As the shit show that was 2020 comes to a close, it's time to think about 2021. If I'm being brutally honest, my expectations for 2021 are very low. This is partly due to 2020 and partly because if I set the bar so low, it means I can be surprised. With a new year, comes New Years Resolutions. I'm not making any this year as I never stick to them. However, I am going to make some reading goals for 2021. 2020 wasn't the best reading year for me so I want to make 2021 an even better one.
1) Read One Book a Week
This might seem like a fairly obvious one, but it was something I struggled with at various points in 2020. I put a lot of pressure on myself to read and it takes the fun out of reading. I still enjoy reading, but when I have my Goodreads goal hanging over me, it turns it into a chore. By reading one book a week, I can still enjoy reading and meet my Goodreads goal.
2) Selective Book Purchases
In 2020, I have only purchased 57 books. This does not include ones I was gifted or bought for my degree. This is quite a low number for me as I used to buy books all the time. Now that I'm a student I don't have the same amount to spend on books. I've only been trying to buy books I really want to read. This leads me to my next point within this goal which is to read more reviews for the books I'm buying. It's sad to admit but a lot of the books I've bought in 2020 have been low star reads for me. I've already donated at least 5 books I've bought this year, which is very odd for me. There are reviewers that I trust, but a bigger picture is needed. I'm hoping to end 2021 with a similar amount of books purchased and a better idea of what they're like before I buy them.
3) Continue Tackling My TBR
This year I read 20 books of my TBR, with a further 11 being rereads. This is the most I've ever read from my TBR. I have donated a lot of books, most of which I had already read, but I think there's around 50-60 books on my TBR. I'm hoping to make another significant dent in it. A lot of the books I have are backlist titles from the height of YA books, which is when I first joined. I also have a tonne of classics to read. I've enjoyed catching up on these books as it's forced me to read quite widely.
4) Reviews on Goodreads
From early 2018 till mid-late 2019, I was consistently posting reviews on Goodreads. It meant when I came to write my actual reviews on my blog, I had some notes to go off. I've been keeping a reading/creative journal in 2020, which has bullet points on how I feel about the books I've read. I want to go back to posting reviews on Goodreads as I don't review all the books I read in detail on my blog. I will still keep on making notes as I like having a physical format.
5) More Active in the Book Community
I've really become invested in the book community this year. I've enjoyed the community aspect as it's been nice bonding with other readers. I know that 2021 is going to be a busy year for me, but creating content and interacting with other content creators has brought me a lot of joy this year. I want to make some bookish friends. I want to pour my heart and soul into my content. I have plans for 2021 and creating content I'm proud of is a part of it.
Those are my reading and book related goals for 2021. What are your goals for 2021?
Carenza :) x
