2017 Reading Goals

You'll also see these goals listed later on Filthy Casket, the book review blog run by me and Liz. 

A few days ago I posted that behemoth of a post outlining my main goals for 2017. Today I want to focus specifically on my reading-related goals. There is nothing more exciting than coming up with books to read for a new year! I've broken this post up into two sections: broader reading goals I'd like to complete throughout the year and specific books I want to read in 2017. I read more books in 2016 than I've ever read in a year before, and while I fell just short of my goal of 60, I'm still pretty happy with my reading. Book Queen 2016.

First goal: Review the books you read, Charlotte!! Maybe not every one, but last year I only reviewed nine. NINE!!! That's shameful!!!!!!!! Liz and I are planning to set a minimum of reviewing one each per month, but I'd like to try and do more than that. We shall see.

#2, read 60 books. I came so close last year, I see no reason why I can't achieve the damn thing this year.

Thirdly, I'd like to read some more nonfiction. Biographies, social/political, etc. I love fiction, but I also enjoy reading nonfiction.. when I motivate myself to actually pick it up. It takes me so much longer, I'm always a little reluctant. But maybe if I read some light fiction alongside it??

For the love of all that is holy, my fourth goal: FINISH PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. I kept putting this off last year, and then like I said, when the depression hit I intentionally picked books that I thought would help get me through, and Pride and Prejudice wasn't one of them. 2017 will be the year, dang it.

Cinco! And another repeat from last year: Read The Divine Comedy. I really wanted to read this during the Year of Mercy, but I couldn't find it!! My library never had it. Toward the end of the year I finally just purchased it, so all is now well.

Six: Finish the books I started toward the end. Sooo, those books I keep mentioning for depression? Catholic books, obviously. I've started Intro to the Devout Life, Orthodoxy, and Signs of Life... problem is that reading three books at once means I finished parts of each of them instead of finishing any completely. :)

Finally, I want to try and read the Bible. We'll see if I manage to get through the whole thing.

And on to part two, specific books I'd like to read! One year I made a whole reading schedule with 2-3 books per month and then I... didn't stick to it at all. Now that I know myself enough to know I'm gonna throw random choices I find at the library or at Barnes and Noble in whenever my heart desires, or that I'm going to love a book by an author and decide to read every book s/he has ever written, I know not to make a full schedule for myself. But I would like to make a rough list of 12-20 books I'd like to read, and ideas for when I'd like to read them (knowing I'll likely be flexible in reality).

January

Xenocide by Orson Scott Card
Children of the Mind by Orson Scott Card
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Okay so for January I picked three... because I've got all of these books out from the library and my time is starting to run low! I started the Ender stories in December and am addicted. And The Handmaid's Tale! Ugh, it was one of the books I had to read as part of Liz's challenge for me and I totally failed. Ya'll I can't even tell you the number of times I went to both closest branches of my library only to find that the book was checked out!! It was SO frustrating. And when I finally did check it out, I didn't finish it. Le sigh.

February

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger by Stephen King (borrowed this from someone a while ago and have yet to pick it up!)

March

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery
Jane Eyre by Emily Bronte (I am dying to read this again, and tbh I'll probably do so sooner than March...)

April

Harry, A History by Melissa Anelli
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

May 

Star Wars: Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn
Star Wars: Dark Force Rising (^book 2)
Star Wars: The Last Command (^book 3)
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy (asked for a book rec, got a book rec - throwing it in May because I expect it'll be good for my birthday and because I think the Star Wars books will fly by.)

June

The Long Loneliness: The Autobiography of the Legendary Catholic Social Activist by Dorothy Day

July 

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

August 

The Magnolia Story by Chip and Joanna Gaines
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (Dana suggested this to me and it sounds so good!)

September

Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women

October 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Liz sent me this book as part of the autumn/Halloween book box we sent each other, telling me she gets a sort of magical fall feeling from it, but naturally I did not manage it to read it last fall. This October it is!)

November

Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

December

The Autobiography of Santa Claus by Jeff Guinn

Should make for another excellent year of reading!

Charlotte