It’s that time of year where everyone is ready to set new resolutions and goals only to abandon them in a few weeks. Hopefully, that isn’t the case for those I choose to do this year but I know I might be a bit optimistic with those I have chosen.

Challenges

The past few years I’ve started the new year vowing not to join any challenges or have any crazy resolutions because I almost never follow through with either. This year I’ve been the exact opposite, I’ve wanted to join reading challenges in the hopes of clearing my shelves and to help motivate me to keep reading and try books from my shelves I might not get around to reading otherwise.  I do worry I might be regretting the decision to do some reading challenges in a few weeks but why not try something different when I’ve been in on/off reading slumps for two years?

The focus of 2022 is very much clearing the shelves and reading the books I already own. I know there will be plenty of book purchases in my future but let’s start by focusing on reading some more shit before then. As such, here are a few reading challenges I’m hoping will help me clear my damn my shelves and focus my reading.

Beat the Backlist 2022

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2022 

The Buzzword Reading Challenge is by Booksandlala, I actually discovered it adding the Beat the Booklist to my reading challenges on Storygraph and I thought it sounded fun. I figured a more low key reading challenge with just 12 prompts should help me pick up an additional book each month. My third challenge is very similar to this one, in fact, but I couldn’t choose which one I liked better and three sounds like a good number, right?

2022 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge

The 2022 Monthly Key World Challenge by Kim and Tanya should also hopefully make me read a few more books. Another low key one with just 12 prompts, but a lot more words to help me choose what to read. On all of these challenges, I’m letting my mood reading guide me and hoping for the best. If I don’t succeed I might be a little sad but they’re all to help me achieve my reading and blogging goals so hopefully the fact they should combine together to help me read should work as motivation. That’s the theory anyway.

Goals

I feel like my reading and blogging goals are similar every year in the fact I hope to blog regularly and clear my shelves, as well as maybe requesting fewer arcs. The fact I never seem to achieve my goals should probably be a sign I should change things up but I’m a glutton for punishment. My goals are as below with my slight explanation for each:

• Clear my bookshelves – this is really self-explanatory. I have a book buying problem so I really want to work on reading more of what I own or trying to read them even if I DNF.
• Stop impulse purchasing without reading an extract first– impulse buying books because they’re cheap is my biggest flaw. I am easily drawn in by books on social media and when they’re on sale I one click so fast for my Kindle. I need to learn to be better about actually reading samples for books before buying and being smarter about what I buy. I now try to wait a little while before purchasing but it doesn’t do enough to reduce my spending so the book sample is my new test to reduce my buying.
• Don't request any ARCs - I feel like this may be a difficult one to commit to but I really want to focus on reading books I own. If I do get access to an ARC for a book I am really excited for I'll probably go for it but I haven't kept up to date with new releases so I'm hoping my blogging absence might actually work in my favour this year. I can only try, right?
• Finish at least 6 series I've started - I am terrible at finishing a book series, as I've previously discussed. So this year I want to work on finishing some more. I was going to say 10 series but I know my mood reading is strong. I figure 6 should be achievable. Hopefully, I'll finish more as I read through my shelves but let's not get too optimistic.
• Blog when I want to and not because I feel I have to – this is something that will be harder to monitor. I don’t always really I’m doing things because I feel I have to because it’s part of a habit or a routine but I did notice when I was blogging some posts felt like I was going through the motions to write them. I want to bring the joy back whilst still trying to keep blogging semi-regularly. I think this means no blog schedule and see what ideas or posts I get inspired or enjoy writing.
• Visit and comment on blogs even when I am not feeling inspired to blog – my biggest regret over the past 2 years is that I haven’t visited and commented on other peoples blogs even when I’m in a blogging slump. I feel like I could have stayed present in the comments even though my blog was a ghost town so I hope that this year even if I haven’t got anything posted for 2 weeks I’ll still be about seeing what you guys are doing.

Are you joining any reading challenges this year? And what are your goals for 2022 or are you avoiding making any goals and just seeing when the year takes you?