2017 Reading Challenges and Goals

  I do enjoy a challenge, and that sentiment extends deeply into my reading life.  I've set a Goodreads reading goal for the past few years, and have always exceeded it.  It gives me such joy to accept a reading challenge, haphazardly plan its TBR, and work to meet the challenge.  With my involvement in various bookish social media platforms, I've become aware of what feels like hundreds of reading challenges, so I've decided to take on more than just the standard Goodreads goal this year.  Because, why not.  Here are the 2017 bookish challenges I have accepted (so far)...

1. Goodreads Goal - I plan to read at least 52 books in 2017.  This is a significant decrease from last year, when I set the goal at 75 books, but ended up reading 137.  Why decide to read fewer books, when I blew the previous goal out of the water?  Simple.  Instead of quantity, I'm focusing on reading some of the larger books on my shelves.  I'm going to spend more time with them, savoring them, and allowing myself to read at a slower pace than I might otherwise.  
2. Poetry 365 - The first of three Litsy reading challenges.  I'm committing to read at least one poem every day of the year.  I'm already a poetry enthusiast, so this seems like a great way to increase my diet in 2017!
3. Litsy A to Z - I've decided that 2017 will be the year that I read through the entire Penguin Drop Caps collection.  Two of my holiday gifts were the last two books I needed to complete the series, and the fact that each author's surname starts with a different letter of the alphabet made this challenge seem like a no-brainer.  I'll be stretching my reading here, as well, because although some of the books will be rereads, others will be from new-to-me authors and genres.  
4. Litsy Reading Challenge - The last of the three Litsy reading challenges is a BINGO-style endeavor that I will work to complete either horizontally, diagonally, or vertically with my reading. 

   

   Here is a my particular BINGO card, of which there were a few different iterations that challengers might receive.

   
   
5. Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge - This is the reading challenge I expect will be the most difficult for me to complete.  There are a number of different categories and genres that will need to be read in order to complete this challenge - many of which are not in my bookish wheelhouse.  I know that expanding said wheelhouse is the whole point of this challenge, but I am still a bit nervous about this one.  

So that's it - I know that I'm taking on quite a bit of "required reading" in 2017, but there is plenty of room for flexibility.  For example, I will absolutely allow myself to count a single book for multiple challenge components if applicable.  I'm also continuing with my #WinterOfWomen17 challenge, which will extend until March 20, 2017.  You can read more about that here.  I'm really excited for the challenges themselves, and the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing them, but also about the wonderful books that I have yet to read!

Are you involved in any 2017 reading challenges?  Are you setting a Goodreads goal for the year?  Let me know!




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