Tag: reading goals

2014 Reading Goals

Posted December 21, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 9 Comments

With 2014 so close, it is time again to start thinking about what my reading goals will be for next year. Firstly I want to have a quick look at how I went with my 2013 Reading Goals. First of all I went on a semi book buying ban which lasted most of the year but didn’t do much to reduce my TBR (To Be Read shelf) but it did get me to use the library more (see my post Book Buying Bans Don’t Work). Secondly there was the reading goal of 150 books (on Goodreads) which I did complete. I stated in my 2013 Reading Goals post that “I would just take the time and read some bigger books and some non-fiction” which I feel I failed. I did read some bigger books and non-fiction but not enough to satisfy myself. Lastly there was the Literary Exploration reading challenge, which was a lot of fun and I did complete.

What does that mean for 2014? Well I would like to move away from a reading goal, I like the idea of trying to hit 100 or 150 books in the year but I want the freedom. I don’t want to pressure myself to read x amount of books a week or year, I want to read bigger books and with no reading goal I might be able to achieve this. I’m not sure if I will achieve this, I’m sure I’ll cave and set my reading goal on Goodreads to 150 books.

I do want to read more non-fiction, maybe I can put pressure on this and set a 2 book a month goal on myself. I’ve recently enjoyed more non-fiction and might have finally caught the (non-fiction) reading bug, especially books about books. I want to try and nurture this and hopefully I’ll find a passion towards biographies and non-fiction as well as fiction. As for reading more big books, I’ll continue working on that, but I’m not going to force anything.

Finally the Literary Exploration reading challenge is back for another year. I will be doing the ‘Insane challenge’ again, that is 36 books in different genres. I might even get cocky and try and do two books from the 36 different genres, but I will see how I go. I like that I’m willing to explore all genres and want to make sure I read more in some of the genres I don’t normally read. I will continue to advocate the joys in reading more widely and I hope the Literary Exploration reading challenge will help more people discover this.

What are other people planning for next year? Are any trying something a little bit different? I’m interested in learning more about other people’s reading goals and hopefully discover some new ways to challenge myself for 2015. Hope everyone enjoys the holiday period and are excited for 2014’s reading challenges.

Reading Non-Fiction

Posted September 15, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

I’m not a non-fiction reader, much to my own disappointment. A few of the non-fiction books I have read have been good and the book that inspired me and turned me into a reader was in fact a non-fiction book. Recently I’ve been inspired with an idea; this idea will require a lot of non-fiction reading and research. So I need to motivate myself in becoming a bigger non-fiction reader.

My research will require some reading up on philosophy, art history and maybe even pop culture which will be good for my blog Knowledge Lost and hopefully will give me some new posts for that poor neglected site. Here is what I need, I want to become a better non-fiction reader so I would love some recommendations of books that I might be interested in and are really interesting reads. It doesn’t have to be related but that would be a bonus; I just want some motivation and I hope some great recommendations will help. Also I need tips and advise to become a non-fiction reader. Do audiobooks make for a good way to get through a non-fiction book?

My idea may never be realised but I feel inspired to research it, even if it takes me a lifetime. My goal to become a non-fiction reader will hopefully be a result in this inspiration. My goal is to read at least one non-fiction a month; this challenge may turn me into the type of reader I want to become. I love learning new things but I need to force myself into reading those non-fiction books. One of the biggest problems is working out how to review these books, so I might just do a mini review or something in order to take some of my pressure off.

I’m not going to tell you about my idea but I will give you a list of books I plan to read; this is a very random list but these books I hope will give me some inspiration and guide me down different paths that might help. I know some of these books will be a big help, others are just interesting or books on my shelves already that might help in one form or another.

  • Being and Nothingness by Jean-Paul Sartre
  • Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder by Mark Nelson and Sarah Hudson Bayliss
  • If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit by Brenda Ueland
  • Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury & Aly Sujo
  • The Culture Club by Craig Schuftan
  • The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood by James Gleick
  • The Medium is the Massage by Marshall McLuhan
  • The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas G. Carr
  • You Are Not So Smart by David McRaney
  • Young Romantics: The Tangled Lives of English Poetry’s Greatest Generation by Daisy Hay

2013 Reading Goals

Posted January 3, 2013 by Michael @ Knowledge Lost in Literature / 0 Comments

books4Its 2013 which means time to talk reading plans and goals; for me I have a few planned. Firstly the Literary Exploration reading challenge, in which I plan to read books in 32 different genres. I’m so excited about this challenge and can’t wait to become a more well-rounded reader. I’ve also plan to become a better reader, I’m not sure how I’m going to do this, maybe with the books I read or maybe reading slower to digest the text. While I’m not too sure how to do this I’m determined to make this a year of learning how to read better.

I’m also planning a semi book buying ban for 2013; I say semi because I will still buy books but they would have to be books needed for my book clubs or absolute essentials; for everything else, I will try the library. The idea of the book buying ban is to focus more on the books on my bookshelf and to reduce my TBR list. I will still be accepting ARCs from publishers and via NetGalley but I do plan to be more selective with the books I take.

Finally I start off every year with one simple goal; 100 books, which I did increase to 150 books in August of 2012, simply because I was flying through the books last year. But when I hit 150 books in November I decided I wouldn’t increase my goal again but I would just take the time and read some bigger books and some non-fiction. This was such a liberating feeling because I wasn’t worrying about meeting targets; I was just reading what I wanted, when I wanted.  Which doesn’t really make sense, I had nothing to worry about and I could have read what I wanted at any time during the year.  Also I’ve noticed I’m still reading at the same pace and while they aren’t all larger books or non-fiction I think December turned into my favourite month for reading in 2012; not because of the books, but just because I had no goal and I was doing it for pleasure.

So in 2013 I’m wondering if I should throw this reading goal out the window and just have a year of reading for pleasure. On the down side, I do worry that I won’t read as much as I would like. So my other option is to have a reading goal of 100 books; a nice obtainable reading goal that I don’t really need to put much worry into. I’m not really sure so I thought I would ask my readers on some insight into my reading plans and their reading goals as well.