2020 Reading Goals!

Hello Everyone!

Today I’m going to be doing the obligatory goal setting post for the new year, so if you’re not big on goals setting, maybe skip this post. I love setting goals because it helps me focus and gives me a drive to get up in the morning, but I know they’re not for everyone. In previous years I have talked about both my reading and personal goals, but I now have a whole other blog dedicated to my photography and personal life (photography.samanthadrage.co.uk), so I’m just going to be focuses on my reading goals here.

We all know what goal setting entails by now I think, so lets just get into talking about my reading goals for 2020…

Read Everyday

The first goals is one that I started all the way back at the beginning of 2018 and I successfully managed to do it the whole year, but I’ve completely fallen off it in 2019. I had so many exams earlier this year and then I’ve just had my first term at a new college, so it has been a full on year and I was so stressed with everything else going on that I didn’t have the energy or the time to read. The last month or so, as I’ve finally settled in at college, I’ve re-discovered my love for books and I’m ready to go into 2020 and begin smashing my reading goals.

Reading everyday was something that really helped my in 2018 to make sure I was doing at least 1 thing everyday that I loved and wanted to do and it allowed me to escape for a short while. I want to get back to reading all the books I’ve loved before and dive into new worlds and reading a little everyday (even if it is just 1 paragraph) helps me remember my love of reading on a day to day basis and escape if need be. It will also help me get through the massive pile of unread books that has been growing ever bigger as I’ve been buying faster than I’m reading this year.

Stop buying books

That brings me nicely onto my next goal, which is to STOP. BUYING. BOOKS! I buy far too many books and, especially this year as my reading has slowed down so much, they’ve just been stacking up. I have plenty of unread books and plenty of books I’d like to re-read, so I don’t need to buy any more books next year. Depending on how much my reading picks up, I may allow myself to buy books towards the end of the year if I really have read all the unread ones, but for now no more books.

The only exception to this rule is the release of a set few books from my favourite authors. If Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo or Rick Riordan release anything, then I’ll be buying those and the same goes for special or limited editions of my favourite books that I won’t be able to get after, but that’s it. No more trips to the book shop saying ‘oh I’ll just look’ and then come out with a significantly heavier bag and lighter wallet. I’m really trying to crack down on this in 2020 because I’ll turn 18 at the end of the year meaning it really is time to start saving for my future.

Read for fun

This one is a little odd, but in 2020 I really want to place the focus on reading for fun. I used to read all day everyday for an entire week in my early secondary school years, but over the last year, I’ve dreaded picking up any kind of book. I’ve been in high-alert mode with all the exams and feeling so stressed and then angry about all the years school took from me, even though I’ve left now that I just didn’t want to read or do anything fun. School had drilled into me that I didn’t have time for fun and grades were so important and it has taken me months to break out of that fog. I want 2020 to be a year of fun and that extends to my reading as well. Expect many more readathons to come and more bookish content on my YouTube Channel: Samantha Drage!

Those are my 3 reading related goals for 2020! If you want to know what my more personal and photography goals are for the year ahead then you can check out my photography blog at 5pm tomorrow! I don’t know if I’m going to set a goodreads goal for myself next year about how many books I want to read, but I’ll let you know over on my Instagram if I do: @theoriginalbookdragon

What are your reading goals for 2020?

Goodbye for now!

Over and Out