2021 Reading Goals

Updated: Oct 7, 2021

[I actually had a similar pair of those RayBan glasses for some time in 2010. They were really comfortable]

It was only later in 2020 that I realised "hey! I have all the time in the world now to get back on track with my reading!" And boy did I make up for it!

First: I went on Goodreads to mark every single book I've read throughout the years. Turns out I haven't been keeping a good track of all that I've read.

I mean, I found it odd that I only had around 300 books marked "read" when in all moments of my life I had at least one book read per week/month.

Even during my undergrad years, the only thing that was consistent in my life was my reading. Although I felt that I've not read much/anything at all (during years 10 - 12 in high school, I had so much free time on my hands so I read SO Freaking MUCH! that nothing compares), I still managed to read a handful of books.

My point being, within 2 - 3 weeks, I was almost done with my lists (and I've added a considerable chunk of shelves to further sort out my books), ending with an astounding + 1K! I was (sometimes I feel that I still am) flabbergasted at this... Keep in mind, I'm only doing this for fun, really.

Now. later in 2020, I had a sudden urge to read Rumi's poetry and quatrains. I enjoyed (most) of the books that I had my hands on. Soon enough, and with the start of 2021, I wanted to revisit my old comfort zone: YA fantasy! Firstly, nothing beats the Harry Potter series in that field (Ok, IMO, these books do NOT belong in the Children's fiction, YA fantasy or even adult fantasy... it's for Everyone! A genre in its own right, like Sophie described it), but I wanted to hear out what the masses are recommending, meaning the booktok recommendations, bookstagram, etc...

One of my resolutions for 2021, is to focus on my reading and expand on that. going back through the memory lane with YA fantasy was only one route. I also wanted to read more adult fantasy to compare and contrast with the YA fantasy, in terms of language, complexity, plots and so on and so forth.

Similarly, I wanted to revisit the world of classical literature. Being a huge fan of Oscar Wilde and Dostoyevsky, I set a goal to discover other 17th - 19th-century literature as well as modern classics, from novels, short stories to poetry, plays and essays. And no, I don't mind reading the Austen's again ;)

I had in mind to brush up on the philosophical writings as well, although I would want to be careful of whom I choose to read (I've read Beyond Good and Evil, and it was disaster *smh*)

Alright. So I set a crazy target for my reading of 2021 on Goodreads of 300 books! Yes, it may sound crazy, but it's absolutely doable! And it might be the highest number of book I've read in a year. Then I reconsidered this mammoth trap I've set for myself (like I always end up doing on the daily) and dialled it back to half (150 books). The good news is, it's almost May, and I'm almost at my target of 150 books. If this is the case, would it be possible to hit the 300 book target by the end of 2021?!

Earlier in January this year, I've listed a bunch of books I've recently added to my TBR for this year (you can find them on my Reading List for 2021). I'm delighted to announce that I've read much of what was listed, which is a great accomplishment I'm quite proud of :) I haven't come around to review majority of what I've read thus far, and they keep piling up ^^" I hope I'll get in the mood for some book reviewing sometime soon.

On that note, I don't plan on posting detailed reviews on manga. I don't usually read standalones...Aas you may know (maybe not), the volumes of each series are expansive for most decent manga series (+/- 20 volumes). So I'll add only a short statement, to sum up my thoughts of the series on the last volume I read for that series on Goodreads.