Already into April, it’s time to check-in about how 2020 reading goals are going! I hope you are all enjoying nice weather, staying safe in a weird time, and reading as much as you’d like to.
My overarching goal this year was to read more, with a number goal of 125 books. I read a lot in January, starting me off well for the year. I’m at a total of 32 books for the first three months of the year, though it has been dropping off. Now that I’ve been following “stay at home” orders for a few weeks, my audiobook listening has reduced (very little driving!) and I don’t seem to be doing a lot of extra print reading…but I’m still going through some books, and wondering how long my last-minute stock-up pile from the library will last!
Here’s my monthly totals:
January: 14 books
February: 11 books
March: 7 books
Now onto the specific challenges…
The Phantom of the Opera Reading & Viewing Challenge
Host: Tales of the Marvelous
Goal: Lon Chaney Level
I already posted the check-in post for the Phantom challenge I’m hosting. So far, I’ve reread the Gaston Leroux Phantom. I have a modest goal for this one, so I’m currently on track. I’m hoping to re-watch the 25th Anniversary Webber play next. We’ll see!
Diversity Reading Challenge
Host: Celebrity Readers
Goal: 18 Books
More diverse reading is my perennial goal, and as usual I’m running a little behind. I read a few books with minority-of-some-form heroes, and should really add some new ones to my TBR list.
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant (Jewish community)
- In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan (bisexual hero)
- Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell (dark-skinned fantasy-world hero)
Tackle My TBR Reading Challenge
Host: Kimberly Faye Reads
Goal: 34 books
So far, moving my TBR list to Goodreads has really helped me work through it, and overall I’ve really enjoyed finally reading some books that intrigued me – at least enough to put me on the list. Some have been excellent and some have been terrible, but even with the disappointing ones, there was something in the premise that made me pick it up, and has generally made me want to keep reading even when it wasn’t all I hoped for. I think this may be contributing to my reading a greater quantity of books so far this year too.
As to numbers, my goal was to read 34 books off of my 68 book TBR list. Well, I’ve read 16…and added 16 to the list, keeping my list length at exactly…68 books! At least they’re more recently added, and I think this quarter saw an unusually high number go onto the list, as I added eight or so by hunting up all the series I kept meaning to finish and adding the next book to the list.
- The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
- The Librarian by Christy Sloat
- Cinnamon and Gunpowder by Eli Brown
- The Heroines by Eileen Favorite
- The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
- The Fledgling by Elizabeth Cadell
- Incarnate by Jodi Meadows
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
- One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan
- Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay
- You Just Don’t Understand by Deborah Tannen
- Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell
- Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
- The Bully at Work by Gary Namie
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Do you have reading goals for the year? How are they going so far?
I’m at 27 books total for the year. Since I primarily read via audiobook, I’ve also slowed way down since mid-March.
I normally don’t read much non-fiction, but I’ve read 8 books on the craft of writing, especially for emotional impact, so far this year.
I got halfway through two books and decided not to finish them, which is unusual for me. I guess I’m being picky this year. 😁
I’m not doing a lot of extra print reading either. Being “safe at home” I find I’m spending more time on the phone, checking in with family and friends, plus my concentration is not all that great on some days, with all that’s going on. So, like you, I am definitely still reading, but not as many books as I feel I normally would. I have one more book in my library pile that I haven’t started and am half way through another. Once I finish those, it will be back to my Kindle and whatever is on my bookshelves until my local library reopens.