My Reading Goals For 2019

This is my first year creating reading goals for myself, and I’m quite excited!

I keep a running list of books I want to read, but have never written goals outlining which ones to read next. I’ve merely had a general sense in my head that “I should read more of…(fill in the blank).”

Plus, my to-read list is a little intimidating at 56 pages long. Fifty-six pages. Okay, it’s a little less alarming when you know that some of the titles in the Word doc are in pretty large fonts due to copying and pasting from the Internet, and there are some book summaries included, again as a result of copying and pasting. But I want a list that’s a little more manageable for the new year. (In case you’re curious, I naturally gravitate toward fantasy, historical fiction, Christian fiction, and YA books.)

So here are my five reading goals for 2019.

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1. Read at least 2 books in translation
   I was inspired to add this goal to my list because of this post from Modern Mrs. Darcy. It got me thinking about what translated books I’ve read, and all the books originally written in other languages I’ve never experienced. It was fun to think about the fact that I’ve read books originally written in French (no surprise considering my love for France!), Russian, and German, plus at least one book translated from Swedish or Japanese. But what about Chinese, or Italian? I’m leaning towards reading something translated from Norwegian (because of my heritage) and am open for suggestions on what other book/language to check out!

2. Read at least 1 Shakespearean play
   I love Shakespeare, but there are a few of his most famous plays I’ve never read. (Probably because when I’m in the mood for Shakespeare, I pick up my favs, Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet.) I’d like to read either King Lear or Macbeth—which would you recommend I check out first?

3. Join a Literary Society/Book Club
   I’ve been wanting to be a part of a book group with a literary focus for some time. Technically, I joined a literary society this August when my friend launched a new group, but I’ve yet to be able to attend a meeting. My goal is to make it to at least a few discussions this year.

4. Read at least 2 classics I should have read in high school
   I try to read a few classics each year and I want to be intentional about it this year too. I’m glad that I was exposed to great classics while I was homeschooled, and even had a say in what I read, much to my bookish heart’s delight. But (thankfully!) there are always more classics to discover. I’m leaning towards The Lord of the Flies and Fahrenheit 451.

5. Read more poetry 
   I have this beautiful collection of poetry from college. (Because I’m the weirdo who kept most of her textbooks. Hey, those things are expensive!) We only covered about half the poets in the book, so there’s a lot of great poetry left to discover. Plus, I want to read more poetry to inspire my own writing.

What are YOUR reading goals for this year?
What classics and books in translation should I add to my list?

PS Here are my favorite fiction books and nonfiction books from 2018 in case you’re looking for more books for your TBR list.

 

UPDATE: Here’s how I’m doing with my goals part way through the year.