2021: Reading Goals

So despite falling off the wagon and having a horrendous reading slump for the final few months of 2020, I did so well last year with my reading! I read 95 books (inc one DNF and several re-reads) which is so high compared to what I expected - I’d predicted to come in at about the 60-70 mark!

However, that was helped by a change in my hours as I worked from home for a lot of 2020, so I’m not expecting to replicate these same sort of statistics in 2021. But I have got some bookish goals to share, so here they are!

1. Start a reading journal.

I love my work bullet journal and I’ve seen several amazing reading journal setup videos so I’m hoping my notebook will arrive soon for me to keep my reading logs for 2020 on something other than a scribbled note on my phone. I’m also going to use this to make sure I’m reading more widely and diversely in 2021, as that’s an area I need to continue improving on.

2. Dent that backlist.

I don’t shelve books until I’ve read them - which is fine, but the stacks-of-books-by-my-chair situation rapidly spiralled out of control this year and it wouldn’t surprise me if there were fifty books there. And that’s on top of any backlist books on my shelves that got out there before my only-shelve-after-reading policy. So this year I’m absolutely determined to make my stacks my first port of call when choosing a new book.

3. Pre-orders only.

I have a pretty good idea of the books I want to order, certainly for the first half of 2021. I’m going to preorder those books from one of my favourite indies (The Rocketship Bookshop!) and then I will not go and just buy more brand new books. If there’s any others that take my fancy, I’ll use the library. The only exception here are books in the charity shops, but tbh most second hand books I buy go straight to my bookshelves at work anyway.

4. Make time for reading.

This may seem like a stupid goal, but it’s one that I really need! My reading slump coincided with being back in work again rather than working from home, and I know that I wasn’t making the time for reading once I was physically back at work the way I had done when I was working from home. Making sure I always read before bed, and reinstate my lazy weekend mornings with a book before I start doing anything else, are musts for me in 2021.

5. Reach My Reading Target

Despite reading 95 books in 2020, I don’t think I’ll manage the same amount in 2021 unless we all get locked down for six mobaths again (which obviously, I’m hoping we won’t be!). Therefore I’m setting myself a target of 60 books for 2021, including any re-reads and DNFs. There’s a part of me that sees 95 this year and is really desperate to hit 100 next year, but I think with work back to its usual full swing, that wouldn’t be achievable. So 60 books it is!

That’s it — those are my reading goals for 2021. Have you set yourself any Reading goals? What are your reading challenges for 2021?