If you subscribe to my Youtube channel (which you should, because I'm going to upload a ton on it this year!!), you'll have seen my new Reading Goals for 2017 video.
In light of that, I wanted to reflect on this blog about my reading of 2016 and the books that I've loved and the goals I wanted to achieve!
Goodreads Reading Goal
I try to be a realist when it comes to my reading. Knowing this, I set my Goodreads goal to half of what I read in 2015. While I crushed over a hundred books that year, I knew that my thesis would get in the way of all the fun reading. 2016 was the year of 50 books and I actually read more than that (almost 70!), which was a pleasant surprise.
It was really enjoyable having a low goal and allowing myself the time to read books that would take a while to finish. Prime example of this is Gone With The Wind, which took me a month (HELLO, a 1000 pages!!), but is one of my favourite books of all time.
As I mentioned in my reading goals for next year, I definitely want to keep up this habit of reading big books and enjoying them - so my goal for 2017 is again 50 books. I'll have NINE months free to just read (YAAAY!!), but I really want to crush some classics so I'll need all the time I can get.
My Main Three Books of Last Year
So generally, last year was all about my thesis - which as a literature student I am happy to report was about some of my favourite novels ever. That means that I read three books over ten times in 2016. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Save Me the Waltz by Zelda Fitzgerald and Tender Is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald are permanently memorized in my brain and I just pray that some day I'll forget extensive quotes so I can remember more useful day-to-day things!
Diversity
Another thing I wanted to do in 2016 was to read more diverse. While I read more diversely than in 2015, I still think I can do better. The Mothers by Brit Bennet is a book that I picked solely based on the gorgeous cover and actually really fell in love with. I want to learn to be more aware of what diverse authors are publishing, so it isn't just a chance pick at the bookstore. So while I am happy with the progress I made last year, I am also motivated to do better this year - which will be interesting combined with a desire to read more classics!
Process from YA to other fiction genre
Though I didn't upload regularly last year, I think it is safe to say that my blog has been transitioning from a YA blog to include more genres, so I achieved this goal.
Don't get me wrong - I still absolutely love YA and I always will. However, as a personal goal, I want to make sure I am more exposed to different types of writing. While YA will always have a soft spot in my heart, many YA novels feel generic to me. I just have to be more aware of which novels I pick out, so I don't miss out on stunners as the Lunar Chronicles!
Overall, 2016 was an AWFUL blogging year, but not a bad reading year. In 2017, I want to make sure I can combine both and share with you guys more of what I'm reading and what I'm thinking.
How was your 2016 reading year?