My 2020 Reading Goals

Overall, I'm pleased with how and what I read in 2019.

I continued to be ruthless about abandoning books that weren't holding my interest, I used the library more often instead of rushing out to buy every book I wanted to read, and I've gotten better at reading books shortly after I purchase them.

I started a series that's been on my TBR for years, I read a bit more in French, and I wove more Canadian literature into my reading life. I also completed both #theunreadshelfproject2019 and the Toronto Library 2019 Reading Challenge.

This year, I would like to complete both #theunreadshelfproject2020 and the 2020 Toronto Library Reading Challenge, again. Aside from those lists, here are a few other intentions I'm setting.

1. Read for enjoyment
Before I started blogging, I would wander the bookstore and pick up whatever paperbacks I thought I would love. I never paid much attention to new releases (and couldn't afford hardcovers anyways), and I loved taking suggestions from friends. I didn't let Goodreads influence me, and I had no idea how many books I read in a year. I never ever ever felt like reading was "work".

I want to get back to this feeling.

I want to pick up authors I've never heard of. I want to put a recommendation from a friend to the top of my TBR. I want to read more backlist novels. I want to fall less into the FOMO that exists on bookstagram with books that are new and shiny. While I will still blog and share some new releases, I want to remind myself to only accept books from publishers that truly make my heart sing.


2. (Almost) No more numbers
For three years in a row, I've read 100 books. That is nearly 100 000 pages. For me, that is beaucoup. This year, I'm setting my Goodreads goal at a whopping 1. I will absolutely read more than one book, but I want to not care about the final number. And that also means I won't be counting my monthly wrap ups. Books will come into my life, and books will be shown the door, but I'm not going to count it all up.

One of my other intentions this year is to spend more quality time with my family on weekends, and that inevitably means I'll read and blog a bit less. I'm okay with that, so I'm simply finding ways to weed the garden with respect to what I share online.

The one number I will track is the number of unread books I have in my home. Right now, I own 229 unread books. I'd love to have this under 200 by the end of the year, but we shall see!

Here are 10 books I hope to read in 2020.

Did you set any reading goals for yourself this year? What are they?

xo
Jenn