Bookish Goals of 2019

~ Holly

As always, I’d like to set some bookish goals for the new year. Usually I try to set ten, but this time I’ve decided that less is going to be more.

1. Read 52 books.

For the past few years I’ve set myself a goal do reading 24 books; however, this goal hasn’t been very challenging to meet, especially since I have to read so much for classes. This year I’ve decided to set myself a goal of 52 books, the equivalent of one book a week. Hopefully this will be enough of a challenge to keep my actively reading but not too much of a challenge that it becomes unrealistic to achieve.

2. Read more nonfiction.

I know this is a rather general, vague goal, but I still think it’s worth keeping in mind this year. I have to read so much fiction for my English literature classes that I tend to miss picking up a good biography or memoir. If I could make a third or even half of what I read this year nonfiction, I would be very pleased. This goal will also hopefully help me catch up with my ever-growing nonfiction TBR pile.

3. Listen to more audio books.

Again, another general goal that I nevertheless feel is good to keep in mind in 2019. I loved listening to audio books while I was abroad whenever I had to walk to classes, go to the store, cook, do laundry, etc. I would really like to find a way to work it into my schedule this year and hopefully listen to around an audio book each month.

4. Read all of the books I already own.

Although I’ve gotten better at this over the years and my physical TBR pile has dwindled down considerably, I still own a significant number of books that I haven’t read. I’d love to get to a point where I only have five books or less at a time that I haven’t read, and I think that’s a pretty manageable goal for this year. If I read at least one book that I already own each month then I’ll be on the right track. This goal is partly motivated by my desire to not own any books that I know for a fact I’m not never going to read. Why have extra clutter on hand when I don’t need to?

5. Get back into blogging/bookstagram.

Throughout this past semester I basically stopped posting to both my blog and my bookstagram altogether. I was just so busy with classes, writing an honors thesis, applying to law schools, and life in general that my favorite bookish activities got pushed to the wayside a bit. I’m going to really try to make an effort to fit it into my schedule this semester, even if it’s not as frequently as I would ideally like. Something is better than nothing!

6. Read for fun!

It goes without saying that I read with a lot of different goals in mind: to better educate myself, to open my eyes to different ideas and ways of life, to be more empathetic and understanding of other people. However, each year I make sure to add this goal to my New Year’s list because it’s something I tend to forget in the hustle and bustle of busy schedules and busy reading time. While reading with all of those things in mind is incredibly important, it’s also really important to me that reading remains something I wholeheartedly enjoy and not something that feels like work all the time. Reading has always been something I’ve done because I genuinely love it, and I don’t want that to change!

Those are my six bookish goals for 2019, ones that I hope are challenging yet still manageable and fun to work towards. Wish me luck!

Have you set yourself any bookish goals for the New Year? What do you think of mine? Let me know in the comments section below!

Yours,

HOLLY

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34 thoughts on “Bookish Goals of 2019”

  1. My Goodreads Challenge is 50 books, and whilst this is usually a manageable goal for me, I didn’t want to increase it because I want to give myself the time to read some of the more chunkier books on my shelves without falling behind. I haven’t set this challenge in stone but I think it’s also fair to say that I want to read all my unread books too. For me, it’s more so I can continuously keep my shelves tidy and box up/unhaul books on a semi-regular basis so I have enough space for all the books I buy and am excited to read.

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    1. Best of luck reading all of your unread books as well! That reasoning definitely makes sense–I would love to dwindle my current book supply down so it fits on one bookshelf. We’ll see how far I get!

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  2. I’m trying to tackle more non-fcitions this year! I think that actively setting a book aside each month might help since I tend to gloss over this particular goal. I also want to reduce my ARCs TBR sine my backlisted books have grown 😀 Soon enough I’ll be unhauling a few physical copies to make space!

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    1. That’s a great idea! I feel like any effort to actively choose which nonfiction book you’re going to read will probably help a lot 🙂 Best of luck with your goals!

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  9. These are great goals, Holly! I also want to try to listen to audiobooks, but I’ve never tried them out and I’m scared not to be able to focus too much haha. Oh well, I can try I guess 🙂
    You’re right to remember to read for fun! Even if we have so much to learn and discover thanks to reading, it’s also important to enjoy ourselves 🙂 best of luck for your goals! 🙂

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  13. Your goals are pretty much what mine is haha I really admire all of you who can juggle blogging and social media with college because this girl is struggling >.< haha I'm still trying to play around with how I can pay attention to all without burning out. Good luck with 2019!

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  15. Good luck with your goals.
    But if you do end up starting law school some time this year, don’t feel bad,if your reading dwindles to zero.

    Reading casebooks is very different than reading novels: it’s much more dense, more circuitous and strenuous (think James Joyce😊)and in many cases more boring. And the amount of reading assigned and the degree of retention of facts expected of you can overwhelm you, even with the time you do have, outside of class.

    Your discipline in reading regularly will help you, as it did me, but your subconscious expectations that the writing will be coherent, or will flow, or will strive to entertain, will likely be dashed.

    I remember feeling very resentful during the first year of law school, for being deprived of the right to read as I like and think my own thoughts. I was also insulted, that my writing, which had served me well as an English major, was considered substandard in this very specialized environment. Try not to take it personally, if you get this kind of feedback.

    Don’t worry, after the first year it gets much better and easier. Forgive me for the unsolicited advice!

    Fair warning!😊

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  18. You and me both! Life got in the way pretty bad the last few months! Also I own way too many books I still need to read but my self control is horrible so I just keep buying more

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  20. ‘Read for Fun’ – YES YES YES! That’s definitely one of my goals as well. Wonderful goals Holly – wishing you lots of fun in their pursuit! 😊🍀

    One of my goals for 2019 is to read less and slower. I found myself racing through books in 2018 and then somehow stopped enjoying both what I was reading as well not processing fully what I was taking in. 😊

    Here’s to a wonderful 2019! Happy reading. 📚😊

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  22. Happy Belated New Year, Holly ❤️ Sorry it’s so late, I was M.I.A for a bit but I’m happy to catch up with everyone again.

    Good luck with all your goals! I think 52 is a great reading goal, I considered making mine 52 as well but then I decided that I’m not linking a number to my reading this year, I just want to get back into the swing of things first. Audiobooks is a great choice, they really changed the way I read in 2018.

    I hope you reads tons of your own books in 2019 and that your blog and bookstagram goes to new heights xx

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  23. I have some similar goals to you: I want to branch out more and read more nonfiction (because the world is an interesting place). I don’t know if I will manage to get properly into blogging but I don’t want to stop posting so AAAAA basically, haha.

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