My Reading Plan [The 2018 Edition]

This year, I’m trying to choose my books more intentionally instead of just reading what strikes my fancy at the time.

Monthly Reads

ONE. Reading a book for the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge because it’s hosted by us! Last year I missed a few months – but this year, I’m prioritizing books for the challenges and it should be the fist book of the month.

TWO. Book club picks. I joined a new book club this year and they have the books selected a few months in advance. Our book club meetings involve dinner, wine and books – win, win, win!

THREE. & FOUR. 2 science fiction and/or fantasy books for the Swords & Stars Reading Challenge. Speculative fiction is my jam, and this challenge with all it’s different categories is sure to introduce me to new authors & read some classics too.

FIVE. Book Award Winners. I’d like to read all the winners from last year’s major book awards following the Major Book Awards Calendar For 2018 and Past Award Winners – and keep up with this years winners too as a side goal.

SIX. Books from Amazon Best Books of the Month lists. I’m tracking these each month and sharing them – as well as my selections to read – here on Girlxoxo.com. My goal is to read at least 1 of these books each month.

SEVEN. Diverse books. My personal goal is for at least 1 in 3 books to be written by an author of color. At least one of the books for the categories above should be by an AOC, and I’ve also committed to reading 5 (more) books from this list of Speculative Fiction by Authors of Color.

EIGHT. International authors. My goal is to keep Reading the Continents with at least 1 book by an author from each of the 6 inhabited continents.

NINE. Non-fiction. This year, I’m taking baby steps into non-fiction and just trying to incorporate at least 1 non-fiction read each quarter.

Tips for Sticking to the Plan

✤ Tracking – I’ve added a TBR tab to my version of the Reading Challenges Tracker. I put each of the categories in the 1st column, and the months of the year in the 1st row across the top. Next to each category, I pick the books I want to read that month. Black means I don’t have it yet, green means I’ve read it and purple means I have it but haven’t read it yet.

✤ Plan Ahead – I select the books a few weeks in advance so I can request them from the library before the start of the month. If I don’t like a book – I select something else … when I’m not feeling a read – it takes me forever and a day to get through it.

✤ Regular Review – I tend to consult the tracker at least once a week, adding books I want to read for certain categories, and making sure to request various books from the library – which is my main source of books.

It’s only been a month, but I’m feeling much more connected to reading and the books chosen with thought as opposed to just picking up whatever is available. How do you select books to read? Do you have a reading plan for the year?

(Photo in Header Image by Giulia Bertelli on Unsplash)