As 2020 began today, I did not expect to find myself creating a list of reading resolutions or goals for this new year. Yet as I was resting on this holiday off from work, I spent some time looking at my bookshelves and realized I do, in fact, have some exciting reading plans as the year gets underway. I recently shared with you the #MyYearofRereading Project that I created in my last blog post. I will absolutely be continuing on with that project, but I also have a few other goals that I would like to share with you.
First and foremost is the Goodreads Reading Challenge that I participate in every year. This challenge is purely about quantity – how many books do you want to read this year? I decided to do some math and figure out a goal that is challenging yet still based on reality. Since I mainly read on my commute now, I created a formula based on how many hours of time I spend commuting a year, how many pages I read in an hour, and how long the average book I read is. The result was about 58 books, and I decided to round that up to 60 for a bit of a stretch goal. You can follow me on Goodreads here to see how I am getting along with this challenge throughout the year.
My next goal is to empty my physical TBR (To-Be-Read) bookshelf by the end of the year. Notice I did not say that I want to read my entire TBR shelf. That is because I may end up decluttering some books that I decide I no longer have the desire to read. I fine-tuned this shelf a lot during 2019, and I now have 31 books that I consider on my TBR. This does not include my Stephen King collection, my Rick Riordan collection, and my Puffin Classics, as these are all books I plan to read and own over the course of my lifetime. That being said, I believe I can empty out my entire TBR shelf in 2020 by either reading or decluttering all 31 of those books!
Speaking of Stephen King, I would like to continue on with my journey in reading his entire bibliography in publishing order. In 2019, I reread both Carrie and ‘Salem’s Lot, and I look forward to picking up The Shining sometime this year. Ideally, I will read at least two Stephen King books in 2020, but I would love to read more! His books are often quite long, and I am sometimes intimidated by the time commitment each book requires. I’ve heard that The Shining is a fast read despite its length, though, so I am excited to get to it soon.
Lastly, I hope that 2020 is the year I finally get my book buying in check. I did a great job in 2019, and this was 100% thanks to the #MyYearofRereading Project. Since I was focused on rereading books, I did not spend a lot of time acquiring new books. My main concern is not with spending money on books, but on buying books in large quantities. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve lost interest in books on my TBR shelf before making an effort to read them. Instead, I plan to use my library to read new-to-me books. If I love a book I read from the library, I can always purchase it for my bookshelves later!
I hope you enjoyed hearing some of my reading goals for 2020. Please share any of your reading resolutions for the new year with me in the comments. I love hearing from other readers! I hope you will also join me over on my bookish Instagram account, @PolishlandReads! I regularly update my story with my current reads, and I post mini-reviews and wrap-ups somewhat regularly. Here’s to a great reading year in 2020!