With 2022 in the past I thought it was time to start thinking about what I want to read this year and set some reading goals!
How do you feel about reading goals?
Personally, I used to not like them. I felt like every time I set a reading goal I couldn’t live up to it, or if I set a to-be-read (TBR) list, I never ended up reading any of the books and then wound up feeling discouraged about my reading. The pressure to read made me not want to read.
But after successfully meeting my reading goals for 2021 & 2022 I’m feeling more positive about the whole idea.
I’ve actually taken a bit of a reading break for the last few weeks, so I ended my 2022 reading year in December. It might sound weird to take a break from reading because it is something I really enjoy however I knew I wouldn’t have a ton of time to read with the holidays coming up and I am the type of reader that likes to be mentally 100% into whatever I’m reading and reading consistently.
Although it has been nice to have a break, I have been really really looking forward to cracking open all of the books I have waiting for me on my shelves (not to mention all of the new books I got for Christmas!). With that, let’s get to the reading goals I have for this year and my probably too ambitious TBR list!
2023 Reading Goals
My 2023 reading goals are pretty straight forward:
- I want to continue to prioritize reading as a hobby and set aside regular (ideally daily) time to read. Even if it is just reading a chapter a day, I want to make sure that I maintain the habit of reading. It is something that brings me joy, helps me unwind, and generally enriches my life in a meaningful way. And I enjoy it more when I do it regularly and consistently. Books are generally more enjoyable when you can remember what you read last.
- I want to read 10 books this year. 10 books might not seem like a lot to others, especially when compared to book-stagrammers reading 100+ books a year, but I’ve decided my reading goals will follow my reading patterns year to year. So for 2022 I set a goal to read 6 books because that is what I managed to read in 2021, and so for 2023 I am setting 10 books as my reading goal and so on and so forth. The idea I guess is to maintain a consistent reading pace that fits in with every day life in a manageable way. You can see what I read in 2022 in this post.
- I want to be intentional about what I read and try to follow a set TBR list. I’ve never managed to follow a TBR list. Usually I just pick out books to read mostly as I buy them or just whatever I feel like at the time and have on my shelf. But with a diverse interest in different genres and a desire to only read books I think I will really love or grow from, I am hoping to build and read through a pre-set TBR list. I’ll be curious to see if I am able or enjoy following a reading list.
And now to share my TBR reading list for 2023!
This list only contains 10 titles so of course I could end up reading beyond this list, but these are the books I’m hoping to read this year:
- Sojourn: Legend of Drizzt Book III by RA Salvatore
- The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski
- The Blue Castle by Lucy Maud Montgomery
- The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
- We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
- Neuromancer by William Gibson
- The Wall by Marlen Hausofer
- Fairy Tale by Stephen King
- The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Bargain Bin Rom Com by Leena Norms
Those are the titles I’m hoping to read, in no particular order. I have linked every book to Amazon, I am in no way affiliated and don’t make any money off this, but figured others might want to check them out too. As you can see there are an assortment of genres, everything from fantasy to sci-fi, to drama to non-fiction so it should be an interesting reading year.
Are you setting any reading goals in 2023? What books are you most looking forward to reading this year?
Write soon,
Hannah B.L.
HBLogs 