Eight Reading Goals To Consider For 2021

I spend most of each January setting goals for the coming year. I feel like January is a month for planning, rather than instant resolutions made New Year’s Day. It seems to me that quick resolutions tend to fizzle out before month’s end. I just like to take my time setting up my plan for the coming months.

There are lots of ways to set goals, and reading goals are no different. Why set a reading goal? I’ve found that having some kind of structure in place leads to more enjoyment when I read. (And, it’s part of my job as a reviewer to organize my reading life.) Check out some different approaches to reading goals.

  • Reading a certain number of books: This is one of the most common goals out there. So what’s the magic number? That has to do with how much time you want to dedicate to reading, how fast you read, what type of books you want to read, and many other factors. One person’s 12 books-in–year goal could take as much effort as reading 50 books would be for someone else.

  • Reading a Specific Genre: Maybe you have a specific genre of books that you really want to get into in a deeper way. I love cozy mysteries and could read them all day. Maybe you want to get a survey of a genre to get to know what it’s all about. Or, you could choose a genre you’re less familiar with and want to learn more about.

  • Completing a Series: Some authors have lengthy series’ that can take awhile to work through. I have several series I want to get through at some point (Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen, and Sue Grafton’s Alphabet series).

  • An Author’s Complete Works: Some authors are more prolific than others (Terry Pratchett, Sue Grafton, Stephen King, most romance writers), so this may be a more lofty goal depending on who you want to focus on. This goal could be a fun way to check out a relatively new author with a smaller catalog.

  • Debut Authors Only: Who doesn’t like a shiny new author? This goal would give you the chance to get in on the ground floor with a variety of authors in as many genre’s as you like.

  • Book Club Picks: There are lots of book clubs out there, from your neighborhood or church group to online groups (Modern Mrs. Darcy, Reese’s Book Club, and of course the grandmother of them all, Oprah’s Book Club). This can direct you to a lot of new and interesting books.

  • Read What You Own: As the owner of many bookshelves full of works I haven’t read yet, I considered this as my goal for this year, but chickened out. I hate the idea of a year of no new books. But for some people, this could be a relief, shopping your own home bookstore.

and finally…

  • All Paper/Digital/Audio: The format of a book changes how you take in the story. With paper books, you have the joy of turning pages, enjoying the cover image and jacket copy, and having something to hold in your hand. Digital books offer convenience (hundreds of books in one compact container), the ability to read in the dark (I know, weird, but this is what sold me on e-readers), and font/size adjustments. Audiobooks bring back the joy of being read to (like when you were a kid). The narrator can bring a lot to a story, and you attend to general tasks or exercise while you listen.

Since I review books for this blog, my goals have an interesting combination. Overall, I want to read at least 60 books this year, divided up each month in the following way:

  • Church book club selection
  • Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club selection
  • NetGalley review book (3 to 4 of these)
  • Home/Organization/Non-fiction book
  • Audiobooks (2 to 3 of these, could fulfill a book club selection)

For January, I’ve read:

  • The Dress Shop on King Street (audio, church book club)
  • The Late Bloomer’s Club (audio, MMD book club)
  • Killer Kung Pao (NetGalley)
  • Death by Chocolate Snickerdoodle (NetGalley)
  • Paw and Order (NetGalley)
  • The Lazy Genius Way (non-fiction)
  • Welcome Home (non-fiction)
  • Why Not Me? (audio)

I feel like I’m off to a good start, and I work nights as a news writer for a media company, so I can listen to audiobooks while I work. I have three other audiobooks lined up, but I won’t finish them until early next month. My favorite audiobook sources are the Libby app from my local library and Libro.fm, where you choose your favorite indy bookstore to support.

Do you set any yearly reading goals? Are yours similar to the ones listed here? Or are they something else all together? Share in the comments below. We’ll be checking in with this topic every month.

Happy reading!

— Amy

Book Pages, E-Books, and Audiobooks Oh My!

Photo by Gabby K on Pexels.com

I can’t decide my favorite way to read. There’s the appeal (and wonderful smell) of paper books (and with a book light, you can read in the dark). E-books offer a compact way to carry hundreds of books (and you can read in the dark!). Audiobooks offer a personal way to experience a story through the voice of the narrator (and you can listen in the dark! — can you tell that’s a biggie for me?). But which way is best? Not a question I can answer.

When e-books were new, I started out as a die-hard paper book person. I didn’t see how anything could beat having books on shelves and stacked on my nightstand. Who wanted to be stuck to a screen that may run out of juice before you’re done reading? One of my brothers passed down an early Kindle to me, but we lived in a rural area and downloading books was difficult. It was intriguing, but I never thought I’d convert. Then I discovered an all important fact a few years later…

You can use an e-reader in the dark.

Sure, there are booklights, but they’re awkward and can still keep your partner up if you have one. I got a Nook e-reader for Christmas when they were a new thing and was fascinated. It had a cool Tiffany blue cover, it was (kind of) a tablet that could be used for Kindle books too. And I could carry tons of books in a compact device. I also love magazines, and could get cheap magazine subscriptions and read them on my color screen. And I could read it in the dark without disturbing anyone or getting a crick in my neck. I was hooked.

Maybe a little too hooked. The downloading capabilities had improved, and all it took was a card on file and a click and I had a new book or magazine to read instantly. My collection grew quickly and so did my reading costs. I quickly got ahold of that (hello, book budget), but it was a whole new world for someone who lived hours from the nearest Barnes and Noble. I’m a book collector by nature, so being able to amass a collection that I didn’t have to find shelves for was awesome.

Then we moved from rural Kansas to a suburb of Detroit. Paper book purchases were easier and I had a (large) built in bookshelf in my basement. I bought a balance of e-books and paper books during this time and my collections of both grew (a lot!).

Five years later, we moved to a rural area of the Colorado mountains. No more Barnes and Noble, though we do have a small bookstore that will order books. I continue to read paper books during the day and usually have a regular book and an e-book going at once. Online ordering makes it easy to get paper books and e-books. I also discovered NetGalley, where bloggers and others who write about books can get e-book early copies, and Celebrate Lit, where I can get early copies of electronic copies of Christian books (I always disclose in my reviews when a book was received through NetGalley or Celebrate Lit). The Libby app makes it easy to access library e-books. So e-books are a major part of my reading life.

I didn’t get into audiobooks until recently. I’ve worked nights from home for the last four years and it’s kind of quiet. I used to listen to music or watch TV, but discovered audiobooks are a great way to up my book total (audiobooks count as reading). I listen as I work and can knock out most books in two to three nights. I access my audiobooks through the Libby app and I’m not afraid to wait for books I really want. I just received audiobook copies of Mexican Gothic and Majesty, and have 28 Summers and Last Train To Key West on hold that should come in the next few weeks. I’ve recently been listening to a Christian mystery series by Terri Blackstock and found the first two at my library, but had to buy my first audiobook to get ahold of the third in the series when my library didn’t have the audio version.

I don’t think I’ll ever settle on a favorite style of reading (I can do all three in the dark!), and I think that’s ok. Each type fills a different need for me. Now if I could just get through my TBR lists for each, I’d really get somewhere.

Do you have a favorite way to consume books? Comment below on your approach to reading and whether you’ve got a stance on the book/e-book/audiobook debate.

Happy reading/listening!

— Amy
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