2024 Reading Goals and Plans

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

Today I wanted to go over my reading goals for this year. I feel like last year I started off doing really well, and then as the year went on I completely fell off the wagon. I know that's rather common with new year goal-setting, but I don't want that to happen in 2024. So I'm trying to keep my goals small and easily accomplishable, to the best of my ability. 

With that being said, let's get into it!

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Goals

1. Cut my physical TBR in half (at least)
        As you know from my physical TBR post, I have just over 50 unread books on my shelves. My ultimate goal is to read all of the unread books, but I'll settle for half. If I can read 25 books from that list before the year ends, I'll be content.
        Of course, I will be adding to this list as the year goes on when I buy new books. But this goal specifically refers to the unread books that I have right now. So any unread books purchased in 2024 won't count toward this goal.

2. Read at least 1 non novel every month (poetry, graphic novel, short story collection, etc.)
        Last year I tried to read at least 1 nonfiction, 1 poetry collection, and 1 classic every month, and then I burned out really quickly. This year I do want to continue in that trend, but I'm going to be a little more lenient on myself. I figure if I just read 1 book a month that isn't a novel, then I'll call that a win. This, of course, includes nonfiction as well. I'm relatively confident that I'll excel at this goal, considering I always read a variety of books every month.

3. Do quarterly book hauls/unhauls, with reading updates
        This is more of something just for fun. I like tracking what books I buy and when, as you'd have seen in my monthly wrap-ups. But I want to do something different in 2024. Instead of just listing my hauled books at the end of every wrap-up, I'll do four quarterly book hauls, where not only will I list every book bought, but I'll also tell you if I've read it or not (and what I thought of it if I have read it). 
        I'll also mention any books that I unhaul during those months. I don't unhaul a ton, but I do regularly look at my shelves and remove books that I don't think about much. Whenever I unhaul books, I bring them to my local used bookstores and get store credit, so I'm able to buy even more books!

4. Read from at least 10 different countries that I haven't read from before 
        This goal relates to the Read Around the World Book Challenge. I love reading translated novels, but I've found that lately I am reading a lot from the same countries, namely Japan and Korea. So I figured I can push myself to read from 20 new countries. So far, I've read from 33 different countries (out of 198). Let's see what that number is at the end of the year!

5. Be more selective when buying books
        For this, I just mean I want to stop buying huge amounts of unread books that I know nothing about. I have a habit of browsing the shelves at a bookstore, grabbing whatever catches my eye, and adding it to my cart. I want to buy books with a little more intention in 2024. Basically, I want to stop buying books based on nothing but their covers or titles. I must do my research beforehand!

Priority TBR

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
        Am I crazy for putting this tome on my priority TBR? Yeah, maybe a little. But I had huge FOMO last year, seeing some of my favorite creators (Emma, Carolyn, and Bella) read and love this classic. I know it'll probably take me a long time to finish, but I don't care. I'm planning on starting this book in February.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
        This is the book that has been on my physical TBR the longest (since I DNF'd Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell last year) and I need to fix it this year or I think I'll go insane. I also impulsively bought the sequel, A Wise Man's Fear, last year so I'm going to try and read both. They're rather large, but my mom read The Name of the Wind a couple of years ago and she thinks that I'll really enjoy it.

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
        Ahahaha, another massive classic! Don't ask me why I did this to myself, because I don't have an answer. I'm just easily influenced by Emma, I guess. Every time she reads a big classic, I immediately run out and grab myself a copy. I know I have a problem. I guess this is the year when we find out if I am doing myself a disservice or not.

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
        I've tried to read this book a couple of times in the past, and never got very far in. I think the political subplots were just too complicated for me to follow at the time. But of course, now I really enjoy the political parts of political fantasy, so I'm hoping this time I'll not only be able to finish this book, but I'll actually really enjoy it, too.

The Essential Rumi by Rumi
        Rumi is one of, if not the most famous ancient poets, and I need to know why his work has survived for so long. I love poetry, I love ancient poetry, so I'm not expecting any hardship while reading this collection.

Series I Need to Finish (or catch up on)

Temeraire by Naomi Novik
        I only have three books left of this nine book series, but I definitely should've read them last year. So I have no excuse to not read them in 2024! This is one of my favorite series, but of course I need to actually finish it before I can make that claim!

Yona of the Dawn by Mizuho Kusanagi
        I'm on volume 27 of this manga series, so I'm rather close to catching up. I believe there's only 40 volumes out currently, reading 13 volumes before the end of the year will be a piece of cake, honestly. I really love this series, and I want to be able to discuss it with other fans.

Hunter x Hunter by Yoshihiro Togashi
        Another manga series that is about 40 volumes long so far (37, I believe). I'm a little farther behind in this series, I'm only on volume 19, and I didn't read any of this series in 2023. I need to rectify that as soon as possible. Plus, I know that volume 19 starts the Chimera Ant arc, which so many fans say is the best and most emotional arc of the whole series. I'm ready for pain!

The World of Howl by Diana Wynne Jones
        In 2023 I reread Howl's Moving Castle for the first time and I really enjoyed it, much more than when I tried (and failed) to read it the first time many years ago. I also got my hands on the other two books in the series, Castle in the Air and House of Many Ways. So 2024 is the year I complete this series, I declare it for all to hear!

Books I Want to Reread

Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson
        Last year I read the Stormlight Archive for the first time and became completely obsessed with it, but it's been about five or six years since I read the Mistborn series. So I want to reread it and see how I feel about it now that I've read more Sanderson (when I read the series before, it was my introduction to Sanderson's writing).

Vicious and Vengeful by V.E. Schwab
        I have heard rumors that there is going to be another book in this series. I don't know when or if it's coming out, but I want to be prepared just in case. This is also the only series of hers that I haven't read more than once, and that feels kind of weird to me. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
        I had meant to reread this last year, but as we all know, I did not accomplish that. And honestly, this book is the lowest priority on this entire list. I won't be upset or frustrated if I don't end up getting to it this year. I just think it would be interesting to reread it, since I didn't love it the first time around. But I feel like my reading tastes have changed drastically since then, and I want to see how I would feel about it now.

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Alright, that's all I have for today! I feel like these goals are reasonable, but I'm going to try my hardest to really keep them all in mind as the year goes on.

What are your reading goals for 2024? I'd love to know! Comment below, or DM me on Instagram (link in sidebar under the heading "More Media").

Until next time, friends!