Bookish Thursday - 2024 Reading Plans

Yeah...

I have a lot of books and I read a lot. 

I read a wide variety of books - everything from nonfiction and memoir to sci-fi and fantasy. So many books, so little time.

In 2023, I have read 179 books (sort of) which is 59,236 pages. That's like reading the entire Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan 4.5 times (I have read it one time actually). 

Of those 179 books, 14 were 5 stars. According to according to Goodreads rating system, means 'it was amazing'. There were 23 'abandoned' books which I did not rate at all since I feel my not finishing them could have been partly my mood rather than the quality of the book itself. There were 7 'ok' books and 35 'liked' books. The biggest segment was the 'really liked' at 100 books. 

So...

My reading plans for 2024 will require me to be a bit more disciplined. 

The stack above are books which fill a few categories of reading I am setting up for next year. This is how I am hoping to accomplish reading books which are sitting on my shelves or at least the categories I want to check off. Some of the categories overlap, which is handy for getting books read.

• Finish books started (which might be actually checked off by the end of the year)
• Agatha Christie backlist - I realized I know about her books mainly from TV watching and I want to read the books
• Books by Authors I Follow - Like Anne Bishop, Jim Butcher, Laurell K. Hamilton, Alix Harrow, Martha Wells
• Books Which I Own Which Were On the Goodreads Books of the Year List - and I have a couple which actually won their category
• Books to Continue or Finish a Series - I have several series I need to finish up or continue. Those will be listed in a future post
• Books to Review - I already have 2 for 2024 which I am already committed to. This year I read and reviewed 22 books for WOW-Women on Writing.
• Books Purchased and Books Won - I need to get better at reading what I purchase or what I have won off Goodreads
• Kindle Books - I have hundreds of books sitting on Kindle. Some are from authors I want to try. Some are books I won (spans two categories). 
• Gardening Books for Rosemary and Thyme - I have committed do doing book reviews and offer gardening/plant based book reviews
• Books on Writing - I want to read one 'craft' book a month
• 'Book Stomp' Books - There is a set of books I purchased at the 'Book Stomp' at Camp North End earlier in 2023 I want to read and review for the local authors
• Sword and Laser Book of the Month - They are a Goodreads group which also has a podcast on science fiction and fantasy books. Every month they have a 'book of the month'. This has lead me to discovering some new-to-me-authors (and more books to read). 

Of course, when I listen to BookTubers or go to the library I end up with lots of suggestions on new books to read.

What I want to do is stop 'zoning out' and watching 'whatever' on TV or on YouTube. So I want to put on some background music and settle down and read. Actually, what I want to do, and this will come into other plans I have in my tiny brain, is to set up a stop outside to read too. A little garden reading in the garden. 

So for 2024 - 

• More focus on my reading - 200 books perhaps?
• Clearing off my backlist of unread books

Let the reading begin!