2019 Bookshelf and 2020 Goals
2019 was mixed for me, personally. On the negative, we said goodbye to one of our family pets who’s been with us for 18 years. My father persists beating cancer, but my mother (not to be one-upped) broke her hip. Fortunately, she’s stubborn and diligent and is already down to only using a cane occasionally. On the positive, I received notice that I’m eligible to retire in the Navy Reserves (no current plans to just yet!). I published two books this year and one of my short stories made it into an anthology.
Let’s talk about a favorite pastime of mine: reading! This is the final in my blog/newsletter series and after, I’ll go back to about a monthly blog/newsletter cycle.
I upped my reading goal in 2019 to read 70 books. How did I do? According to Goodreads, I read 22,424 pages in 74 books, from novellas as short as 78 pages to tomes as long as 896 pages, with an average of about 303 pages. Other than the actual novel metrics, those numbers don’t matter a lot. I was far short of my goal in October/November, so I picked up the pace. I love listening to audiobooks on long trips or when I’m doing task work, but I’m a faster visual reader. This year I stretched myself to read more and to hit some personal goals.
Here were my goals for 2019:
1. Read The Dune Chronicles, more Culture series, and possibly more Jemisin.
Achievement Unlocked! I finished The Dune Chronicles! I have no interest in Brian Herbert’s or Kevin J. Anderson’s follow-on works. I also tackled another of Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels and none of Jemisin’s remaining series.
2. Clear and update my TBR that have been there since 2016.
Achievement Unlocked! I’ve cleaned out a lot of my TBR and put books recommended to me by readers and friends or that I’ve found of interest. I had books in there for over two years, so that needed cleanup. If I will not read it by now, I may not be in the frame of mind to read it. Best to move these books off the list and keep it more current and fluid.
3. Read 70 books in 2019, upping my 2018 achievement by 10%.
Achievement Unlocked! I made it to 74 books!
All-in-all, a successful reading year for me. However, I felt a bit stretched thin and the pace of my writing shows it. Therefore, my goals this year will be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound).
Read 75 books in 2020. That seems low, but I did not make this goal in 2015 when I began writing, so it’s time to take up the banner and reclaim.
Continue to read through the Culture series, reading at least 1 or 2 books (halfway through the 10 novel series, at 5 books read).
Read at least 12 Indie books. In 2019 I read 8, so this is a 50% increase. Also, it’s a book a month, so easy to track.
Read at least four fantasy books. I read two fantasy novels last year (Kings of the Wyld, and the litrpg The Ritualist). The first really got me back into the fantasy genre with a bang, and as I’m developing my fantasy series, I need to delve back into the genre. [Yes, I read a few Harry Potter novels, but I’m reading these to my children every night.]
I thought about writing some other goals such as reading more female authors or more diversity, but I just want to find good books and good authors, regardless of who they are.
What are you reading? Did you make a goal this year? Did you have any authors that surprised you? Let me know!
Here’s my 2019 Bookshelf and my previous blog entries in what I read this year in non-fiction, traditional fiction, and indie fiction.
Enjoy a picture of Shadow playing the consummate part of who she is: a cat who loved all things box shaped:
