After weighing the pros and cons of reading challenges, it’s time that I outline my own goals and resolutions for the new year. Given that I have less time this year to read than I did last year, I decided to be more modest with my targets. That doesn’t mean I’m any less excited though. I mean, books and reading! Who wouldn’t be excited!
(Master page to track my progress can be found under 2015 Challenges.)
Reading Challenges
Goodreads Reading Challenge
Goal: Finish reading 85 books
Why: My goal last year was 100 books. Not only did I achieve that, I exceeded by 32 books. I managed to do that because I had just graduated from university and had a lot of time on my hands. This year, I’m pretty much inundated with work. Nonetheless, I think 85 is still doable since I listened to an average of one audiobook per week from October through to December.
Sign-up link: Goodreads
Around the World 2015
Goal: Simply to document all the places I visit through reading books
Why: I think it’s a pretty neat idea to mark all the places on a map. I tried recording locations in an Excel sheet last year but that meant I had to generate my own infographic maps. Evidently, I got tired of it because after June, I stopped posting my monthly overviews with reading statistics. Marking the locations on a Google map will be much simpler.
Sign-up link: It’s All About Books
Popsugar 2015 Reading Challenge
Goal: 30 prompts and 30 books (no double-counting)
Status: 0/30 books
Why: This looks like a fun challenge to take part in. It’s open-ended enough, so I’ll be reading books I’m interested in but specific enough to introduce more diversity. Is anyone else doing this? I think it’ll be even more fun to do it alongside other participants. Let me know in the comments below if you’re attempting this reading challenge.
Info link: Popsugar
Personal Challenges and Resolutions
Non-Fiction Books
Goal: Read 1 to 2 non-fiction books per month (20 books in 2015)
Why: One of my yearly resolutions is to expand my mind with new knowledge. Non-fiction books are perfect for that.
Adult Fiction
Goal: Read 1 adult fiction book per month (12 books in 2015)
Why: As much as I believe that YA spans a vast collection of fantastic books, I don’t want to ignore adult books.
Classics
Goal: Read 6 classics
Why: A lot of books take inspiration from classics. I want to be able to see those connections.
German Books
Goal: Read 12 German books
Why: I don’t want to lose touch with my mother tongue.
Blogging Resolutions
There’s really only one blogging resolution that’s been tugging at me and that is to get into the groove of a blogging schedule. By the end of March, I want to have built up a buffer of 10 scheduled posts. By the end of June, I want to increase that buffer to 20 scheduled posts. Scheduling blog posts would allow me to take more breaks when I’m too tired or not in the mood to generate new content.
SO MANY CHALLENGES. Girl how will you find the time to do this all? I will bow down and applaud you and cheer on from the sidelines. I’ve always been terrible at keeping up with reading challenges myself though O.o.
Congrats on the 132 books last year! Like you, I am thinking of lowering the total number of books for my NYE goals, though I’m sorry that your reasoning is lots of work :O :O. I hope you’ll still be able to relax & how nice to listen to an audiobook per week! I need to get back on my game with audiobooks! I hope that you can continue with that habit too :).
Around the World is awesome. I suspect that if I tracked the places I visit through books though, I wouldn’t find that much diversity in YA :/. But how will you mark the location on a google map? Google can take that information from your book???
The popsugar looks like a lot of fun. Why, someone should make a checklist for diverse books, make a challenge. I see you want to introduce more diversity – maybe we ought to work on such a challenge ourselves :). Ah, wait, you meant diversity in the sense that it’s asking for specific things in different books and the list itself has a wide range. Still sounds cool – though that I would less inclined to participate in than a we need diverse books sort of challenge.
Me too with expanding my mind and knowledge and nonfiction books! And also with not ignoring adult books! I feel you on the classics challenge, though I say that I’ll read more classics every year… Good luck there! And hey, I didn’t know you speak German! I hope you can find some good German books to keep up then :).
Blogging schedules do help when you’re not in the mood to write up other posts, but I do hope that it won’t stress you out too much! Following schedules has always been a hit or miss for me for that reason.
Christina @ Christina Reads YA recently posted Review: The Ghosts of Heaven – Marcus Sedgwick
Ooooh, lots of fun reading challenges! I alway do the Goodreads one to document what books I read every year, but I would like to do another fun one!!
~Sara
Sara Strauss recently posted Interview with Rachael of Simply Chic Jewelry + Giveaway
I hope you end up finishing that Popsugar challenge, because it’s awesome but I definitely can’t do it. Haha, I just don’t think I’ll be accomplish some of the challenges, and I don’t want to bother.
But all in all, I hope you end up finishing everything you want to do! And your redesign’s pretty cool. :D
Shannelle recently posted Book Review: Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
Yep I’m doing the Popsugar challenge! I saw it on Pinterest and then a few days ago in the blogosphere and after that, I was like YEP so doing it. I like how it is open ended and not really so specific? Like I can get just go about reading what I usually do and still cross off items rather than purposefully finding books to read because I need a book that’s set during the autumn or a book that has an x in the title or a book that’s written by an author from Fiji!
Good luck with your challenges! And building up some scheduled posts is a great idea, I love being ahead and try to always have some posts scheduled ahead.
I had to smile about your german books challenge, I am not a native english speaker myself either, but I hardly read any books in my mother language, Dutch, at all. I just can’t stand the language in books and much prefer english.
Definitely going to be taking a look at the PopSugar challenge!! It looks challenging but also do-able. Good luck to you for 2015 :)
Tracey @PrintedWordsAnd recently posted Top 14 Books of 2014
I came across the popsugar challenge on tumblr a while ago an I like the graphic and the simple tasks :) I think I will try this one out myself. Also, I like the idea of the “Around the World”-Challenge but i just looked it up: the last date to enter was the 31th of december and I know, just doing it for myself, I won’t really be keeping up noting the places I visited through books. I love a good competition. But on the other hand, I’d like to make such a map just to track my journeys without having a deadline and It’s All About Books provides the perfect guide to make such a map :)
Greetings!
Suey recently posted I ♥ | 2015
That Popsugar challenge seems like a lot of fun. Good luck!
Quinn @ Quinn’s Book Nook recently posted Book Haul #83
I like the thought of documenting all the places I visit in books, I think I will be part of that challenge too!
Missie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
Missie recently posted Bout of Books – January Sign-Up
I’m doing the Popsugar challenge too and my Goodreads goal is 60 books. I also want to read more nonfiction and classics as well. The Around the World challenge looks really fun! Good luck :)
Katherine recently posted Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian Review