Last year, I decided to give myself only one goal: read through my Fairyloot hardcover backlog. Specifically, I picked nine books I wanted to either finish or DNF and donate by the end of 2023. I didn’t accomplish that goal, but I did get pretty close. Seven out of nine isn’t bad.
More importantly, upon MUCH reflection, I don’t regret giving myself that goal. It was something that I really wanted to make sure happened. And it wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t made it a priority. Because of that, I am inclined to set myself a similar goal for 2024. The problem is, I also find myself tempted to expand the assignment just a bit.
I am resisting the urge to make multiple goals and trying to stick to just one, since that worked so well last year. To account for the fact that there are more than just hardcovers that I’ve been meaning to read for what feels like forever, I have decided to take a “24 for 24” approach this year.
There are there categories of books that tend to linger unread on my TBR:
- General non-fiction
- Tomes (books over 500 pages)
- Hardcovers
I REALLY want to get to them, but I keep picking up short, mostly fiction, ebooks instead. So, to accomplish my (very flexible) “24 for 24” challenge, I need to read:
- at least 6 general non-fiction books (Note: memoir, self-help, business, or writing craft books don’t count)
- at least 6 tomes (books over 500 pages long)
- at least 12 books from my physical TBR pile (ex: Fairyloot hardcovers)
The only rule is: no double dipping. In other words, a non-fiction book over 500 pages can only be counted in one category, not both.
What I read in each of those categories can be whatever I’m feeling like. I don’t have to read anything in any specific month. Though, I do plant to get started on this challenge early in the year and not leave it all to the last minute.
I have some ideas about what I’d like to read, and I made myself a little Goodreads shelf to keep track of what’s sounding good to me. I’ll probably shift things on an off that shelf as I go through the year.
I set up some pages in my 2024 Hobonichi Cousin to track my reading. I’m repurposing several pages and pasting over content on several others to create a sort of reading journal for myself in the back of this planner.
A little creative use of washi tape and stickers allowed me to turn two pages that already had twelve boxes on them (for journaling prompts or something? I can’t remember…) into pages where I can track the books I’m reading for my “24 for 24” challenge. One is going to be dedicated to Fairyloot hardcovers. The other is going to be for the tomes and non-fiction books.
I labeled both with the months of the year before I decided that I wasn’t going to try force myself to do one a month. I’ll probably end up covering over those labels with the printout of the book cover for the book I read. You might also have noticed the printout of this year’s Adventure in Aeldia prompts next to the Fairyloot hardcover tracker page. I’m planning on participating again this year, but I’m NOT planning on giving myself the additional requirement of having to read a Fairyloot hardcover in order to fulfill the prompt.
Since we’re on the topic of Aeldia, the journey this year starts in a dungeon. My character is in the dungeon because she over-promised and under-delivered. Don’t ask how or why. She doesn’t want to talk about it. š
It’s going to be all right, though. She has already attempted escape by relying on her wits (reading an audiobook). But, because she is extra, and she’d rather not have to remove a complex lock enchantment to complete her escape (start/continue a series that intimidates you), she is going to also see if she can escape by relying on her strength (reading a physical book). What can I say? She likes options. If strength doesn’t work (I don’t finish a physical book before the end of the month), then she’ll be able to fall back on wits. No harm, no foul.
So, that’s my plan for reading in 2024. I’ll try to remember to do a mid-year check-in with some photos of my planner pages so you can see how things are progressing.
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