Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Reading Goals 2013

In 2012 I read over 100 books, but only a couple of them were backlist (pre 2011). My goal was to read as many Apocalypsies (debut YA+MG authors in 2012) books as possible as well as to continue to read dystopian and post apocalyptic books for my February and August theme months. It was hard for me to fit in books that fell outside those parameters, which meant that I read very few adult books (only 8!), virtually no non-fiction and not a single classic.

I want my reading in 2013 to be more balanced.  What does this mean? In 2013, I'm setting a goal of 75 books read by the end of the year, with the following approximate breakdown:

15 debut YA + MG books from the Lucky 13s
20 dystopian + post-apocalyptic books (10 for February/ 10 for August)
6 classics (1 every 2 months)
20 new releases in 2013 including 5 time travel books (for this time travel challenge)

and then backlist!  Here's a list of some of the gems from my shelf that I'm dying to read:

Sloppy Firsts by Megan McCafferty (Must start this series!)
Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters (I've read all her other books)
Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (I have all her books, but have not yet read a single one!)
I Know It's Over by CK Kelly Martin (and all her other books I haven't read, while I'm at it)
Where She Went by Gayle Forman
How to Live Safely in a Science Fiction Universe by Charles Yu
The Taker by Alma Katsu
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

I hope by reducing my goal to 75, I won't be scared off reading longer novels - and I do plan to squeeze in some non-fiction as well too.

How are your reading goals for 2013 different from years past?

8 comments:

Kailana said...

I haven't even looked back on my year. It got really quiet near the end and that depresses me a bit! I seriously would just like to read with some regularity in 2013. There were huge chunks of time where I read nothing!! There are a few books on your list that could easily be on mine! (I got The Taker for Christmas, so hopefully you like that one!)

I think a big thing for me in 2013 would be to either decrease the blogs I read or come up with some sort of time where I at least make an effort to visit blogs. I miss blog hopping and having people do so in return! (And I am looking forward to visiting your blog in February!! Although, I seem to just add more books to my TBR and then not actually read them... hm...)

Happy New Year! I look forward to reading your book in a couple weeks time. Happy reading in 2013!

April (BooksandWine) said...

Whatttt you haven't read Sloppy Firsts? Lady, that should be your first 2013 book read. It is so so so good and oh my god you haven't even met Marcus Flutie or Jessica Darling and I cannot handle this knowledge right now.

bermudaonion said...

Good luck! Happy New Year to you and Daniel! I can't wait to see you and celebrate the publication of Level 2!

Miss Remmers said...

I love this! I, too, should get my reading more balanced but I think I'll ride this dystopian wave ONE more year (or two)! Happy New Year!

Beth Kephart said...

I think this is a great list. I'm seeking more balance, too, in different ways. Let's hold each other to the challenge! And very best of luck to you as your debut now makes its way into the world!

Kristin Lenz said...

I've been thinking similarly, not setting a number goal, but considering a balance - branching out and reading more poetry, short stories, and a few books on craft.

Alyce said...

Good luck with your reading goals! I look forward to seeing what you think about those books you listed.

Joanna Hennon said...

I just got A Reliable Wife froma friend who loved it, will be reading it this month hopefully!