2020 Reading Goals

This post is so late that I might actually cry. I wish I was only kidding. 

Anyway, this is the first year that I’m actually sitting down and writing out some concrete reading goals to try and achieve throughout the year. And it’s only my second year of having a GoodReads Reading Challenge, or a target amount of books I would like to meet (and hopefully surpass) by the end of the year. So let’s get into some of the reading things I want to happen in 2020! 

GoodReads Challenge

75 books

So this is a pretty straightforward goal, and definitely the most fluid/lenient one. Which sounds a little strange, but I’ll get there. 

My plan is to read at least 75 books this year (hopefully more, but I’ll be more than happy with that number). That’s it. Pretty simple, if I can remember to prioritize reading over Netflix and The Sims. Cue nervous, doubtful laughter. 

Specific Reading Goals

Okay, so now let’s get into the more specific things that I may or may not manage to achieve before the year is up. I’ll start with the smaller, more manageable ones and work my way up! 

Broadening Horizons

Look, here’s the thing. I LOVE fantasy. Like a little too much. Like it’s ALL I READ, a little too much. That has got to change this year. I would love to get back to the old Alivia who could pick up any book off her mom’s shelf and not even bother reading the back cover, she just started reading. 

Okay, I doubt I’ll ever get to that innocent, open-mindedness again. But I really do need to broaden my reading horizons more. 

I would like to read more adult books in general, regardless of genre. I find myself constantly gravitating towards YA, which certainly isn’t a bad thing, but the last few adult books I’ve read I really enjoyed! 

As far as specfic genres go, I would really like to get back into thrillers, horror,  murder mysteries, etc. I used to absolutely love the stuff when I was younger, but I sort of just stopped reading them and never really got back into it again. 

I also want to branch into more YA contemporaries. I made the mistake of reading a few sub-par YA contemporary romances and they basically steered me away from the genre as a whole for a while, which isn’t fair. There are plenty of YA contemporaries that don’t have a romance focus that I’m very interested in reading (and even a few romance ones as well!). 
The last genre I would love to delve into a little more in 2020 is historical fiction. I just recently read an adult historical fiction about the Roman Emperor Nero, and I loved it! (My non-spoiler review is here on my blog if you want to check it out.) The Confessions of Young Nero piqued my interest in ancient history once again, I can’t wait to read more about fascinating historical figures and events.

Read More Non-fiction

The last one sort of leads into this, but I’m keeping this as a separate goal because . . . well I don’t know because I feel like it? Fight me. 

I’ve spent my entire reading life avoiding non-fiction like the plague. I always just assumed that it would absolutely bore me to death. But now I feel this thirst for knowledge?? I just want to read about things?? And learn things? Who am I? Hahahahahahha. 

I’ve actually already gotten a jumpstart on this goal! I’ve recently checked out four (4!) non-fiction books from my library about varying topics that I plan to read over the next few months! I would love to be able to average one non-fiction read a month! 

Re-Reads

And finally we get into what is probably my most ambitious reading goal or challenge for 2020. Re-reading old series that I loved but never finished / don’t remember / want to read again. This is a pretty lofty goal, because there are several series that I’ve been planning to reread for a few years and just never got around to. 

Harry Potter by JK Rowling

The first series that is way, way overdue for a reread is Harry Potter. It’s been roughly six or seven YEARS since I read the books last, and I’m terribly homesick for these books. Yes, I said homesick. For a book series. Fight me (again). 

A Court of Thorns and Roses Trilogy by Sarah J Maas

I’m entirely too obsessed with Sarah J Maas’s characters, so even though I read the ACOTAR trilogy just three and a half years ago, I’m already craving a reread. So much so that I may or may not have already read the first in the trilogy back in December. Hehe, oops. 
And yes, I loved it just as much as the first time. But ACOMAF is my favorite, so I expect I’ll be picking that one up very soon.

An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir

This one is a little bit different because I’ve only read the first two books. Three books are already published, with the fourth one coming some time in the foreseeable future. There’s a lot of buzz around this series –– for good reason –– so I would love to be caught up and refreshed by the time the fourth book releases. I don’t remember hardly anything at all from the first two books, so rereading from the beginning is a must! I’m hoping to get to the first one soon! 

Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo

I just recently finished the original Grisha trilogy (Ruin and Rising review coming soon(ish), and now I want to reread Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom more than ever before. Six of Crows was the book that made me fall back in love with reading my sophomore year of high school, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. (Besides just for being an incredible book with an incredible cast of characters that I would lay down my life for without hesitation.)

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

This one takes the last spot, because it’s an incredibly daunting task. I don’t just need to reread the core six Shadowhunter novels (The Mortal Instruments), I need to reread every single Shadowhunter novel, in order. Every single one. And it feels like every time I turn around she’s announcing and releasing yet another Shadowhunter series, and I’m feeling more than a little overwhelmed, but it’s fine. Everything is fine. 

I own the entire TMI series, but I don’t own any of the others yet. So if the TMI is all I manage to get through this year, I’ll be okay with that. Though, I would really like to get through at least The Infernal Devices as well. (And definitely not because it’s my personal favorite. Pssshhhhh. What kind of person do you think I am?)

Reviewing

And last but not least, I would like to review every book that I read this year. I’ve never really taken book reviewing seriously, but there’s no time like the present to start, right? I’m not sure if I’ll ever do “spoilery” reviews, but I’ll definitely try to share my spoiler-free thoughts about every read of mine this year! It was one of the main reasons I wanted to start a book (and writing) blog, so I hope that I can stick to the plan! 

The End?

I guess that’s it! I feel like these goals sound a lot less daunting than they feel? Or something like that? It didn’t seem to be all that much when I was writing this up, but they certainly feel like ambitious challenges hahahahha. I can’t wait to see how many I accomplished at the end of the year! 

Do you have any reading goals or challenges for this year? Comment and let me know!