New Years Goals - Reading

Several years ago I was scrolling through Facebook on a break at work. It was during the long week stretching between Christmas and New Years Eve. I came across a picture showing a list of categories  for a reading challenge. There were book categories like A Classic Romance, A Book Your Mother Loves, A Books With A One Word Title. Altogether there are fifty three books once you go through the entire list. I had been looking for a way to expand my reading horizons and thought this challenge would be a great way to branch out.

As an author I understand the importance of reading. Not only do I love to read in multiple genres, and have discovered authors through this challenge I had never considered before, but I also write in a number of genres which means I need to keep reaching out from both a reader and writer perspective. There have been a number of books I questioned choosing as I made my way through them. Judge me if you want but it turns out I am not a fan of the classics. Pride & Prejudice as well as The Count Of Monte Cristo both took forever for me to complete. I never was able to get into the story.

I never believed reading those books were a completely bad idea though. There were things I was able to learn from those stories including story flow and pacing that I can incorporate into my own writing. I keep trying to find new books and authors I can learn from and so every year I attempt the challenge again. I have yet to complete it. Last year I even added a number of writing craft related books on top of the fifty three books of the main challenge. I read fast enough to get through the entire list and still pick up a few books from authors I have enjoyed but there are some categories I struggle to get through as well as dealing with life getting in the way can make completion beyond my grasp.

I have already gone through the categories and cleared the books I was able to get through while adding in the new titles I intend to read in 2019. I am excited about the things I will learn this year and looking forward to sharing the books as I read them throughout the year.