2023 Reading Plans and Goals

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog! 

Today I want to quickly go over my plans and goals for this year. I say quickly because not much has really changed since last year. I'm trying to put less pressure on myself about reading in general, but I still have a lot of mini goals I want to accomplish, so we'll see how that goes I guess. 

I will also mention the books I want to reread this year. I used to reread books constantly but since joining the online book community I've just had so many books I want to get to, and rereading has been put on the backburner. So there are only a few books on that list.

Alright, let's just get into it! 

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Reading Plans

1. Read at least one nonfiction book a month

    I feel like this one doesn't come as much a surprise, considering how frustrated I was that I didn't read very much nonfiction last year. I love learning new stuff, and I feel like nonfiction is the way to do that right now. Also, considering I really discovered my love for true crime last year, that's a great way to read more nonfiction. Plus if you read my post last week about all of my physical TBR books, you'd have seen that I have more than a dozen nonfiction books waiting to be read on my shelves right now, so even if I don't buy any new ones, or get any nonfiction from the library, I'd still be able to complete this goal. 

2. Read at least one classic a month

    I think I'll be a little more lenient on this goal than with the previous one, but I do really want to read more classics this year. I just have to find the right ones (i.e. the ones I'm actually interested in, and not reading just for the sake of saying I've read it). I will definitely have to utilize my library for this one, but since 60% of my reading is usually from the library anyway, I don't think that will be much of a problem. And I think audiobooks will also really help me with this. 

3. Read at least one translated book a month

    I was so upset when I realized how many translated books I read last year. Spoiler, it wasn't a lot. I feel like so much of my reading personality is based around translated fiction, and I just really dropped the ball last year. Of all my goals, this is one I'm really hoping I'll go above and beyond. But like I said in the introduction, I don't want to put any extra pressure on myself, so giving myself a small goal of one a month feels much more doable than saying "read more than last year." 

4. Read more science fiction

    I'm really in my sci-fi era right now. Last year I did actually surpass my goal of reading more horror (than I did in 2021) and I've figured out what I do and don't like in that genre, so now it's time to do the same with science fiction. Please give me recommendations for sci-fi! I've distanced myself from it for so long that now I don't actually know what to pick up. 

5. Finish Assassination Classroom and (catch up to) Hunter x Hunter

    I feel like this is pretty self-explanatory. I've been reading Assassination Classroom for years now and I'm only half way through the series, and I feel like it's time to actually finish it. And even though I only started Hunter x Hunter last year, I really want to catch up to what is currently being published, and then I can read the chapters weekly as they come out on Shonen Jump (I have the app, but currently all I'm reading on it is My Hero Academia, and that feels like such a waste to only read one series!). I'll be reading plenty of manga this year aside from these two series, but they are going to be my main priority. 

Blog Plans

1. Continue book reviews

    I love that I started doing reviews again last year. I like the setup I have for them, and it makes me think more critically. So I'm sticking with doing 1-3 reviews a month, hopefully. I'm also going to try and avoid doing sequels or series continuations, just because it's kind of niche. So standalones and series starters only. 

2. Do at least one tag a month

    I know tags aren't as popular anymore, but I actually really like doing them. They're good filler posts and it's fun thinking about answers. So I figure if I do at least one a month, it'll be a good mid-month break almost. So again, give me tag recommendations! I feel like I've done so many on my blog that I'm running out of new ones to do, especially since they aren't being made anymore really. 

3. Do at least two reading updates a month

    I really slacked on the reading updates last year. This is largely because 2022 was very difficult for me in my personal life, and I was struggling on how much I'd share with you guys. Plus, and let's be super honest here, I don't really do much. I sit at home and I read, and that's it. So it was hard thinking of padding to add into the updates. But this year I'm going to really try and not worry about making my life seem interesting. If the update is only a couple of sentences long, then it's only a couple of sentences long, you know? This blog is for me to track my reading, first and foremost. I can't do that if I'm worried about how interesting I seem to the people who also happen to read it.

Books I Want to Reread

1. The Secret History by Donna Tartt

    I wanted to reread this last year but ran out of time. This is mainly because it was the first dark academia book I really read, so I didn't understand a lot of the tropes and nuances of the genre, and therefore I feel like I judged it a little too harshly. I think that if I read it again now, I'll enjoy it a lot more.

2. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

    This was one of the first translated novels I ever read and I think it will really reignite my love for East Asian literature if I read it again. There isn't really any other reason I want to reread it, except that one. 

3. Mistborn (series) by Brandon Sanderson

    Another book/series I wanted to reread last year and didn't get the chance to. But now I'm even more interested in rereading because I'll be tackling his Stormlight Archive series this year as well. I just want to fully immerse myself in the Cosmere. 

4. Howl's Moving Castle by Diane Wynn Jones

    I really want to continue on with this series and read the other two books, but it's been forever since I actually read Howl and I don't remember anything from it. So a reread is definitely necessary before I read books two and three. 

5. The Burning (series) by Evan Winter

    In case you don't know the series, the first book is The Rage of Dragons and the second book is The Fires of Vengeance. I really love these books and have been patiently waiting for book three of this four book series to come out, but it's been so long. There are rumors that book three will be published this year (we have a title, The Lord of Demons, but no cover and no release date yet) so I definitely need a refresher on this series before I get book three. 

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Alright, those are all of my goals and plans for this year! I'm trying to be super lax, so if I don't complete all of these, that's totally okay. I just don't want to forget about them like I did with my goals last year. 

What are your reading goals for 2023? Let me know in the comments, or DM me on Instagram. 

Until next time!