Hello, book lovers! 💕
I know we’re already halfway into January, but I thought I’d talk about my Reading Goals for 2021 today. Maybe by writing it all down will somehow hold me accountable for sticking to them. If nothing else, I hope to have a year full of reading and good books (one can only hope all the books I read are good). Even if I don’t manage to reach all my goals by the end of the year.
But anyway, I don’t have too many goals for this year, mainly because I suck at sticking to them and I don’t want to make reading into something that feels like work or something that’s stressful.
So without any further ado, let’s get onto my 2021 reading goals!
To think that I’ve been doing the Goodreads Reading Challenge for ten years. That’s kind of hard to wrap my head around. But I started doing that challenge back in 2011 (though I think I started late that year, which is why I only read 5 books).
So it goes without saying that one of my goals for 2021 is the Goodreads Reading Challenge. I set my goal for this year at 65, since I was able to read more than that last year. But this is where I don’t want to put too much stress on myself to reach that goal. I know that some people don’t count comics or manga in that number, but I don’t think I would be able to reach that many books read if I didn’t. As long as Goodreads counts it as a book read, I’m counting it as a book read.
That’s my main goal for 2021, but I also have a couple other smaller goals that I want to achieve this year. Those include not how many books I read, but the types of books I read.
I’m always looking to read more diverse books, whether that’s a diverse author or main character. Or even setting where the book takes place. I don’t want to feel like I’m reading about the same character regurgitated into different books.
I want to be pushed out of my comfort zone when it comes to the books that I’m reading. So that includes reading different genres than I’m used to. I tend to gravitate towards YA fiction and fantasy, and last year I began to branch out into Adult fiction, even some mystery/thriller books. I want to continue that journey. I want to read more books in genres that I have never or rarely read. The main ones being Adult fiction, Mystery/thriller, and Middle Grade.
Then there’s the goal of lowering my TBR and not buying as many books. I put this as a goal of mine every year, but I never seem to stick to it. While my TBR isn’t nearly as long as some people’s, it’s still longer than I would like. But I keep adding books to it because books keep coming out or I keep discovering new books that I want to read. It’s a never ending cycle, so I don’t think that goal is ever truly obtainable.
As for not buying as many books, well that’s something I’ve always struggled with. And I am trying not to buy as many, mainly because I’m running out of physical space in my room to store so many books. But I still buy ebooks, so I can’t really win. I know I could be using the library (and I do sometimes), but with the pandemic, I’m not comfortable borrowing physical books. I do borrow audiobooks and ebooks sometimes though.
So there you have it. Those are my 2021 Reading Goals. I’m already on track for my Goodreads goal as well as reading diverse books as of right now. Hopefully I can keep it up as the months go on.
What are some goals you have for this year? Are you good at sticking to your reading goals? I’d love to chat in the comments below!
It’s kind of cliche to say that I read a book based on its cover, but it is something that I guiltily do. There’s a good chance that if the cover draws me in, I’ll read at least the summary on the book jacket. And if I like what I read in the summary, then I’ll consider picking it up.
Most of the time, once I get passed the cover of the book, I’ll check Goodreads to see what other people are saying about the book. Not that I always have that determine if I pick up a book, but there’s a higher chance that I’ll want to read it more. If the people I trust on Goodreads really enjoyed a book, I know there’s a possibility that I’ll like it too. And vice versa. If they don’t like a book, I would be less inclined to read it.
But I might still pick up a book if it really interests me. If it has most of the keywords I look for in a book, then there’s no doubt in my mind that I’ll pick it up.
What are some reasons you pick up a book? Are they the same as mine? I’d love to know in the comments below!
