the result: I was following the trends more than following my gut. And some of those books ended up being the most disappointing reads for me.
This doesn’t mean I won’t read any new releases or bestsellers, but I do want to keep those to a minimum.
While I do track the books I read, something I always try to avoid is reading for a number. For that reason, I never set a number goal.
What I Want My Reading Life to Look Like
In a perfect world, every book we read would be a 5 star read, but we all know that isn’t going to happen. We need to explore and try new authors and new books, even if we think it will be outside of our comfort zone.
But we also know which authors we already know and like, so one of my goals will be to read more of those authors.
I also want to read more of the books that are already on my shelves. After all, I bought those books because I wanted to read them, not just so they could sit on my shelves and look pretty.
My 2023 Reading Goals
With all that in mind, here are my 2023 Reading Goals:
Goal #1: 80/20 Old and New
The first goal is to balance new books with previous published books, I’m aiming for 80% previously published and 20% new books published in 2023.
Goal #2: Read Books from My Own Shelves
For this goal, I want 75% of my books to come from my own shelves (or Kindle). In other words, anything I purchased before 2023.
Goal #3: Read More Backlist Titles
I want to read more backlist title from authors I already know I love.
Some of these include:
- Ann Patchett
- Louise Penny
- Kristin Hannah
- J. Ryan Stradal
- Wendell Berry
- Sally Hepworth
- Megan Goldin
- Madeline Miller
- Celeste Ng
- And more!
Goal #4: Read at least 10% Nonfiction Books
It can be easy to neglect nonfiction books, and I want to make sure I don’t make that mistake this year.
Goal #5: Do at least 5 Re-Reads.
This is something I don’t do enough, but I always enjoy the experience.
Goal #6: Read Books My Kids Have Recommended to Me
So many times, my kids have finished books and said, “Mom, you would really like this book.” And I simply haven’t read some of their recommendations enough.
Some of these recommendations include:
- The Harry Potter Series. I might be the last person on the planet who hasn’t read this whole series. I only read the first book when the books were first coming out.
- The Michael Vey Series. My older teens have been telling me for a few years how much they love this series. In fact, they say it’s at least as good as Harry Potter, if not better.
- Read Player One. Both my teen boy and girl loved this book.
- The Scythe Series. My teen boy loves this series.
- Books by Andy Weir. My techy teen boy has devoured each one of Weir’s novels.
Goal #7: Read Through the Old Testament
One of my favorite things to do is a chronological reading through the Bible.
The only problem I run into each time I do it, is that you don’t get to the New Testament until October. By then, the holidays start kicking in, and it ends up feeling really rushed. So… what I’ve decided to do this year is focus only on the Old Testament, and then in 2024, I will read through the New Testament and then maybe I’ll be able to read through it a few times.
Reading through the Bible can be a daunting task. I was never able to make it much past Exodus until I discovered The Bible Recap by Tara Leigh Cobble. In summary, The Bible Recap is an explainer podcast. You read the passage for the day and then tune into the podcast to match. All Tara-Leigh does is tell you what’s going on, and she cheers you on to keep going. (She has also created a YouTube channel where you can watch the podcast for the day, and she has the same content published in a book.)
Conclusion
I will report back at the end of the year and let you all know how I did.
What are your 2023 reading goals??
