So, 2017 approaches. Or it’s here as you’re reading this. Or it’s many years in the future and you’re just a click away from seeing if I met my reading goal. Who knows?
Today I’m coming up with my reading plan for 2017, but it’s not a plan. I did that once in 2015, and that got me nowhere. You can’t plan to read. I can’t, at least. I open my iBooks on iPad, pick a book based on the mood I’m in, and off I go. Doing anything else sets me up for a Currently Reading Purgatory.
Speaking of, Souls of the Currently Reading now include 5 in their number:
- The Murder of Adam and Even by William Dietrich
- We’re All Damaged by Matthew Norman
- The Scorch Trials by James Dashner
- The King’s Coat by Dewey Lambdin
- Settle for More by Megyn Kelly
William Dietrich’s Napoleon’s Pyramids was relieved of its Purgatorial suffering and put back on my want to read list. After 2.5 years in the hell that is Currently Reading Purgatory, you have to realize that you gotta start over when you decide to finish it. So I will. Nothing against Dietrich. School got in the way, and I never got back to it.
My Want to Read list grows all the time. And this year, rather than plan which of those many books I will read, I’ve decided to set goals on what types of books to read. They include:
- 2 Mystery/Thriller
- 1 Book outside of my comfort zone
- 1 Book recommended by a friend
- 1 Scifi
- 1 Fantasy
- 1 Historical Fiction
- 1 Nonfiction (bleh)
That’s 8 books that must fit into those categories, giving at least 6 “read whatever the heck I feel like books.” I didn’t write any young adult goals because that seems to be my new favorite genre, so no goals needed. It’s nice because they tend to be one-off books, so there’s no long-term commitment with them. For those of us with commitment issues.