When I decided to read more books in 2018, I had no plan other than to read a book a week. That worked out well and I felt like I read a decent variety of books. But it was very haphazard; most book selections came from glowing reviews on Goodreads or Instagram.
Late last year I joined the Himalayas of Literature group through Book Oblivion. The experience thus far has been exceptional. So when I had the opportunity to enroll in the How to Read More course series in combination with their Critical Theory & Philosophy course, I jumped in with both feet.
These two courses fit perfect with what I was looking to accomplish in 2019: read more and read more books covering a deeper subject matter. Plus the added bonus of great instruction and a community of like-minded readers.
The first assignment for the How to Read More course was to create my super-nerdy book reading schedule – yes, it’s really called that and it is the perfect description of what you’re about to see. Super nerdy.
Broken into months and then seven reading categories, I was able to plot out my entire year of books.
For the first six months these are my categories:
- Himalayas of Literature assigned book
- Critical Theory & Philosophy assigned book
- Book Club for Introverts monthly pick
- Female Written Fiction
- Person of Color Author
- Poetry or Essay
- On Writing
For the last six months of the year here are my categories (the first three are the same as above):
- Feminist Fiction or Nonfiction
- Classic Lit
- Short Story or Poetry
- Research
From there I went to the books I already own and filled as many monthly categories as possible. Another one of my reading goals was to read the books I already have because I might have a few that bookstagram made me buy. If you’re on Instagram, I know you are nodding in agreement right now.
Don’t worry, I won’t tell your significant other if you don’t tell my husband.
I filled in the remaining categories with books that are on my to-be-read list on Goodreads.
This exercise took all of 30 minutes to complete and I am thrilled to know what I’m reading each month. Maybe it’s just me but I used to get overwhelmed wanting to read all the good books and struggling to choose. I know, I have problems. If that’s not just me then you don’t have problems and neither do I.
Win/Win
I did not include audiobooks in this schedule as those are going to be my free picks so I don’t feel completely left out of the latest and greatest book releases.
This was a nerdy but fun exercise and I can see this being a part of future years as well.
What are your plans for reading this year? Do you have any particular goals set beyond the number of books you want to read?
