Features | Suggested Reading Goals

Features | Suggested Reading Goals

• Friday, 6 January 2017

I can't believe it's 2017 already. It feels like only a few weeks ago that we were all talking about reading goals for 2016 and now it's time to start all over again! Last year I talked about my personal dissatisfaction with the standard 'read x books' reading goals, so this year I thought we could talk about a few alternatives and share some different suggestions.

1. Read more diversely
Take a look at the books you read last year. How many of those books were by black or asian authors? How many featured LGBT protagonists? How many were set in countries other than North America or the UK? A lot of us are guilty of not reading as diversely as we might. I know I certainly am. Why not make 2017 the year that you do something about that?

2. Try new genres
It's so easy to only read what you know you like. We read for enjoyment so when we know that we enjoy a particular genre, it makes sense to read more of it. But if you're only ever reading high fantasy, you might never discover your own secret passion for non-fiction memoirs. You never know if you don't try. Pick some genres you don't often read, find some books that look interesting, and give them a try this year.

3. Get through your TBR pile
The big one. The one we've probably all tried before. This is my personal goal for this year. I have about seventy unread books hanging around my bedroom at the moment and that is overwhelming to say the least. Knowing how much I tend to read in a year, I am doubtful that I'll get that number down to zero before the end of 2017, but I'm still going to try my best! Why not join me in vowing to read down the TBR this year?

4. Re-read more
I've written before about how much I value re-reading but I still need to do more of it. If you're like me, always meaning to re-read books you've loved but never quite getting around to it, why not make that one of your resolutions for this year? How about pledging to re-read one of your favourite books every month? Make this the year you relive your favourite stories.

5. Take part in a readathon
This is something I've written about before as well. Readathons are a lot of fun and there are plenty to choose from, so with a little bit of googling you're bound to find at least one that will fit in with everything else you have going on this year. I would recommend every reader try joining in with a readathon at least once and surely this year is as good a time as any?

What are your reading goals for the year? I'd love to hear about them in the comments. Whatever your goals are, I hope you have a happy and successful 2017!