Hey! It's been forever and I miss blogging. I have been planning my reading / blogging year for the last couple of months so I am excited to see it all come together. I am hyped for all my reading projects especially one in particular. I'm finally able to talk about it on my blog which feels so freeing. Anyways, here are my reading goals for 2023:
Last year I was all about reading whatever I wanted which is great in concept but I was directionless. It felt like I mostly listened to audiobooks and read very few physical books in comparison. That was frustrating because I didn't feel like I was reading like I used to. I listened to mostly middle grade books as well which I usually enjoyed but not always. I also did the thing I never want to do but always do... I let work get in the way of my hobbies. I mean I got into sewing and I love barbell squatting now but I haven't done either in months so it's time to reset and make my hobbies a priority this year. My plan for my reading routine is changing things up after I reassess each month how my reading is going. I want to start January with such a simple reading routine which is:
- Read for 15 minutes during break time
- Read for 30 minutes before or after work
- Read 30 minutes extra on day off
On my off days I'll just break this up as my morning / afternoon or afternoon / night routine. I want to see if I gravitate towards the morning or night with the majority of my reading this January.
This is my favorite part because I've been wanting to do my main reading project for years! I even went back and saw I wanted to do it back in 2019 and boy am I making it happen this year.
A Disney Princess Controls My Life
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I am going to do a series where once a month I choose books, food, and something fun to work on based on a Disney Princess. For example, the first Disney Princess I am picking - Rapunzel - has me reading sci-fi, possibly baking a pie, and working on a hair care routine. You can kind of guess where some of the others are going to go but I've been super excited about actually getting started with this. I've been wanting to do this for so long!
Genre Focus
I am focusing on two genres and one age group. Horror, Mystery, and Middle Grade. I wanted to read from every single genre last year and really diversify my reading when currently I am only interested in certain genres. I am not going to get into High Fantasy or Adult Sci-Fi but that's fine. I want to focus on the ones I am more interested in.
Horror
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After dipping my toes into horror a couple of years ago I've been wanting to read more but it's still pretty intimidating. I am into psychological and supernatural horror so far in my horror reading journey so I'm going to stick with those. Here are a few on my tbr:
Mystery / Thriller
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I've been influenced my my mom in this department but it's difficult to find what works for me in this genre just like with horror. I have found two series I love so I am going to start there and see where to branch out. Here are a few on my tbr:
Middle Grade
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Although I felt like I focused too much on middle grade last year, as a Children's Librarian it is a must. I just need to balance it out with my other reads. Here are a few on my tbr:
Sidenote: Romance has been not been going great for me. I can't find one that doesn't have like multiple graphic sex scenes. I can always skip those parts but if there is no slow burn romance then I don't care to read them. I'm going to give romance a try this year but to a lesser extent as the other genres I picked. If anyone has any recommendations please let me know! These are the only two I am interested in right now:
Foodies Read
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I have been denying my love for all things foodie in books. I clearly love them. I read 15 books (lots of them manga admittedly) last year that featured food so might as well participate in the only outside challenge I'll be good at - Foodies Read. I used to participate in this challenge years ago but stopped doing challenges after awhile. I have to say this will be the only one I know won't stress me out so I am happy to be a part of it again. Here are a few foodie books on my tbr:
Around the World
I said last year that I wanted to read books from different countries and diversify my reading but I didn't have an action plan or a list of books. This time I do. And if anyone can recommend anymore that are universally enjoyed let me know. Here are a few from that list:
It would seem I should have added this goal first but I am really more concerned with my reading routine and reading projects. But I do have a goal for the amount of books I want to read and for the first time - pages.
I want to read 100 books this year. I have calculated how many books I want to read for each reading project and thought this was the perfect number. I have been below 100 books read for two years and I want to change that this year. Like I said in the beginning of my post, I want to make my hobbies a priority this year. I don't want work to constantly take over so I am making it a big goal to remind me of all I want to read this year.
Secondly, I want to read 25,000 pages which I haven't reached in the last two years either. I am using Storygraph to track this goal because I do DNF and those pages do count. I don't care what Goodreads has to say about it.
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I think a couple of years into blogging I got into keeping track of my fitness and how much water I drank. It was hugely beneficial and I wish I never stopped. Last year, I got into lifting. I can now squat 90 lbs which is a lot for this skinny body. I am going to be making significant changes in regards to eating healthier and staying away from the frozen section. That also means I want to make some lofty goals towards fitness which I'll be discussing biweekly in a #FitReaders blog post. I know if I consistently track my progress I'll be more likely to achieve my goals so that's what I am going to do this year.
Speaking of consistency... I am not the most consistent on this blog. Since I have been making detailed plans for personal growth this year (thanks Notion) I know I have to be consistent to achieve all the goals I want to this year. I know New Year's isn't some magical time that will automatically have you work towards your goals. It's a great motivation and jumpstart but being consistent with blogging and reading is something I need to work on.
I feel like I say it all the time but I miss being part of the blogging community. I watch reading vlogs passively. I want to be a participant within the blogging community more than I want to be a passive observer. Notion is going to help me keep a list of blogs that I visit regularly and new ones I want to read and comment on. I want to really get back into the blogging world and see what everyone's up to.
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Let's get this Year Started!
What are your reading goals in 2023? Do you have any recommendations for any of my reading projects? Let me know down below.
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