It is another year, which means it is time for another round of reading goals. Last year, my goals didn’t really work out all too well, but (other than 2020 being generally the worst) I know what went wrong and I learned from my mistakes. So I’m hopeful this year is going to be better. And I’m excited to read some great books. So this year, I put together some goals for the year that I think really encompass what I want to achieve with my reading.

Read at Least One Nonfiction Book a Month

This is something I’ve been doing for years, and it has absolutely changed my reading habits. I absolutely love nonfiction, and I have learned so many things. Mostly weird facts that I annoy people with, but also a lot of things that have made me a better person. Reading nonfiction has now become a habit of mine, and I’m really happy about it. So I’m keeping this as a goal going into 2021. I’m shooting for a goal of the total number of books I read this year being 25% nonfiction. I came close last year, so it’s definitely something I need to work on a little bit more. That said, I have recently added a lot of fun nonfiction to my TBR, so I don’t think this is going to be a problem. But maybe I should warn my friends that they’ll be hearing a lot about serial killers, eels, and exploding teeth.

Read Six Classics

I had this on my goals for 2020, but we all know I abandoned my goals because 2020 was a giant dumpster fire and doesn’t count. Still, I did read a few classics last year, and this year I do want to read more. I have two on my reading list for the year – The Count of Monte Cristo and I Am a Cat. But I want to get to at least four more. Basically, one every two months. Which I think is fair, since classics tend to take me longer to read because I like to take my time with them. Hopefully I’ll read more, but my goal is six. I’m working on putting together a tentative list of the classics I want to read this year, so if you have any suggestions, let me know.

Read at Least 50% by POC Authors

This is something I attempted last year… and it didn’t go well. It wasn’t a massive failure, but it definitely did not go as I’d hoped. But I learned from the mistakes I made, and found things I could do differently to better accomplish this. So I’m hopeful that I can do this in 2021. I made sure my 2021 reading list is mostly POC authors. And I started the year with reading diverse authors. Unfortunately, this is something I do need to pay attention to (you can read my post about it to see why), but it is absolutely something I’m focusing on this year. Again, if you have any recommendations, I’d love to hear them!

Read Books from at Least Ten Different Countries

So, when I put together my reading stats from last year, I was kind of surprised to see just how few books I’d read that are set in different countries. More than half of what I read last year was set in the US. Which I’m not super happy with. So it’s something else I will be paying attention to this year. I already have a few books on my radar that are set in different countries, and I’m pretty excited to read them. Especially since one of them is narrated by a cat (which will weirdly be the second book I’ve read that is set in Japan and is narrated by a cat).

Read Every Day

Okay, I realize this sounds super ambitious and I’m probably going to not quite accomplish it. But I’m going to try. My relationship with reading changed a lot in 2020, and not in a good way. I just didn’t feel like reading and it was making me pretty unhappy. So, in December, I forced myself to read every day (for most of the month). Whether that was a chapter or two, or the couple of pages I managed before falling asleep, or the one night I stayed up until two in the morning finishing my book, I read every day for weeks. And it kind of reminded me just how much I love reading. So I think this is a habit I’m going to attempt to continue in 2021. I think it has really helped my mental health to read more and also set aside time each day to read. It’s a nice routine, and I’ve come to really value it.

Read 100 Books

Last year was the first time in five years that I read fewer than 100 books. Which is fine. Like I said, 2020 doesn’t count. And I did learn things from it, like how important it is to give myself a break sometimes. But in 2021, I would really like to get back into reading like I was before this year, so I set my Goodreads goal at 100 books again this year. I’m hoping my goal to read every day will help with this, and I’m excited to see what books I read this year. Because there are way more than 100 that I want to get to and I need to read them all! But without stressing myself out about it. Hopefully.

Those are my reading goals for this year! Mainly, I want to focus on reading more diversely, and just be more mindful about my reading as a whole. I also want to continue working on my relationship with reading, because it got kind of rocky in 2020. Hopefully all of these goals contribute toward a reading year that I’m both happy with and proud of, but we’ll see how it goes.

What are some of your reading goals for this year?

50 thoughts

  3. I share a lot of your goals, like reading nonfiction, classics, and different countries. I’ve never counted the number of POC authors I read but that would be interesting to do sometime. I wish you well with all of these, keeping the love of reading alive!

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  4. Regarding your challenge about reading POC authors – back in 2020 your post about this topic inspired me to also read books written by Black authors. I did manage to read 3 books (one of them getting to be my favourite book of 2020) and I will continue this “challenge” in 2021 as well! So thank you so much!!

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  6. How do you keep track of them over the year? I decided to start a bullet journal by hybrid that has space for daily logs, book review planning and goal tracking each month. Wishing you all the best for 2021!

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    1. I do have a reading bullet journal, but over the last year I have transitioned to keeping a spreadsheet for keeping track of these things. I just find that it’s more accurate and flexible. But I do still use my bullet journal for planning blog posts and reading.

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  7. I also attempted to read 50% by diverse authors last year, and only got to 40%. Trying again this year, maybe starting a firm resolution in January (and then not ignoring in in Feb/Mar/April) will help. Also, not getting a bunch of random books for Christmas that I’m not interested in but still feel obligated to read will probably help with that too. Best of luck!

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    1. Thanks! Honestly, I made the goal to read one nonfiction book a month years ago, and after a while it just became habit and I don’t even need to think about it now. Highly recommend starting there. Good luck! 😊

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      1. When I did my “read books by authors from 30 countries” reading challenge I started following various book bloggers from outside the US/UK book blogging community. I found it a great way to hear about interesting books from other countries. I suspect searching for and following POC book bloggers may help you in a similar way.

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        1. I’m definitely working on that. I’m just really terrible at keeping up with book blogs in general (writing my own takes up a lot of time), so that’s something I need to get better about, too.

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  12. A few years ago I also had to force myself to read every night to get myself back into reading. I’ve always been a bookworm and I got upset at how little I was reading. It worked. I’m back to reading everything in sight now. And much happier. 🙂 Good luck with your 2021 goals!

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  13. Pingback: 6 Classics I’m Planning on Reading in 2021 – Adventures of a Bibliophile

  14. 100 books in a year! That’s incredible that that was the norm for you, I’m impressed. How’d you squeeze them all in? Audible has helped me get in a few more for sure, but I don’t think I could get through a book pretty much every 3 or 4 days. Nice blog, looks very clean and fresh. All the best!

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    1. Thank you! Honestly, the majority of my reading happens when I’m supposed to be working. I either listen to audiobooks while doing repetitive tasks or read on my phone at my desk. I’m not really supposed to, but I get my work done really quickly so no one really notices. Reading is my way of procrastinating. But my real trick is that I almost always have books of different genres going at the same time, so I can pick up whatever I’m in the mood for when I have a moment to squeeze in some reading.

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      1. Ah right, well it makes sense when you explain it! That’s a great activity to find yourself always procrastinating into (in my humble opinion), especially with all the screens and apps available to take your time for nothing in particular in return. Kudos to you. An inspiration for sure!

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        1. Thanks! To be fair, I’ve been a lot more distracted over the past year since I’m working from home now (until further notice), but I’m trying to be better about reading instead of staring at a screen this year 😊

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  15. Hi Stephanie, I came across your post and i am so glad.
    2020 has not been a good year for me as well in terms of reading and want to do better in 2021.
    Non-fiction is something i want to target and lets hope i stick it to this time.
    Could you recommend a few good non-fiction books?

    Thank you.

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    1. My suggestion for nonfiction is to read about what interests you. I’m sure I have a lot of recommendations on my blog (somewhere), but some good starting points are maybe memoirs (they can be less dry than most nonfiction). I like reading memoirs of people with experiences different than mine (Funny in Farsi, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes, Know My Name, and A River in Darkness are some I’ve enjoyed). I also really loved The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs, any biographies by Walter Isaacson (especially his Da Vinci bio), Stamped from the Beginning (might be a little heavy if you’re not used to history, but it’s really good!), and true crime is excellent for starting in nonfiction because it’s kind of like reading a thriller (I loved Bad Blood and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark are some of my faves). Also, sticking to one nonfiction book a month has worked out really well for me, it’s been years, and I don’t have to think about it anymore, I just pick them up. Good luck with your goals!

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  17. The Count of Monte Cristo was a great book. For a classic, of course. They pale in comparison to the action-filled books of today. But the story was great, one filled with revenge and rich characters. I read the entire thing in less than a month, which I consider a great achievement. I wish you luck!

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    1. Thanks! I agree that classics do offer different reading experiences than most modern books, but I personally don’t think one is better than the other. They’re just different, and each are valuable in their own way.

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  19. Pingback: January Wrap Up – Adventures of a Bibliophile

    1. Thanks! I’m actually doing really well (so far). I haven’t skipped a day of reading yet, and I’ve finished 20 books. Audiobooks have been a big help with what, but I’ve been trying to make time to read before I fall asleep every night.

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  22. Love your reading goals, many if them really resonate for me.
    I don’t specify goals but I have the intention to read at least a book a week, to favour woman writers from outside the much promoted US/UK, from at least 20 different countries including women in translation. I have a particular love of woman writers from the Caribbean and from Africa, original storytelling voices from other cultures.

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