Goals 2016: Reading

I’m not a big believer in New Year’s Resolutions. Yes, a blank new year is a great time to decide how to fill it, but the way I see it, if you really want to change something about yourself or your life, why wait? Especially since it seems like everyone gives themselves an out sometime in mid-January because there’s an unspoken rule that resolutions, of course, won’t last. That’s why we have them every year, duh!

Anyway, I have lots of goals for 2016, but the one I’m most excited about? Reading goals!

After college, I didn’t read for pleasure for a long time. Part of it was fatigue, part of it was scrambling to find a job that could support my student loans. It took me a long time to put a finger on why I was so unhappy before I realized it was because I had cut myself off from one of my great joys. So now, to keep myself from stagnating, I set yearly reading goals. Even better? I usually make them.

This year’s goal is pretty modest: to read 52 books. That’s only a book a week, which is completely doable, even during busy weeks. But I decided to be more specific, because I wanted to stretch my reading muscles. There are certain books I read annually as a matter of course, and while rereading novels is one of my favorite pleasures, the number of books I want to read only gets longer every. Single. Day. So here’s the break down for 2016:

1. 20 of the books have to be new (to me).
2. 5 must be nonfiction (I’m fiction to the core!).
3. Wuthering Heights. I have a long, complicated history with this one. I reread it every couple years to see if maybe this time is the time I get it.
4. At least 5 must from the piles of unread books on my book shelves.
5. 3 must be “classics” I haven’t read before.

Here’s to 2016, and all the wonderful books that await me!