So today Kate and I will discuss our reading goals for 2015.  It’s hard to believe that this year is almost over.  Like, Seriously!  Where did the year go?

I hit my apex in 2012 when I read 94 books.  My goal that year was 90. So yeah, me, I made it! but it left me with little time to really enjoy the books I was reading.  It meant that I had to immediately start a new book as soon I finished one.  I also had to rush through books when I started to fall behind in my goal.  I think there were a lot of books I read that year that I would have enjoyed more if I had given the time to really let them sink in as I read.  Let’s just say, it was stressful.  I promised myself that I would never set a goal that high again.  Last year, my goal started at 65.  Totally doable but half way though the year, I lowered my goal to 50.  I know cheating! but it was taking me forever to get through the first 3 books of Game of Thrones.  I guess when you reading 300-400 page teen novels the pace of GoT was a snail’s pace.  It turns out I didn’t need to worry since I ended up reading 74 books this.

I’m going to set my goal again for 65. Why? Obviously, I know I can read that many books in a year since I’ve read more than 65 in the last four years running.  I’m purposefully setting a low goal because I don’t want to be rushed and also there are a lot of books that I want to reread.  Books that you have already read don’t count in your total book count.  (So really, I read more then 74 books this year, if you count my rereading of The Raven Boys and The Dream Thieves before Blue Lily Lily Blue came out, also my yearly read of Wuthering Heights, etc.)

I know I should say something, like my goal is also to whittle down on my to-read stack and I will but maybe I’ve come to the realization that my to-read is really never going to shrink.  There are far too many new books going to come out this year that I can’t wait to read.  There are so many books and authors that I have yet to discover and who knows what ARCs publishers are going to send out.  So, I’m going to do my best and read as many books I already own as I can but I will refuse to feel bad if the stacks pile up.  At least I know I will always have something to read.

Oh, one more goal for 2015. To finally buy more bookcases!

So Kate, whats your goal?

Thanks, Beth! I think it is wise to accept that one’s to-read list will
never really shrink. I get really excited thinking about the new year and what the next year is going to be like. (I get really excited about the same thing at my birthday, too.) What will the next 365 days bring? Will there be adventure? Romance? Sadness? Bravery? Victory? Travel? The answer to these questions is always yes because no matter what else will be in the next year there will always be books. In the past I’ve put together lists of things to read in the next year and while that has been fun this year I’m giving that a pass. I am setting myself a number and some guidelines and then I’m just going to let myself go.

In 2014 I read 53 books (I just finished Junot Diaz’s Drown); this means I surpassed my goodreads goal by 13 books. This year, I am setting the number to 50. It is a nice round number. It will be a challenge because I do a lot of reading for my day job. In fact, I should probably do more reading for my day job. That’s a post for a different day. And, now the restrictions: the books have to come from my endless stacks, the library or be ebooks. I am not to buy physical copies. That’s going to be the real challenge.