It’s officially that time of year. Time for everyone to look back at what we’ve managed to accomplish for our reading goals over the last year. I set my goals to something that was somewhat manageable. I wanted this to be a year that I picked up books because I wanted to, and not because there was stress or pressure. Here were my goals for 2017 and how I did achieving them:
#1 – Read longer books!
I wanted to focus on reading longer books this year. I found that when I set my “books read” goal high, I shy away from larger books because they will delay my book count. I am SOOOOO happy to say that it worked!! I actually read 6 books with more than 600 pages!! And I have to say that I’ve found that I really enjoy longer books. I feel like they give me more time and information on the story. I usually end up so invested in it that the length doesn’t make that much of a difference. Now I won’t be so afraid to pick up those long books.
VERDICT – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
#2 – Read 50 75 books!
Well, safe to say this was a big success. I hit this goal of 50 in July and ended up raising it to 75. When I started the year with the goal to read books with more pages, I knew that I may not read as many books. But if you’ve read #1, then you will know that I found out it doesn’t take me as long as I thought it would to finish long books. As I’m typing this, I have officially finished 80 books, and will finish at least 2 more before the end of the year 🙂
VERDICT – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
#3 – Read 33,333 pages!
To me, my page count was far more important than the number of books. This one I did set a little high, and I was afraid at times I wouldn’t reach it. As of right now I haven’t reached it, but I only have 480 pages left before I do! I’ll easily be able to do that before December 31st! That will make my daily page average almost 100 pages a day…….. what?! I’m more than a little shocked by that number! I read more on some days opposed to others, but that’s how it all averages out. Amazing and makes me so happy!
VERDICT – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED (almost)
#4 – Go to a book related event!
Yes and yes! I live in a place where not many authors visit, and all book conventions are too far away. Luckily, I managed to go to an event 3 hours away in Michigan to a signing with Stephanie Garber and Elly Blake! It was a long drive and I almost lost my passport soon after I crossed the boarder, but it was so worth it! Then, when Elly Blake released Fireblood, I went to the release event! So I technically made it to two!!
VERDICT – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
#5 – Reread at least 3 books!
Holy crap! I didn’t realize until just now that I actually accomplished this one! Before the release of A Court of Wings and Ruin, I reread both ACOTAR and ACOMAF. Then later in the summer I reread Nimona (which I had totally forgotten about!) So yay me!
VERDICT – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
#6 – Follow less hype!
Well, I tried lol! I didn’t realize just how much pressure is put on bloggers to keep up with the popular books. Following the excitement just kind of happened. I kept seeing new releases everywhere and was constantly putting aside the unread books on my shelf for new ones. My physical TBR didn’t get smaller and I also didn’t really venture out to find books that aren’t as popular. This is a goal that I think I’m going to have to carry over into 2018. As much as I appreciate and trust the opinions of other bloggers, there are so many other books out there that I would enjoy just the same. I need to do my part, research and find other books, and broaden my horizons. I also need to learn to trust my instincts a little more.
VERDICT – MISSION FAILURE!
I think it’s safe to say that this year was a success! I did set my goals to something that was manageable for me though. I wanted this year to be all about enjoyment and no pressure. But now that I know what I can accomplish, I’m thinking that next year I may just push myself a little bit harder – but not too much! Reading is fun for me. It’s the thing I do that’s just for me and I use to to decompress from my hectic and crazy life. But I think that 2018 will be a HUGE year for me. I’m going to make it happen! My goals for next year will be coming in the first week in January.
How did you do on your reading goals? Do you try to take it easy or do you try and push yourself a little more? I’m REALLY curious!
Until next time, happy reading!
Bionic Book Worm 
Great goals! My blog focuses more on the less-hyped books so if you need some recommendations, I would love to help! I think I am going to try a page count goal in 2018…sounds more fun than a books read goal 🙂
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A page goal really helped me step back from the pressures of finishing a book quickly. I just read the pages and that was all that mattered! It really helped!
I might need some recommendations later in the year 🙂
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Definitely sounds like a good plan 🙂
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Congrats on achieving so many of your goals! I usually try to take it easy with the bookish goals I set myself, mostly because I never know how much time I’ll actually have to read due to course work. But I do enjoy looking back at the end of the year to see which ones I accomplished and which ones… not so much 🙂
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Thanks! I thought I missed a couple of them so it was a happy surprise when I looked back at it all. Keeping relaxed goals is the way to keep reading enjoyable for sure 🙂
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Ahh well done Shanah! I’ve never thought about setting myself some goals until now but I might try to think of some for 2018 😊
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Good luck with setting your goals! It’s actually a lot of fun to sit down and think about things you would like to accomplish 🙂
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Congrats Shanah! I must say I’m really glad that you have the goal to “follow less hype”. I thought I was the only one feeling pressurised into adding these super-hyped books into my TBR. It’s not much of a trouble for me yet because I’ve just started the middle of this year. But I think next year I’ll probably cave a couple of times and end up buying those popular releases. Here’s to hoping the both of us can keep it under control!
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Lol!! Control isn’t a quality I possess 😂
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Congrats and wow, 80 books in an year.. I completed 20 books this year which was my goal too.. Goodluck for next year 😊
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Congrats on reaching your goal! Thanks and good luck to you in 2018 as well 🙂
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Congrats on reaching most of your goals!!
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Thanks 🙂
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Congrats on achieving so many goals, I’m so glad you had such a good reading year! 💛
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Thanks! It really was a great reading year! I hope you have a fantastic 2018!
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Wow! Great goals for the year! You’ve done really well! My reading goal this year didn’t become real until around June. And it was just to read more in general. So far, I’ve made it through around 15 books (including some of the Harry Potter books). I know it doesn’t seem like much, but prior to June, I HATED reading and refused to do it. So this is a really big accomplishment for me! My goal next year is to read 50 books! What was your favorite book you read this year?
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Wow!! You went from hating reading to finishing 15 books?! That’s quite amazing actually!! Best of luck with your 2018 reading goal!
My favourite book?! I’m not sure I can pick one!!!! I’ll be posting a Top 10 list on January 1st and I still don’t know how I’ll ever decide! 😂
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Thank you so much! It’s definitely been a nice change to finally start enjoying reading. I got a Kindle as an early Christmas present, and I can’t put it down!
I look forward to your top 10 post, and I wish you great luck in deciding! Haha!
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Oh a kindle! Nice! Merry early Christmas to you!!
And thanks – I may need all the luck I can get 😂
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Ahh you really had fantastic goals for this year, congratulations on succeeding at almost everything here 🙂 80 books is such an amazing amount and yay for managing to re-read books, despite all the new books piling up, ahah 🙂 It’s so hard, as book bloggers, to stay away from all the new releases, I am sooo drawn to them and want to feel in the loop, but there are so many backlist titles that deserves love too, that’s for sure 🙂
Great post !:)
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2018 will be all about the backlist – I hope 😂
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Well done! I am particularly impressed that you read 6 books over 600 pages! That’s something I want to try to do in 2018!
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I hope you give it a shot! I realized that big books are amazing!!
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Congrats Shanah! glad to see you accomplished your goals, that last one is one I think we all struggle with myself included. 2018 is a year where I will def be making a more conscious effort to read more from my back-list along with the arcs I pick up along the way. Re-reads is also something I’d like to do especially with so many sequels that are set to hit the shelves in 2018. You set some manageable goals & I think that’s best, reading should be fun. I can’t wait to see your 2018 Goals post, I did mine last year & failed in one which was discussions posts lol. Still interesting to look back at, happy reading 🙂
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Rereads is something I hope to do too! Good luck with your 2018 goals as well!
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Thanks <3!
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Wow, you made some big strides toward your reading goals! I had originally set a goal of 25 books this year, but I read 29 (will probably be 30 by Dec 31st), so I’m really happy about that. I like the idea of making your goal a little smaller to compensate for reading longer books. I plan to increase my goal to 40 for next year I think, but I have loads of Stephen King books on my TBR and I’m hoping to get through a few of those soon. Nicely done 🙂
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Nice! Glad you made it over your goal for the year! My goal 4 years ago was 12 books…. it only gets better from here 🙂 good luck with your goals in 2018
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Fantastic! Congratulations! Wow how do you find time to read SO MUCH!? 75 books!? One of my goals for the next year is to read more but I havent specify that re: the number YET. I’m not sure if I will specify number but it would be good I think. You may want to have a look at my recent blog post about setting goals if you have a moment. I write mainly about personal growth and positive psychology: https://mindset4progress.wordpress.com/2017/12/29/why-92-people-dont-achieve-their-personal-goals/
Aggie x
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Setting a specific number of books to read isn’t for everyone and it’s also not necessary! Reading is meant to be fun! It’s not supposed to be a competition. I like setting goals to push myself but I also make sure I set them within my reach 🙂
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Hi Shanah, yes that’s true. I thought about it and I believe that setting a goal with a specific number wouldnt really work for me because: what if I dont have that much time (no excuses but I’m about to give birth in a few weeks! haha), what if I find other titles, will want to re-consider the number – of course the number set by someone can be flexible BUT what seems to work better with me is an open reading list. So I’m starting it with around 12 titles that I really want to read and that I have at home and then during the year I intend to add some new titles to it. Although I didnt put a specific number for the whole year, to tell the truth I enjoy stats and reviewing my things using numbers a lot haha 😉
Good luck with your goals and Happy New Year! 🙂
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Awe congrats on the upcoming baby!!!! So exciting! My reading changed until my kids were a little older. The spare time I had was taken up by playing, cleaning and sleeping 😂 wishing you luck that all goes well!
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Thank you! 🙂 Personal development is very important to me. Family is a priority though. However, I really hope that when my baby is a few weeks or months old I’ll be able to have a routine that will allow me to read and write because that’s something I really enjoy and dont want to give up 😉 x
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You’re in a mindset that I wish I was in when I had babies. I lost myself completely and rarely put me first. It wasn’t until my youngest was 3 that I realized I needed me. Time for me and my identity again. Wish I would have realized sooner!
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It’s never too late to make a change so dont worry about the past.
Recently there was an article in BBC news about New Year’s Resolutions and a woman said that she was taking care of her two sons and kind of also forgot about herself for a few years. A year ago she’s opened a Facebook group (around 700 users when the article was published, unfortunately she didnt give the name of the group but you may be able to find it if you like) for parents who are trying to somewhat re-identify themselves after years of being stay at home parent.
I know I’ll surely face criticism that I’m doing some personal growth project and blogs, and reading etc while I have small children but we are in risk of facing criticism from others whatever we do, dont we?
I’m still really impressed with amount of books you read!! 🙂 I thought you may want to read Being Krystyna. It’s a fantastic book (and although I didnt write it I’m one of the main characters there! ): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Being-Krystyna-story-survival-WW2-ebook/dp/B01MQDOP1C
This author has just published a fantastic fantasy book too: The Exile of Elindel.
Aggie
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I don’t think you will catch slack for taking care of you. If you do, it’s not warranted! Stay true to you!
After I realized that I needed to pay attention to me, I joined a roller derby team. I was getting fit and having fun. I’ve since had to quit but it helped me realize that I was important too!
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That’s a great idea to join the team. Im glad to hear that you’re investing y
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Thats a great idea to join the team. better late than never. Dont worry about time that has passed especially that we cant change past. You can always change your presence and the future and thats what matters, right.:)You are making this time up by investing in your passions such as reading etc now. Have you looked at the titles Ive recommendesd to you. Do you have a list with some books titles ready or you just pick whatever interest you one by one?
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I am very much a mood reader and will read/buy what I’m in the mood for at a specific time. And I’m sorry but I don’t remember what the recommendations were!
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I’ve recommended you two books by Carol Browne. One about second world war memories (I’m a character in this book because I’ve met a few times the war camp survival Krystyna). This is the link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Being-Krystyna-story-survival-WW2-ebook/dp/B01MQDOP1C and the second book is fantasty – I REALLY enjoyed i t. Carol has been writing it for many years and it’s this is probably as perfect as a writer can get with their plot, etc.. Fantastic read. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exile-Elindel-Elwardian-Chronicles/dp/1947584065/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1515170197&sr=1-3&keywords=carol+browne
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I’m definitely writing these down somewhere that I won’t forget. Thanks
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Btw, If you had to pick one title – your favourite book – what would that be?
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Oh god I couldn’t. That like picking a favourite child 😂
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Haha 🙂 👍
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