At the beginning of the year, I had some incredibly lofty goals so now is the time to check in and see if I’m on track to meet any of them! I’ve read about 125 books this year, subtracting some short stories in the Guild Hunters series that are on Goodreads, but are very, very short. So it is definitely a good time to check in! We’ll take it one goal at a time!
Goal #1: Read More Non-Fiction
Well… Last year I had read eight non-fiction books and so far this year, I’ve read four. So, I’m halfway through matching what I did last year, which is not that bad. I could definitely be doing better though.
Goal #2: Read More Male Authors
I know I said that this was important because I’m reading so many more women than men, but after the trash fire hell scape that has been 2018 so far, I’m over it. Can I count Ilona Andrews books for this though since it’s a husband/wife team? If so, I’m at fourteen. If not, I’m at seven. Let’s agree I can count those, okay?
Goal #3: Read More Adult Books (Non-Romance)
No. Just no. This goal was honestly never going to work for me and that’s fine.
Goal #4: Re-Read More
I’ve officially re-read twenty books this year! In terms of my list, I’ve re-read eight that I had specifically set out to read and changed my mind about one of the re-reads. So mostly I’ve been mood re-reading and I’m super okay with that.
Goal #5: Read More Diversely
Specifically, in terms of reading authors of color, I’ve read sixty books by authors of color this year, which is almost half! I’m so proud. If I were only able to count Nalini Singh once though, that number would drop dramatically, but I’m still pleased with my progress. I am still not reading enough Latinx or Native authors so if you know of romance novels fitting either of those categories, send me their names! Also, any YA authors.
In terms of reading LGBTQIA+ books, I’ve read nine books that I felt like had significant enough rep that they could be included, which pretty much means either had a POV or was in the main cast. Of those, I think only my re-read of Hold Me included a transgender main character so I really do need to do a better job with that. I also need to read more books with f/f relationships.
In terms of disability, I’ve read no books with characters with physical disabilities that I recall and twelve books with mental illness, including substance abuse, addressed on the page. I think I need to do a better job in this area as well.
Finally, in terms of religious diversity, I don’t know that I’ve done a great job keeping track of religion mentions, but I know I’ve read two books by Muslim women where their religion played a key role in the story. I read one book with individuals who practiced Hindu and two with characters who were Jewish.
Random Other “Goals”
Series to Start:
I DNF’d one series, Daughter of Smoke and Bone, successfully started one, Binti, and have twenty two others I should be getting to. Oh dear Lord.
Series to Get Caught Up On:
I caught up on one, The Diviners, still need to catch up on seven, and DNF’d the other two. Those two were Red Queen and And I Darken.
18 Backlist Books to Get to in 2018:
Lol, so I have only read Homegoing from this list, decided not to read All the Light We Cannot See and The Nix, but have the other 15 to go. Oops.
20 Books to Re-Read in 2018
I have re-read eight of these and need to get to eleven because I decided to just DNF the Red Queen series as opposed to re-reading the book.
Read Harder Challenge
There are twenty four challenges and I’ve completed eleven of those twenty four, which is not terrible!
Reading Women Challenge
This one is proving especially challenging now that I’m giving up on forcing myself to read anything that’s not a romance novel for the next.. Oh, probably forever. But of the 26 challenges, I have completed seven. Wow, that’s even worse than I thought. Oops.
Anyway, that’s my check in! How are you all doing on your goals? Let me know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 