Reading plan for 2019

Hola people and welcome to this brand new year. Reading-wise 2018 was a good year for me. I got through 36 books and am pretty happy with that.

Normally I plan my reading meticulously but the end of 2018 was so chaotic on the home front that I was caught off guard without a reading plan. The thing to do then was to get my act together fast.

Very quickly then, here are the Challenges I’m taking up.

#ReadMyOwnDamnBooks Challenge

To be honest this was already a part of the plan formulating in my head for a long time even though I did not consciously give it voice. Taking a cue from that (the voice in my head) the first Challenge I pledge myself to this year, is the #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks Challenge. I desperately need to, and I will, focus on reading the books I already have, at least one, maybe two, of the three I hope to read each month. I really have just too many of them and it’s an absolute shame to have them all sitting there staring at me while I pretend to ignore them and continue on a buying spree.

Of course part of me is already protesting:
There are new books coming out everyday and they’re so interesting and everyone talks about them all the time, and social media is buzzing with them; the covers are so enticing and the blurbs are intriguing and they’re so inexpensive on the kindle…

But Shushhh! I tell that part of me, as I renew my pledge to make a dent in the TBR pile at home. That’s going to be the mainstay of my reading this year.

The Goodreads Challenge

Then there’s the Goodreads Challenge which I’ve faithfully taken up and completed for the past three years. I love the freedom it offers: one can set his/her own target, read any kind of book and also that one can revise it at any point in time. Though if one does revise it, it kind of defeats the whole purpose of the challenge. But hey! To each his own.

That said, it works well for me because it gives me a push without making me feel the pressure. That sounds oxymoromish but it works perfectly. Also, more importantly, it does not distract me from my primary goal of reading the books I already have. In fact it is right in line with it.

The Write Tribe Challenge

Lastly there’s the Write Tribe Reading Challenge that sounds deliciously interesting while seeming easy to take up. Since I’m already pledging to read 36 books, this one seems doable too and so I look forward to reaching the level of a ‘bookworm’ at WT. I’m hoping the one ‘luxury book’ I allow myself each month shall go towards this Challenge.

And now I feel guilty for implying that books I already have are ‘non-luxury’ which sounds like they’re unloved and that is not the case at all – they’re all books I’ve bought or have been been gifted, very lovingly. I still need to fit titles into the WT categories and I shall get to it soon enough. I shall certainly be sharing it all here with you guys and looking for recommendations too.

That’s it from me. I’d love to hear from you. What challenges are you taking up? Do you too have a pile of books waiting to be read?

Piles to read before I shop

Hola folks and happy new year. I know we’re almost done with 1/12th of the year but I like to think that while we’re in January the year is still new.

Here I am with my 2018 reading plan though I’ve already done four books and am mighty pleased with myself. It’s a good start, I’d say.

Last year I’d drawn up a rather elaborate list of categories and books I’d planned to read. I made decent headway during the first few months and then I lost my way.

The thing with books is that new ones keep dropping onto your radar in a terribly distracting manner. Before you know it you’re at your kindle ordering one and then another one and then another and you’re reading ones you’d never planned to but found that you just had to. That’s what makes sticking to a list so very tough. A friend’s recommendation, a great review, a FB group discussion anything can lure you away.

So I meandered. And to tell you the truth, I am not one bit sorry because I read some super fabulous books that’ll remain on my favourite list for ever. This is one act of unfaithfulness that yields wonderful results and no regrets.

However this year, I am setting goals which are more realistic and, hopefully more budget friendly.

Reading Resolution No1

I’m staying away from all Challenges except the one on Goodreads where I’ll be reading 37 books. That might sound like an odd number. Last year I’d pledged 35 and managed to complete the challenge. I wanted to raise the bar just a little bit and 40 sounded too much so 37 it is.

Reading Resolution No2

In addition to that first one I am also taking up the ‘Read My Own Damn Books Challenge’. This, I think, is a fabulous idea, which kicked off way back in 2015 at Estella’sRevenge . Considering that I have half a dozen unread books on my kindle and a tottering pile by my bedside I really should get to them. I don’t think I’ll finish them all but try I shall.

Reading Resolution No3

Finish last year’s list. I’d gone to a lot of trouble to make the list and it has some wonderful books on it. It would be a shame to dump it all.

So there, that’s it. That’s my reading plan for this year.

If you have a reading plan or resolutions around books do share with me in the comments or leave a link if you’ve done a post. Would love to drop by and catch up.

Linking up with Shantala’s #ChattyBlogs

The TBRs for 2017

This past week I’ve been in book paradise. I’ve sifted through book suggestions from  friends, read up booklists and blurbs and gone through Goodreads reviews to make up my TBR. I’ve stumbled across phenomenal reads – funny, suspenseful, thought-provoking, mushy – all kinds. I have been constantly amazed at the realms that the human minds can delve into, the worlds it can create, the stories it can spin.

Anyway, after much thought I have arrived at my TBR list based on last week’s Wishlist.

Here it is.

Those are the books I aspire to read through the year. What do you think of the list?

For some genres I have more than one because I just couldn’t make up my mind. Some are by familiar authors so I have a fair idea what to expect and some will be a complete surprise.

I have favourites, of course. The Zookeeper’s Wife, The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake as also The Hundred Foot Journey, The Red Notebook, The Siege at the Taj Hotel – can’t wait to get to those. Some are intriguing like The Egyptian since I’ve hardly read anything about life  during the times of the Pharaohs other than what I picked up in history class.

I know I’ve left out some good books but then the TBR list is not binding and I will add and subtract, along the way. I’ve missed out some genres too like Life in Space and Aliens as well as Spirituality as Sulekha pointed out. They’ll just have to wait.

A big thank you to Shantala, Lata , Vinay, Vinitha, Tarang and Mithila for helping out with their suggestions. I shall always be grateful for the presence of friends and readers like you through my reading journey.

Even as I finalised the list I am done with my first book of the year – The Girl With Seven Names. Review coming up soon.

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I also managed to get in the BAR Wordy Wednesday prompts:

Aspire, Always, Anyway, Arrive

I know I know I should have done better with them but I was too taken up with the TBRs and didn’t want to let the prompts go. I hope to do them justice next week.

Do join in every Wednesday with the hashtag #BarWoWe on twitter.