Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together
Happy Tuesday y’all! This week’s topic is “Bookish Goals for 2023.” If you haven’t already, you can check out my New Year’s Resolution post where I list a few of my bookish goals for the new year. I’ve also already posted my goals for this year’s reading challenges. Here though I’d like to post specific goals related to my reading. I’ll also be using today’s post to sign up for Because Reading’s 2023 Bookish Resolution Challenge which runs all year (details to sign up below).
Read 125 books in 2023.
I know what you are thinking….”But Lillian, you only read 100 books in 2022. How will you read 125?” The answer is I don’t know, but I have lofty goals 😂 When I started tracking my reading at the end of 2013, I was averaging between 150-200 books per year. I read a lot slower now, and a lot of what I read is class material for Liam now that we homeschool. I also read a lot of books with him that I never count on Goodreads. That stops today! If I read it, it counts *stomps metaphorical foot* Picture book, counts. Graphic novel, counts. Audiobook, counts. Textbook, counts. Middle grade book, COUNTS. It all counts in 2023.
Make at least half my reads in 2023 from my TBR shelves (physical, Kindle, or Goodreads).
I had this same goal last year, and I have to say, I did a good job of keeping up with it. I read 100 books, and only 48 of those were new releases. The rest came from my TBR pile or old ARCs. I’m slowly culling my Goodreads TBR with the Down the TBR Hole meme making it more manageable and less overwhelming. I hope to continue that trend this year.
Listen to one audiobook a week.
Last year, my goal was to listen to one a month. I learned really quickly that if I’m struggling to focus on what I’m reading (which seems to be 99.9% of the time these days), if I switch to the audiobook edition, I wind up enjoying the read. That said, I listened to 36 audiobooks in 2022, and I’ve already listened to 3 audiobooks to start the new year. Go me! 🥳
Read, on average, 2 hours per day or 60 hours per month.
I have an unhealthy obsession with the Bookly app y’all. I love seeing those pretty pie graphs and charts. It also motivates me to read. Most days I already read about 2 hours, a lot of days I read more like 4-5 hours (insomnia is a bitch), so I feel like this is totally attainable for me.
Raise my NetGalley percentage to 80%
This has been an ongoing goal of mine for a few years. 2015 was a hard year personally for me, and that is when my NetGalley & ARC reads fell behind. I did a decent job of working to catch up last year, even though my percentage didn’t go up. To raise my percentage this year, I’m going to hold off on accepting any books except from authors/publishers I regularly work with and read at least 50 books from my NetGalley backlist by July….wish me luck 🫣
DNF books I’m not enjoying.
I’m the world’s worst at DNFing books. I feel like if I’ve been given a book for review, a gift, or book I purchased that I should push through it and finish it. Y’all, there are too many books out there to waste your time on bad books. With that in mind, I’m adopting a new policy for myself and for the site: If I cannot honestly give a book 3 or more stars OR if I would not recommend the book on this site or gift it to a fellow reader, I will abandon the book. To be honest, this will be a big weight off my shoulders moving forward. I’m only one person on this blog, and I will never be able to read all the books sent to me in their entirety especially if I force myself to read books I do not enjoy.
Write reviews as I finish the books.
This one is so hard to stick to! I inevitably fall behind. However, I did a good job of keeping notes in 2022, making it easy to write the review when I fell behind. Right now, I have no outstanding reviews to write which is SO freeing. This resolution is more or less to motivate me to stay the course.
Pick 1 Audiobook Book, 1 E-Book or Physical Book, and 1 NetGalley ARC a week to read and either complete them or release them.
This resolution came from Kai @ Fiction State of Mind. She shared her resolutions in our #COYER Challenge Facebook group, and I loved this one. I’ve altered it slightly from hers to fit my own needs. My TBR is so huge, being able to knock out three a week would go a long way in helping me reach my other resolutions.
The 2023 Bookish Resolutions Challenge is hosted by Michelle & Berls @ Because Reading and started on January 1st and ends December 31st. This challenge is all about setting bookish goals. You can check out the full list of rules and sign up now until Feb. 28th.
Your Turn! What are your reading resolutions this year? Share below
I sometimes struggle with insomnia, too. You’re not alone there.
Good luck with your goals.
Lydia recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Goals for 2023
These are some great goals! I also need to DNF books I’m not enjoying — I sometimes push myself through books I’m not enjoying, so I need to get better at that! I also need to work on my feedback ratio for Netgalley — I’m being punished by my first year on Netgalley and not understanding the importance of that ratio 😂
Victoria @ The Contented Reader recently posted…Top Ten Books I Hope to Read in 2023
That’s my problem too 😂 That and when all the books I’ve requested are approved but have the same release date…NetGalley kills me.
Good luck with these! I loved the one about reading more from your TBRs.
Thank you! I’m hoping to knock out a lot from the TBR pile 🤞
I also want to whittle down my TBR. Good for you for making that goal! Your plan sounds very reasonable.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
I like the idea of reading half your books from your TBR list, that way you aren’t constantly picking up new books. Easier said than done though! I listen to about one audiobook a week, and I agree with you that sometimes a book doesn’t work if I read it but it’s great if I listen to it. Sometimes the opposite is also true. Good luck with your reading goals!
Nice set of goals here! These sound totally doable! I feel like a lot of us are trying to read more from our TBR piles. This is always hard to do because of all the new and shiny books that keep getting released but then I remind myself my TBR books were once these new and shiny books and I still want to read them, I just can’t read as fast anymore apparently! Lol!
Here’s my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower 🙂
Good luck on your 2023 goals.
Snapdragon recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Books with one Word Title
Everyone’s goals to reach 80% on Goodreads are making me laugh so hard because my ratio is truly abysmal (like 7%). I’ll never reach 80% no matter how hard I try! LOL. Good luck with all these goals.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
My NG is so low that I don’t know when I will get to 80% for I always give in to temptation and get more new books… and reviewing each book as soon as I finish reading it – that is always tough but I need to do it too..
Here is my TTT
vidya recently posted…Exploring the Thesaurus is Fun and More!
Those wound like some great goals. My Netgalley ratio is 63% – I think 80 is out of my reach.
carol recently posted…Invitation to a Killer by G.M. Malliet
That’s where mine is too….or was at the beginning of the year. It’s up to 65% now. 🙌
Thanks for posting your reading goals for hours per day! I struggle with wondering how much I should read realistically. I don’t know why but I tend to compare myself to other bloggers on this, never knowing…am I reading enough? Or too little? I think two hours per day is definitely doable for most of us bookworms, although sometimes I struggle to fit in 30 minutes when I’m busy. Yes, insomnia is the worst for sure, btw!
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I completely understand this feeling! And yes, some days I only get a few pages in and others I read over two hours. My main thing is to read daily and shoot for an average. I’ve been using the Bookly app which tracks all those stats for me. It’s a nice motivator and reminds me that I am actually reading more than I think I am ☺️
Some great goals! You also have a few different perspectives which may help me continue to improve my ongoing goals.
Anne – Books of My Heart recently posted…🎧 Make A Wish by Helena Hunting @HelenaHunting @StellaBspeaks @jclarkereads @MacmillanAudio #LoveAudiobooks @SnyderBridge4
You’ve got some great goals! I have been doing a lot better with the DNF, there are just too many books I want to read to waste time on books I”m not enjoying. I wish I could do one audiobook a week, but since I only listen in my car for the most part, that won’t happen. I am going to download the Bookly app, haven’t heard of it till now! Good luck with all your goals!
Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Blog Tour Review with Giveaway: The Beauty Trials (The Belles #3) by Dhonielle Clayton