2022 : A Reading Plan

I generally undertake a review of the previous year’s reading based upon my Goodreads reading challenge report. Most years some sort of pattern emerges: a new author, a new genre…. But 2021’s reading was entirely unremarkable, except for one fact – that I finally achieved my aim to complete the entire Booker longlist before the judges announced the winner. This was a big win for me, as I’ve tried numerous times before, without success. I still guessed the winner incorrectly, but I completely understood their choice – it was my runner up – and as that was the purpose behind undertaking this challenge, I am content.

This year, along with setting my annual Goodreads target, I’m aiming to give my reading a bit more structure.

I’ve not yet decided whether to give the Booker longlist readathon another go. Two elements will influence my decision – how appealing the runners and riders look and – if I’m being entirely honest – how much Amazon will charge me to add them to my Kindle 😉

What else? Well, I’ve been given a number of interesting looking real books (non ebooks) which I intend to get stuck in to this year. In the past, I’ve struggled to find time for real books, as my usual practice was to read at night before going to sleep (and after Himself has gone to sleep). But, having switched to a meditation and sleep story night-time practice, I no longer read in bed at night, so reading a real book no longer needs to be a limitation.

My current education training and intent to read more (bits of) my multitudes of professional books will continue. The fact that I rarely finish the latter (my professional reading tends to be very targeted and, once I’ve achieved my aim, I move on) means they won’t – unfortunately – contribute to my reading challenge numbers 🙂

I aim this year to read work from indie authors – and will be starting with those who’ve agreed to write articles for my co-hosted fiction blog.

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My reading challenge target for this year is the same one as usual (1 book/week) as, prior to the last couple of years, it’s a target I’ve managed to comfortably exceed.

Although Goodreads has a habit of suggesting shorter reads to those of us lagging behind on our challenges, I intend not to let the numbers worry me this year – so long as I enjoy those books I’m reading. The worst part of last two years was those periods when I found reading impossible or unsatisfactory – and that’s not an experience I’d like to re-live. I may be a somewhat competitive reader, but I’ll happily let the numbers slip for a high satisfaction rating. To give 2021 its due, I rated over half the books I’d read at 4/5 or 5/5 stars – and I’ll be aiming to achieve at least that level of satisfaction in 2022.

That’s my true reading goal for 2022 – to predominantly select those books which have a good chance of being rated very good or excellent.

Come talk to me about your reading! Give me your recommendations, tell me about your comfort reads and, for the prolific readers amongst you, did you spot any reading patterns last year?

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© Debra Carey, 2022