Remember back in January when I set a ton of bookish goals for myself? I only barely remember it myself, but it’s time to check in and see how I did on the goals for the year.
To be honest, much of this year was about getting through a really difficult semester at work, so my focus really shifted in the latter half of the year to just reading for pure joy in the spare moments I had energy for it. I love setting goals but I also think it’s important not to be too hard on ourselves when life happens. So, let’s see how I did!
Goodreads Goal: 100 Books
I always sort of knew I wouldn’t hit this number, but decided to shoot for the stars. I wound up reading 72 books in 2022, which is great if I do say so myself!
For next year, I think I’ll set my goal at 100 again and see how I do.
Read Harder Challenge
I completed 7 of the 24 tasks, which is nowhere near even halfway through. The tasks I managed were:
- Book set in a bookstore
- Book in any genre by a POC that’s about joy, not trauma
- Romance where at least one protagonist is over 40
- Book with an asexual/aromantic main character
- A memoir written by someone who is trans or nonbinary
- A horror novel by a BIPOC author (this was an accident, but I did it!)
- A book by a disabled author
I think it’s honestly one of my better years for the challenge, which maybe says I need to stop setting this challenge for myself? Am I going to? Probably not. The 2023 list of challenges is already out and I will probably reference it throughout the year once again.
Read 5 Self-Care/Spiritual Books
Oh, I definitely did this! Good for me.
I read more self-care earlier in the year and then sort of tapered off as things got stressful with wedding planning and the fall semester at work. It’s a genre that gets repetitive easily, I think. I will definitely start the year with some self-help titles again in 2023.
Start a Little Free Library
I did it (with my husband’s help). The Your Book Friend IRL Little Free Library is going strong! I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out.
I picked the colors and painted it myself, then ordered logo decals from StickerMule to finish it off. My husband did the installation portion, for which I am eternally grateful.
Make a Dent in the BOTM Stack of Shame
Oh gosh, I didn’t do this at all. I eventually stopped letting myself pick a book for the month unless I knew I’d read it immediately. So the stack stopped growing, but that doesn’t mean it shrank at all.
I do hope to have a reckoning with my physical TBR overall in 2023, including a massive unhaul of books I know deep down I’ll never read. We’ll see how that fits in with the BOTM stack.
Keep Up Your Book Friend
Well, I’m here, aren’t I? I have had so much fun returning to blogging consistently and connecting with the bookish community. I can’t wait to see what fun we have in the new year.
Did you set any reading goals for 2022? And do you plan to set any for 2023? I know that I will be coming up with a list of new goals for the new year, and you know I’ll share them when I do.
Your Book Friend 
The Read Harder challenge is hard. Good on you getting through as many prompts as you did. You weren’t too short of 100 books either. I think buying a book is one way to guarantee I won’t read it, though I have seen some great BOTM selections out there (a few early copies too). Seems like 2022 was a bookish success for you
I’ve enjoyed most of my BOTM picks when I read them, but I definitely need to be more intentional about reading the books I have before I let more stack up in the spare room! It was definitely an overall successful reading year. 🙂
I am in awe of you trying the Read Harder Challenge. I looked at the prompts this year and just said, “nope” and closed the post. I set three general goals back in January: Increase by NG and EW ratios again this year. Currently NG at 63%, EW at 66%. NG went up, EW went down. Limit Blog Tours to a maximum of 8 per month. Yes, I did achieve this one for the most part. A couple months were over, but most were at 8 or under.
Read more of my physical books on my bookshelves at home. I have two overflowing bookcases at home that I need to pare down before I move (not sure when this is yet.) I did not do this at all. I think I read 5 books from my bookshelves, which didn’t even put a dent in it. I do have several challenges I am doing and will post my final check up for that next week.
I like to stretch now and again, but it is a very difficult and specific challenge!
It sounds like you had a pretty good year with your goals. I look forward to reading your check in post when it goes up! 🙂
Well done on your challenges! You didn’t meet them all, but it’s always the effort that counts in my book! LOL. I think I’m going to have fewer reading goals in 2023