I’ve been reading people’s plans and goals for 2024 reading lately, and this concept is wild to me. Don’t get me wrong, I admire it, but that is not how my reading life works. I have no idea what I’ll be reading in November, let alone January. 2023 is actually the first year I’ve consistently tracked my reading, which I did with a simple list, plus StoryGraph starting in May. I’ve found that rewarding and useful, but it has not stirred in me any desire to plan in depth or set goals.
Now that I’ve said I don’t and won’t do it, here’s how I’m doing it.
I’m not setting any quantifiable goals for my reading, beyond a general desire to read some everyday if at all possible. This is something I’ve done since I learned to read, so it’s not really a goal. Still, I plan to maintain the habit and if you squint at that, it might be a goal. I’ll continue tracking my reading, but this year I’ll upgrade to a spreadsheet, and continue using StoryGraph as well.
I am going to participate in a “mega reading challenge,” comprised of 52 prompts, put on by The Stacks podcast. The challenge is proprietary, so I won’t go into details, but it will have me reading things like a prize winner and a bestseller from the year of my birth. This will require some research on my part, but I read fast enough that I won’t need to scrupulously map out the books to get it done.
I’m also going to participate in a group that will take 2024 to read War and Peace, led by
. This will be a good challenge for me as a binge reader.I’ll continue to participate in my two micro book clubs as long as my reading partners will have me, which will occasionally require me to compile short lists of ideas. I’ll also continue with
’s online book club, and I may try to participate in The Stacks’ book club as well.There are some areas of interest I’d like to pursue further: ideas related to disability and contemporary Japanese fiction, to start. I will fall down other rabbit holes as I go through the year.
I try to read books by authors from many backgrounds, and I’ll continue that attempt in 2024. I am weak on world literature, particularly literature in translation, so I may try to be more intentional about that. I may also branch out with genres a bit more (the reading challenge will help with that).
Overall, the driving forces for my 2024 reading will be what they’ve always been: love of reading and ✨vibes✨.
May your 2024 reading, meticulously planned or not, bring you joy and fulfillment!
A quote:
“He wasn’t a snob, not exactly, only he liked things to be left as they were, and not got up as what they could never hope to be.”
Snow, John Banville
“‘Where I come from,’ said Archie, ‘a bloke likes to get to know a girl before he marries her.’
‘Where you come from it is customary to boil vegetables until they fall apart. This does not mean,’ said Samad tersely, ‘that it is a good idea.’”
White Teeth, Zadie Smith