Top Ten Tuesday: Reading Goals for 2015

Monday, December 29, 2014


Hi guys! I hope you are all doing well and having a lovely time with family and friends during this cold season. The end of the year is almost here, so here are my top ten reading goals I'd like to keep in 2015:

1. Read books I actually want to read
During this year, I found myself reading too many "random" books and not enough books I actually wanted to read. In 2015, I hope to pick books not for review purposes, but because I know I will enjoy them. (For that reason, I'm not going to set a number goal for 2015. I will still challenge myself to read 50 books on Goodreads, but I want to focus more on the types of books I choose to read instead of how many.)

2. Purchase less, read more
I briefly mentioned this in my end of year book survey — I went a little crazy buying books this year because I just started finding book blogs, watching booktube and building my TBR pile. I'm not embarrassed at all of having too many unread books (the more, the merrier!) but it does cost money so I better be reading it, right?

3. Read at least two already-purchased books each month
This goes hand in hand with my second goal, but I thought it deserved its own spot :p I have the tendency to check out ebooks/new books at the library and neglect the ones on my shelf (hey, they'll be there forever so I have all the time in the world to read them, or so it seems ...) I'm hoping to end the year with 50% of my books read, which is definitely doable. If I end up actually doing it. I will do it.

4. Finish abandoned series
I meant to re-read and finish the Harry Potter series this year, but I only read up to the Goblet of Fire. It took me a while to start the Order of Phoenix the first time around too, but I am determined to do it early in the year! I also want to finish the Shatter Me trilogy (Ignite Me) and the Delirium trilogy (Pandemonium and Requiem).

5. Read through the Bible
I haven't been able to get through the entire Bible yet (I always start a plan at the beginning of each year but I always fail after a month or so) but I've been pretty good about waking up a little earlier and reading bits during this past school semester, so I think I can do it this time around! Luckily, She Reads Truth is coming out with something called "365 Days of Truth" (a structured plan to read the Bible in one year) for everyone, which means there will be other people doing the same thing. It's always better together :)

6. Review more books
I started this blog to track my thoughts on every book I read, but I can't do that if I'm not taking the time to write it all out! I like to keep a little journal, which is just a book full of all my reactions and quotes I like, but having a structured review reminds me in clear detail what I liked and what I didn't. I like sharing that with you guys, so I will try and review the books I read as soon as I can so I don't forget anything.

7. Continue features, don't just start them
Just call me Amaris the one-post-feature girl. I tend to start new features and never continue them (Exhibit A: The Weekend Line-Up, Exhibit B: New on the Shelves). I have a ton of ideas and I like to introduce new things, but it's time to continue and stick with what I start.

8. Let go of unwanted books
There are books on my bookshelf I have read and never plan on reading again, so why are they still there? It's hard to let go. I admit (just this once), I am a book hoarder ... but I don't want to have a collection of books that I enjoy, not cringe at.

9. Update blog details, such the navigation bar and archives
You guys, I've been putting this off so bad. Even the "About Me" section needs to be changed. I'm hoping to take baby steps each day so it won't seem like much. This may be the one thing on this list I will have major problems with :x

10. Maintain the book journal
I started writing down new words in a journal to improve my vocabulary (those who know me in real life know I desperately need help in that area) but I eventually ditched the idea (too many words :p) and started writing down passages to revisit in the future, questions that would possibly be answered after finishing the book, things to mention in a review, etc. I like doing this while I read, so I will keep doing it :)

So there are my goals for 2015! I'll be revisiting them at the end of each month in my "Looking Back' posts (hopefully). If you have goals you'd like to keep and need some encouragement, tweet 'em to me at @amarisafloria and I will make it a mission to randomly message you throughout the year and make sure you're keeping up with them :p

What are two goals (one bookish, one non-bookish) you hope to keep in 2015? Do you think making goals at the beginning of the year is overrated and/or unnecessary? If you made any goals in 2014, how good were you at keeping up with them?

8 comments

  1. Good luck with your goals! I need to sort out my reviews too, I've read a lot recently I just haven't got around to reviewing. Here are my resolutions, if you're interested: https://victoriajaynesbooks.wordpress.com/2014/12/28/top-ten-tuesday-5/

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  2. These are a great set of goals! Especially to review all the books you read - I like looking back at my reviews sometimes because I don't always remember my thoughts on a book so it's great to have the blog as a resource. Good luck with your goals!

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  3. One thing I really need to do is read books I already own before buying more! I need to resist the urge of buying shiny new books!! Great goals!!

    Happy New Year!
    ~Sara

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  4. Thank you Victoria! I'm planning to just do mini reviews for the books I haven't talked about yet — I can't remember anything in detail any more because it's been too long :p

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  5. Thank you Charlene! It also helps to read a review of the first book before starting the second :p

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  6. Yep ... I'm doing well so far! I only bought one book to complete a series. It's definitely hard when you're reading so many book blogs and seeing tons of people talk about the same book!

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