2018 Reading Goals

As we settle into the new year, everyone does the “traditional” habit of making resolutions. Maybe it is going to to the gym more, eating better, spend less time on social media,  or reading more books are all things that people decide they want to do in the new year. As for me, I have never been one who would make resolutions for my year since I never ever keep them. The good intentions are there but only last a few weeks or a few months, then slowly die off.  However, I am more in tune with the idea of setting goals for myself. We are half way through January of the new year, and I think I have a tentative idea of what I want to accomplish in my reading life. This year I am more focused on quality over quantity. I already read A TON (60 books last year, whoop whoop), so giving myself a goal of ” I am going to read 20 books..” I will finish that in 3 months then will have nothing else to strive for.  So instead, I am looking more to what I am reading instead of how much. So without further ado, here are my goals for 2018:

• Read More Non fiction Especially History, Biographies, & Memoirs: I studied history as my undergraduate and I loved it! Since then, I have diverged from reading history but I hope to get back into it and dive back into a topic that I love. Also I love memoirs & biographies, so maybe I will tackle that beast biography of Alexander Hamilton, it’s about 800 pages.
• Read more books published outside the US: Of course there is a bit of a language barrier here, but I want to read more books published in the UK, or maybe even Australia.
• Read one political novel: We are in an era that politics is at the forefront of everyone’s mind and conversation, and I often feel I am not up to par to what is happening in the political climate. I don’t often pick up books on politics but this year, with our current president, I can help but want to be better informed as to what is happening.
• Read more translated fiction: Close to my last goal, I want to read more novels from other countries that have been translated into English this year.
• Read more Russian Literature: I was a Russian Literature junkie in my early 20’s, but that has stopped for a while. There, also, has been so many books that have come out of Russia since Tolstoy that I haven’t read yet, so trying to see if I can add a few to my TBR list this year.
• Read books from diverse authors (different races, background, cultures, etc): I sometimes feel my reading life is a little sheltered, not extremely sheltered but I would like to read more books from diverse authors.
• Read more feminist books: I started last year reading more books on feminism, and I loved it. Since then, I have collected a few on my shelf for my TBR pile, so I am eager to dive into those novels. Whether it is essays, short stories, poems, non fiction,  I want to be able to educate myself on what it means to be a feminist in today’s society.
• More Science Fiction: I know this blog has gone on a bit of a Fantasy rampage the past few years (fantasy love is still strong) , however I want to read more science fiction. In particular, the Star Wars novels. I grew up loving the movies and I am a total Star Wars nerd, but I’ve never read any of the books. This is the year for that! More robots, more light sabers, more futuristic stuff!
• More Historical Romance, not taken place in Regency Era: When I read historical romance, or romance in general, I stick to the regency era. I think it stems from my love of Jane Austen, but I want to read more romance that takes place in a different county and a different time periods and allow myself to step out of my comfort zone.

So those are the major goals for 2018! Of course I am still going to read historical fiction, and a little fantasy but I am going to keep this list on the forefront of my mind to when I purchase, or borrow books this year. I am also trying to be more aware of how many books I am buying, and try to actually read what I already have in my bookshelf that I haven’t read yet. Shopping that TBR pile this year!

What are your goals for 2018? What do you hope to accomplish in your reading life? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy 2018, and Happy Reading!