Reading Goals for the New Year

I love to read. My favorite genre is fantasy. When I pick up a fantasy series (because there’s never just one book that tells the whole story), I can get lost in another world for days. Literally. I can’t put the books down. I want to read the story like I watch a movie, becoming fully immersed in another world, the scenes flowing together from one to the next. I may as well be on a vacation and by the piles of laundry that accumulate while Frodo and Sam venture deep into the spider’s lair, it looks like it too. Diving that far deep into a long book series is unrealistic for the life of a mom. Sure, perhaps I can do it a few times a year, but it puts a halt on all productivity for me.

However, reading is good for my soul. It causes me to rest. It pushes me to reflect. And it challenges me to become a better storyteller myself. I did not read enough last year and have a pile of “I can’t wait to read that one day” books that I need to crack open. At the start of 2020, I opened a fresh new notebook and on the first page I wrote, “Reading 2020”. There I wrote out a list of books that I want to read.

My goal is to read four books per month. But this year, I’m going to be more intentional about the types of books I’m reading. I wrote a little diddy to help keep me on track:

Something for fun,

Something to know,

Something that’s old,

Something to grow.

I was thinking of my blue wedding garter when I wrote that, but this is my personal book guide for the year to keep my queue diverse.

Something for fun. A fantasy series, perhaps. Or maybe I’ll venture into other areas of fiction that have piqued my interest for some time. Last week I finished a book I bought for my middle son for Christmas: Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof by Ivy Claire and Kobe Bryant. I started reading it to see if he would like it and then I couldn’t put it down. Now, I’m reading it to the kids and I catch them reading ahead on their own. It’s a great book for the whole family.

Something to know. I tend to not crack open informational texts too often, but my goal is to read more of these. The first book in this category is Screens and Teens: Connecting with Our Kids in a Wireless World by Kathy Koch. My oldest son just got a phone for Christmas and my husband and I are venturing into a whole new realm here. We want to be as informed as we can as we enter the wireless world with our children.

Something that’s old. A classic. My favorite book of all time is Hinds Feet on High Places, a Christian allegory by Hannah Hurnard. However, I haven’t yet read The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, written in 1678 of the same genre. With my “word of the year” being progress, this book will be finished by the end of January. But in February, I’ll be re-reading my favorite classic.

Something to grow. These are the books that make me stop and reflect on my own personal growth as a Christian, wife, mom, friend, citizen, or writer. Or all of the above. I’m currently listening to the audiobook of A Million Little Ways by Emily P. Freeman and recently finished Adorning the Dark by Andrew Peterson - both spoke about faith, calling, writing and art.

I know some of these books will pop up in my Favorite Things Friday list on Instagram. Adorning the Dark was mentioned in my very first FTF in December before I finished it. It topped my Christmas list and I couldn’t wait to read it.

Feel free to grab this graphic, share it on social media with whatever books are on your list to read this year and tag me so I can add some books to my list!