This is going to be a really long post. Apologies in advance.

So this year has been kind of stressful for my reading. I tried buddy reading with my brother, choosing a new book for each month, and trying to read the same number of pages as each other every day.

We started off trying to read 20 pages each day, then near the end of February we got a bit confident and went up to 25 pages. That only lasted a few days, and pretty soon we were trying to read 30 pages a day. That was difficult. So in April when we attempted 40 pages a day (between two very dense reads) we both really struggled, and were kind of put off our game.

It was definitely stressful. I enjoyed sharing my reading experience with him, it was so much fun being able to talk to him about what we were reading. But every single month I fell behind. The thing is, he has a daily commute to work, about an hour in each direction, whereas I walk to work, which isn’t so convenient for reading.

I am able to read whilst walking, but on the way to work I’m usually pushing my luck for getting in on time, and on the way home I’m usually too tired (that is if there’s even enough daylight for me to read whilst walking). Plus, it’s only a 15 minute walk, so not much time to read anyway.

In any case, he had a great routine for getting his daily pages read, and I had to fit it in after dinner when I was super tired. Which made it a struggle for me, and meant that most days I didn’t complete the target, sometimes not reading at anything at all.

This is something I want to change about next year. I’ve discussed this with my brother and I think there might be some books that we’ll read together, such as the Stormlight Archive or The Expanse series. But mostly I just want to find my flow again.

So I’ve decided that, for the new year, I’m not going to set any reading goals.

It feels crazy. I’ve set yearly goals since about 2015 or something, so stopping now feels strange. But I truly think it will allow me to have more fun with my reading.

I don’t think I’m going to be setting monthly TBR’s either. If there are books I’m interested in then I might keep them to one side so I can see them more often and potentially maintain my interest in them. However, for the most part, I’m just going to read what I want whenever I want. As in, if I have a vague interest in a book one day then I’m just going to start reading it, no matter how many other books I have on the go.

Honestly, I’m thinking that I’ve got so many books on my shelf that I’m just not interested in. I might sell them on ebay or something. I don’t think I’d get much for them, but giving them to charity shops feels like a waste when books are so expensive these days. But I really do need to clear out my books. My shelves are full, and there’s some on there which I’ve had since 2012 or something, and I doubt I have all that much interest in YA dystopians these days.

I think with those books that I’m considering throwing out, I might try a chapter of each of them, and if they grip me I’ll read them, otherwise I’ll get rid of them. Maybe I can donate them to my local library, I don’t know if they accept donations. Lol.

Anyway, I want to make reading fun again. It’s a hobby, I don’t want it to become a chore.

I think I’m just going to take a relaxed approach to reading over the next year. I also think I might allow myself one day each month to just focus on reading. Maybe I should try a 24 hour readathon sometimes, or just take myself out to a cafe for an afternoon of reading.

Actually I’d really love to do a reading retreat. Like, just take myself on a trip to a cabin or something, sit in the sun, and just read. I don’t usually have relaxing holidays, but I shold try it for a weekend or something. Haha.

I definitely need to do something about rebuilding a reading habit. But I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. I’m just going to read whatever I want, whenever I want. Even if it means I don’t finish any books for ages, so long as I’m consistently reading. I could start a dozen books, I just want to maintain the habit.

I’d love to be the kind of person who could read a whole book in a day or even a week. I’d love to be able to read a few hundred pages each weekend. As it is, I barely read 50 pages in a whole week these days.

Am I just in a reading slump? Or is it just that I don’t have a reading routine sorted out?

Who knows?!

It might just be because I tend to read dense fantasy books, and other people are reading contempory books that are half the length of the books I’m reading.

But I feel like I need to be making better use of my free time. I waste a lot of time on my phone, scrolling social media or playing silly games. Yeah, it’s fun, but it doesn’t exactly make me happy. Especially when I know I could be using that time for reading more.

Usually I make a list of about ten books that I want to read in the coming year. But I never complete all of the books. Sometimes I don’t even finish one of the books in those lists.

Maybe I’ll make a list for next year. Maybe I’ll just see how things go, and try not to track my reading too much.

Do you have any reading goals for 2024? I’d love to hear them!

Until next time,

Love, Bobbi. Xx.