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Twelve Posts of Christmas (and New Year): Eleven – 2014 Reading Goals

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I am not going to set any reading goals for 2014. I will not be joining any reading challenges.

It’s not there aren’t reading-related things that I’d like to do. I’d love to demolish half of my TBR and discover dozens of new authors. I’d like to read more classics and more literary fiction and more of everything I already love and read regularly.

It’s not that there aren’t challenges that I could probably complete with little effort. The New Author challenge is quite easy, and I could take part in multiple YA challenges, I’m sure!

And it’s not that I haven’t enjoyed taking part in challenges in the past. I think that reading challenges are a great way to push yourself to read more and to share what you’re reading. I was even thinking of hosting a new challenge this year.

But I did not do very well on my 2013 reading challenges. I haven’t finished any of them, and I’m not going to. I think I need a break. I think I need to make it easy on myself and to let myself read more for pleasure, without a target in mind.

I am setting goals for other areas of my life, and I want to really focus and get lots done. I don’t want to have lots of goals for my career and blogs and hobbies all jostling around in my brain, competing for attention.

So 2014 will be the year without reading goals! I’m nervous and excited. Mostly excited. And I expect that by the end of the year I’ll be looking forward to 2015’s challenges!

Are you setting yourself any reading goals for 2014?

Reading Challenges 2013

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After my less than stellar performance in my 2011 reading challenges, I decided to cut back in 2012 and only chose three. I did create my own ‘Magazine Reading Challenge‘ that I pretty much ignored, but I plan to try it again this year, and will update the post shortly.

But the three I signed up for? I completed all of them easily. When setting myself the reading challenges last year, I think I lost sight of the operative word.

Challenge.

It strikes me that maybe it wasn’t so bad that I tried and failed three challenges in 2011. I completed 2012’s challenges almost effortlessly – they weren’t really challenges at all.

With this in mind, I am signing up for a few more challenges this year. I’m not going overboard – I’ve decided to focus on getting my TBR pile down above all else – but I want to have more fun with my reading.

As usual, I found all the challenges through the A Novel Challenge directory.

Books read for this challenge so far:
7. Milk, Sulphate, and Alby Starvation, by Martin Millar (review forthcoming)
8. The New Girl, by Emily Perkins (review forthcoming)
9. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson (review forthcoming)

I’m signing up for Mt. Vancouver – and aiming to read 36 books. That’s three more books than I read in total this year! Will I make this goal? WHO KNOWS. But I’m going to try.

And to that end, I’m also signing up for…

I read for this challenge:

I’m giving myself one exception – long-awaited review copies – but otherwise, this is it. I’m only allowed to read books that I owned before January 1st 2013, until April Fool’s Day. GULP.

Bookmark To Blog

Books read for this challenge so far:

I have quite a few non-fiction books on my TBR that I was really excited about getting when I bought them or got them from the library, but have yet to get around to reading. I’m aiming for the lowest level, ‘Geek’, as I can’t see myself managing more than four non-fiction books! Even two would be more than I’ve managed for the last few years!

2013 Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge hosted by The Book Vixen

Books read for this challenge so far:
2. Small Change, by Miriam Nash (poetry, by a friend, not sure I can review, link goes to publisher instead)
3. Vampire Kisses: Blood Relatives, Vol 1, by Ellen Schreiber (tiny manga, don’t feel like reviewing it)
11. Milk, Sulphate, and Alby Starvation, by Martin Millar (review forthcoming)
12. The New Girl, by Emily Perkins (review forthcoming)
13. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson (review forthcoming)

This year I only read 33 books. Which is an improvement on last year. But still. I want to read more. Many more. I’m going for the top level – I’m on fire! – which means that I need to read at least 49 books.

Artwork used (with permission) for this button is Anglerfish by Vlad Gerasimov.

Books read for this challenge so far:
 1. I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have To Kill You, by Ally Carter
2. Spellbound, by Cara Lynn Shultz
3. Pushing the Limits, by Katie McGarry
4. The Secret of Ella and Micha, by Jessica Sorensen
5. St Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves, by Karen Russell

7. Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
8. The New Girl, by Emily Perkins (review forthcoming)
9. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson (review forthcoming)

This is my third go at the New Author Challenge. It’s a pretty low-pressure challenge, there’s only one link-up for the whole year. I’m only going to pick 15 new authors as my basic goal, though I might change it later on. This is because I want to read lots of sequels this year! Which brings me to…

Books read for this challenge so far:

I’m aiming to read ten sequels. This is definitely going to be a challenge! I hardly ever seem to get around to reading them, though I did manage five last year.

And apart from the Magazine Reading Challenge, that’s it! It seems like a lot, but I’m hopeful. Have you signed up for any reading challenges this year? How do you feel about them in general?