Tuesday, January 15, 2019

2019 Reading Goals


Hardcovers
Last year I set a general intention to read from my hardcover pile so that I could finally get to some books I'd carted around through a few moves over the past few years- and I did that, I read a bunch and sold them and made room for new stuff. (But I have bought fewer books than I read, and actually opened up some room on the shelves.) This year I'm going to try to get the pile down by another third. I have thirty or so hardcover fiction titles right now so after I get through ten of them, I'll start on

ARCs
I've collected quite a few advance copies over 12 years of book blogging and book selling; I read them steadily but just like the hardcovers there are a bunch that I've hauled from place to place too. I'd like to get to some of the dustier ones and then send them on their way. (Don't worry- I don't sell them. I leave them on a table in the hallway of my building for my neighbors.)

Nonfiction
I'd like to read between 10 and 20 nonfiction titles bedside in 2019. I was reading nonfiction at the gym but I haven't been going as much lately and haven't been reading much when I am there, so maybe it's back to magazines for a while.

Diversity
Last year I read 16 books by people of color; I'd like to get that number up to between 20 and 25. I'm starting off strong with My Own Country by Abraham Verghese and There There by Tommy Orange. I can cherry pick from my hardcovers and ARCs and nonfiction too. It's just a matter of making choices.

Reducing Paper
I'm making a vow to only buy craft e-books; no new paper quilting books in 2019. The only things I should print out are sewing templates that get recycled after use.

Volume
Last year I read 70 books. I don't know if I can reach that number again this year; I read a lot of books in holding rooms on background jobs, and I don't anticipate doing much background in 2019. My goal is going to be a more modest 50 books, including audio. We'll see if I make it- or exceed it.

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