Oh, hey 2020! There is something so joyful about the repetition in this number that it’s got to be a great and prosperous year for us all, right?
I’d popped this theme into my blog calendar, as I’ve always done for my first post of the year, but as I sit here to write it, I realise… I don’t want to set myself any goals this year. I don’t mean that in an, ‘I’ve given up on reading’ way – never! But more in an, ‘I don’t want to be restricted or feel I have to read certain things’ way.
What I learnt from 2019 is the importance of my free time – I have less and less of it these days, so any minute spent reading must be spent reading something wonderful. It’s that simple. A little while ago I embraced DNF too and the combination gave me a really satisfying year of brilliant reading.
Looking back on my 2019 goals, they were overarching and then this one:
“I’ve also decided 2019 is the year of Agatha. I’m going to make a conscious effort to get through her epic back-catalogue by taking part in a digital Agatha Christie book club,”
Did I achieve this? Reader, I failed. The main reason being that I hit a few Agatha books the club had selected that I just didn’t enjoy or want to read. So I didn’t. And it was bloody liberating. Due to this my attention to this goal dwindled, so I didn’t keep it up. I still – obviously – love Agatha and fully intend to keep working my way through her back catalogue, but at my own pace.
So, for 2020 I will… set myself an attainable GoodReads target in their reading challenge (60, like 2019 – I read 63) as I do like keeping a little track of my reads on there, and then read whatever takes my fancy.
Actually, maybe that’s my goal: instinctive, enjoyable reading.
What are your thoughts on reading goals? Too restrictive or nice to have something to aim for? Let me know below!
Books on the 7:47 
Sounds like a great, fresh start of the year, I posted about some of my 2020 reading goals a couple of days ago; I really want to listen to more audiobooks and get round to some of the books that have abandoned on my bookshelves for ages.
https://complexchaos.blog/2019/12/30/2020-reading-goals/
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Yes, agree with you on the reading books already on my shelf idea. I always have good intentions to do that, then new releases charm me and I never get round to it! Maybe this year I will…
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I think this is a great approach. I try to make my goals more about reading certain genres, short stories, poetry, nonfiction. I’d really like to get better about DNF’ING. I had a couple this year but looking back on some books I didn’t like,I should have probably DNF’ed. How do you determine DNF, certain page number or something else?
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It’s more about if a book is keeping my attention. If I get to a point where I don’t care about the characters or story, then I stop reading. Sometimes I can be over half way in. I have been know to just Google the end of the story so I’m not left wondering what happens!
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Great approach! I’ve said much the same myself!!
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It feels very liberating!
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Not restrictive at all – your ‘no plan’ plan sounds very liberating in fact. I’m edging in that direction myself though not going as completely goal free as you are. I’ll do some smallish themed reading events but only if they enable me to choose for myself what to read. I learned a lesson the past few years that I am doomed to fail any challenge where you make a reading list in advance – it begins to feel like a chore.
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