📚 Making the year's reading goal (maybe I won't)
When I got back into reading in 2020, I read 35 books that year. Losing my job helped with having time, but a lot of it came from finding reading exciting again and spending a lot of my hobby time with it. I set a reading challenge on Goodreads that year for twelve books, so I blew past it. I discovered Overdrive/Libby that year and that it lets you check out audiobooks, found a local bookstore did a mystery box of books you could order, and finished a few items on my shelf I'd been meaning to get to.
In 2021, I set a challege for 24 books - double the previous year. I didn't end up making, but I was only shy by four books, having read 20. I went into the library that year and more graphic novels made it into my list that year. I started buying more books again, outside of that one mystery box I'd gotten the previous year.
In 2022, I tried setting the same goal, and completely failed it by only reading ten books. I pretty much fell out of it again. Unfortunately for me, I didn't stop buying books to read. I have quite a few on my shelf to read.
In 2023... I think I bought more books still. I didn't read much.
And throughout this year, I still didn't read much, but toward the end of the year set a goal for eight books. I'm trying to make a habit of reading a book instead of scrolling social media or watching youtube when I'm bored. So in the last few months, I've gotten up to five read. Which leaves me at needing three to complete it for the year. Don't think I'll make it, though it's technically possible if I really want it. I do haev some shorter books and graphic novels that would make it achieveable, but I'm not sure those are the ones I want to read right now.
I just sped through The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner, which I was not particularly impressed with. But I managed to read it in maybe half a week because I was determined to. I like to have multiple books going at once, but usually a mix of fiction and non-fiction. But I made the mistake of starting two fantasies at the same time, and the other one (Circle of the Moon by Barbara Hambly, my favorite author) managed to suck me in immediately. But I'd picked The Lost Apothecary just before. So clearly the only solution was to finish the apothecary story so I could get to Circle of the Moon.
Anyway, the reading challenge. I find the challenges to be fun if you're checking them off over the course of the year. When it gets down to the wire, it really isn't fun. I vaguely remember in 2021 trying to finish the last few books I needed, and finally giving up because it was sucking the fun out of everything.
I will probably set another challenge next year. Whether or not I hit it is okay. Maybe I won't track it with Goodreads next year, though the one for this year I tracked through both Goodreads and Bookwyrm.world (a fedi instance that's similar to books.) Though I find bookwyrm.world to be pretty lonely, unfortunately. I suppose I could try tracking it here somehow, but I would have to figure that out. One of the things about trying to do a bunch of hobbies is sometimes you put one down for a while. And that's okay.