I just wrote a post wrapping up my reading goals and accomplishments for 2024. So now it’s time to ask, what are my reading
goals for 2025? I have a few. Of course, I always have a number I try
to shoot for; 2024’s original book goal was 20, which got increased to
40 fairly early on, and ultimately settled at 60 with a total of 69
read. 20 may seem like not much for an avid reader like me, but the
previous few years were anything but avid: I didn’t have time for
much pleasure reading while I was in the throes of grad school classes,
and I was on a non-fiction kick for those few years when I did read
(which I enjoy, but nonfiction takes me a lot longer to get through), so
20 was a good goal if I had continued with non-fiction. (I read 25
books in 2023, 7 in 2022, and 23 in 2021 during my non-fiction kick. And
that included some books for school in 2023.)
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| TBR pile |
This
year, I already have a stack of 22 books I purchased this year but
didn’t get around to reading, so already I’d like to aim higher than 20.
Some of these I started but didn’t get far into (I started listening to
the audiobook of Assistant to the Villain but hated the narrator, so I recently picked up the print version), and I’ve already started and finished one on January 1st (How to Get a Life in Ten Dates
by Jenny L. Howe), so I’m feeling pretty confident about them. For now,
I’ve set my goal at 52 books, one a week, and we’ll see how I do.
Another
literary goal I have is to read at least one book in French and one in
Spanish. I used to be fluent in both and was a French minor in college,
but let my skills go by the wayside once I wasn’t being tested on them
regularly. I’ve spent the last couple years refreshing my memory of them
and although I’m nowhere near fluent anymore, I’m working towards it.
So, I added this to my book goals. I haven’t picked out the books yet,
but I’m aiming for more than a children’s picture book level of
comprehension. However, I think the Spanish Lord of the Rings books that I have are too much
of a challenge, so… something in between. Luckily, my new library has
a large Spanish speaking population and the book selection to reflect
that, so I’ve got opportunity to pick the right book! Any suggestions?
Let me know in the comments!
I haven’t solidified this one yet, but another goal is that I want to focus on
reading at least one book from genres I don’t usually (or ever) touch.
Part of this is just to expand my own horizons for my own reasons; I’ve
wanted to get into mysteries but never did, and maybe there are even
horror stories that I can stomach (imagine!). But part of this is also
just to be a better librarian; especially since I’m going to be working
in a bigger library, I want to be more familiar with every genre and be
able to give personal recommendations on why such-and-such is a
great book. This will be a tough undertaking, and I might not like
everything I come across, but hey… you never know, western could be my
next favorite genre! (Seriously, please recommend me some western
novels that are worth reading, because the only author I know of is
Louis L’Amour and that’s only from Practical Magic.)
I want to try my hand at the A to Z challenge again, and maybe I won’t forget about it this time. I thought about matching each genre up with a letter, but that would be very difficult for certain letters so I don’t think I will. As for goals I didn’t complete last year… I want to actually finish re-reading Tamora Pierce’s Tortall books this year; she’s my favorite author but I tend to always read her first two Tortall series, and her Circle of Magic series, before stopping. (I’ve never re-read the Beka Cooper books, if you can believe it!) Hey, maybe doing so will finally cause the second Numair book to release. You never know. And I do genuinely want to read Jane Austen; I feel like I’d love her if I gave her the time. (I do love what I’ve read, just other things always take priority!) And, of course, continue reading Discworld novels. I’ve read the Witches, Death, and Watch series, as well as two Tiffany Aching books, but there are still so many more!
I definitely want to keep this blog going, and evolve it into my full vision of it. Not just full reviews, although I like doing those, but also just random quotes and musings about authors and writing. Maybe some stories from the library. My current library doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic so I’ve hesitated writing about the patrons since they’d be hard to anonymize, but the larger library poses much less of an issue on that front. And I really want to get back into making YouTube videos. With my new job, I’ll have a set schedule and can actually plan blocks of time that consistently work for recording! I just… need to figure out why my mic is suddenly humming in recordings. No big deal.
And lastly… I’ve started writing again, finally, after a 10 year writer’s block (being homeless and struggling just to survive for years really did a doozy on me). Right now I’m writing for the sake of writing and don’t expect the current story to ever be published, but I would like to finish writing it and have something that I’m proud of because I did it, regardless of the end quality. Did I mention the bookstore is only minutes away from my new job? And there’s a second floor cafe where I can just sit and write all afternoon before I go to work (it’s where Jenny L. Howe wrote a lot of her latest book)? How convenient!
And, of course, the ultimate goal is to finally finish my Masters of Library and Information Science degree. I’ve just got this pesky research project to finish up, but I haven’t been motivated on finishing! But this is my last semester of financial aid eligibility, so I really have to.
So… yes, a lot of plans for this new year, but I’m looking forward to them. Do you have any literary plans or goals that you’re working towards?
