Crushing my Goodreads Goal!!!!
I had the Goodreads reading goal this year to read 125 books...and according to Goodreads I have already read 131 books! This is number does not include a book that I could not find on Goodreads at all and a friend's novel that I critiqued.
Once I realized that I crushed my goal I felt the need to do a statistical analysis of the types of books that I read. (My social statistics class that was required for my sociology major is finding a good use of some sort.) One of these days I will have to post some graphs about my reading habits. 21% of what I read were science fiction/fantasy novels, 24% were romance, 24% were non fiction, 9% were childrens/ya novels and the rest consisted of other types of fiction.Typically other types of fiction were books that I get from my Book of the Month club subscription and books that movies are based on.
For the non fiction that I read 45% was in business or self help. I lump those categories together because in the books I read on my job search many times those lines were blurred. I actually was initially reticent to put memoirs in the non-fiction category. While memoirs are technically non-fiction I am aware that sometimes the truths that are exposed in memoirs can be subjective truths which is what made me wary at first. But if I were to categorize this as non-fiction it comprises 25% of the non fiction books that I have read. The rest of my non-fiction books were mostly consisted of writing craft books and food writing.
One of the reasons why I really love the Book Riot 2018 challenge is that it is forcing me to read some books that I would not have considered on my own. I do have to confess that I love reading in a variety of categories but my numbers speak loudly to the topics that I often spend a lot of time on. I do alternate between science fiction/fantasy and romance quite a bit these days
There are solid reasons for reading a lot of genre fiction. I want to be better at writing fiction and the kinds of projects I have been pursuing have really influenced the kinds of fiction that I am reading. Reviewing books for Twin Cities Geek gives me the wonderful excuse to dive into reading science fiction/fantasy books. Writing romance novels gives me the fun excuse of reading a lot of romance novels. I have a lot of fun with these projects. I would say that having FUN with what I am reading helps me to keep the momentum going for my Goodreads goal.
What are the techniques that I used to help me crush my goal at this point in the year? I could refer back to my blog on How To Read More Books where I was commenting on an Esquire article that I had read. That does account for how I handle my reading habits quite a bit.
But I also have to acknowledge that I had been out of work since November and started working part time at the Lunds that is in a walk-able distance from my apartment at the end of May. While I averaged around 30 hours a week on activities related to finding a full time job I also had a lot more flexibility in how I managed my time. While there are many things I loved about my flexibility (starting my days with exercise, making homemade vegan meals, etc.) being able to sit down and read a book uninterrupted with a cup of tea when I met my goals for the day was my blissful literary haven.
I do not know how I should re-adjust my Goodreads challenge for myself...because I am happy to announce that tomorrow I am FINALLY starting a full time job. I know that this will likely force me to adjust my reading habits to a slightly slower pace. However my enthusiasm for the written word will not diminish at all. My passion for books is a passion that I have taken into every phase of my life.
Once I realized that I crushed my goal I felt the need to do a statistical analysis of the types of books that I read. (My social statistics class that was required for my sociology major is finding a good use of some sort.) One of these days I will have to post some graphs about my reading habits. 21% of what I read were science fiction/fantasy novels, 24% were romance, 24% were non fiction, 9% were childrens/ya novels and the rest consisted of other types of fiction.Typically other types of fiction were books that I get from my Book of the Month club subscription and books that movies are based on.
For the non fiction that I read 45% was in business or self help. I lump those categories together because in the books I read on my job search many times those lines were blurred. I actually was initially reticent to put memoirs in the non-fiction category. While memoirs are technically non-fiction I am aware that sometimes the truths that are exposed in memoirs can be subjective truths which is what made me wary at first. But if I were to categorize this as non-fiction it comprises 25% of the non fiction books that I have read. The rest of my non-fiction books were mostly consisted of writing craft books and food writing.
One of the reasons why I really love the Book Riot 2018 challenge is that it is forcing me to read some books that I would not have considered on my own. I do have to confess that I love reading in a variety of categories but my numbers speak loudly to the topics that I often spend a lot of time on. I do alternate between science fiction/fantasy and romance quite a bit these days
There are solid reasons for reading a lot of genre fiction. I want to be better at writing fiction and the kinds of projects I have been pursuing have really influenced the kinds of fiction that I am reading. Reviewing books for Twin Cities Geek gives me the wonderful excuse to dive into reading science fiction/fantasy books. Writing romance novels gives me the fun excuse of reading a lot of romance novels. I have a lot of fun with these projects. I would say that having FUN with what I am reading helps me to keep the momentum going for my Goodreads goal.
What are the techniques that I used to help me crush my goal at this point in the year? I could refer back to my blog on How To Read More Books where I was commenting on an Esquire article that I had read. That does account for how I handle my reading habits quite a bit.
But I also have to acknowledge that I had been out of work since November and started working part time at the Lunds that is in a walk-able distance from my apartment at the end of May. While I averaged around 30 hours a week on activities related to finding a full time job I also had a lot more flexibility in how I managed my time. While there are many things I loved about my flexibility (starting my days with exercise, making homemade vegan meals, etc.) being able to sit down and read a book uninterrupted with a cup of tea when I met my goals for the day was my blissful literary haven.
I do not know how I should re-adjust my Goodreads challenge for myself...because I am happy to announce that tomorrow I am FINALLY starting a full time job. I know that this will likely force me to adjust my reading habits to a slightly slower pace. However my enthusiasm for the written word will not diminish at all. My passion for books is a passion that I have taken into every phase of my life.
Comments
Post a Comment