It is a new year and that means new reading goals! I’ve seen many people debating online if having reading goals defeats the point of reading for enjoyment, but for me, they do not. They absolutely help shape the books that I am selecting and reading, but it does not change the act of reading for me. And I have to say, I am always quite proud to look back on my reading year (even if I do not achieve all of my goals). So, let’s dive into my 2024 reading goals!
2024 Reading Goals
These are my reading goals for 2024- mixed into the post, I’ve got the covers of some of my favourite books from last year. Hopefully you will have some books to add to your own TBR list! (You can click on each book cover to visit my review.)
Use Library, NetGalley, Owned Books for 80%+ of Books Read
Last year my goal was for 60% of my books to either come from the library or NetGalley- I beat that goal at 68%! (96/141 books read) I wanted to make a few adjustments to that goal this year, though.
Firstly, I wanted to bump up my percentage to 80%. I have a limited budget and given how many books are available from different places, it only makes sense to look to the library and to NetGalley for books (and audiobooks). 80% *might* be pushing it, as I have been saving audiobook credits for some books coming out in 2024, but I will do my best to get there!
Secondly, I wanted to expand this out to books that I’ve owned for at least a year. Like many of you, I have a great deal of both physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks that I have yet to read. And I did not want to discourage myself from reading them simply because they were not from the library or NetGalley. (If I purchased them over a year ago, I’m not spending my current money which keeps in spirit with the goal.)
Read 25 New to Me Authors
Last year I set a goal of reading 10 new-to-me authors. I like this goal because it pushes me to read more diversely and try new authors and genres that I might have normally passed by for more familiar authors. Well, I blew past that goal! (I stopped counting at 25.) So to continue on with discovering new authors, I’ve increased that goal to at least 25 new-to-me authors.
The only slightly tough part is that depending on the library can skew the books I read- I can only read what is available to me. However, NetGalley can be super helpful with this goal, and I’m excited to see who I will find this year.
Read 1 Classic a Month
While I am an Austenite at heart, I absolutely could stand to read more widely across the classics. In 2024, I am going to try and read one classic book a month and hopefully tackle some of the “greats”. I’m going to use “classic” and “great” loosely as those as subjective and debateable titles awarded from anyone. However, I think that if it gets me reading beyond my normal authors, it will be a good thing!
My January 2024 classic will be The Age of Innocence from Edith Wharton- I am ashamed to admit that I’ve never read it!
DNF Books (If Relevant)
I have one unquantifiable reading goal for 2024, and that is to DNF books if I am not enjoying them. (DNF meaning mark as “Did Not Finish”.) For the most part, I am fairly good at requesting and choosing books that are enjoyable reads. However, sometimes things go awry. Perhaps the blurb was not quite in line with the actual book or perhaps I didn’t pay enough attention when I was reading it. Or perhaps I was just not in the right state of mind to read that book at that time.
In any case, I would like to feel more confident in DNFing books if I am not enjoying them. I tend to feel bad towards the author if I DNF their book, but that reading time is better used to read other books that I might enjoy!
What are your 2024 reading goals? Are there any books that you are looking forward to reading?
Cheers,
The Historian
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