How Did I Do? Checking in on My Reading Goals for 2016

Posted on by luvtoread

Well here we are, the last day of 2016, a heck of a year that saw both good times and bad.

I was very optimistic last year with my Reading Goals, and sadly, I didn’t do that great this year. Here’s the update on what I did accomplish and what I didn’t get to!

Here is my post from last December (December 27, 2015 to be exact), and I’ve made some updates here and there – my current thoughts are in green text – hopefully it is readable!

My 2016 Reading Goals Were:

  1. Read 100 books – Every year this is always a goal for me, and I have yet to hit this number. I tend to read about 55 books a year, so 100 books is extremely optimistic for me. A more likely goal would be to read 75 books, but I’m going for it this year!! 100 here I come!  /I really tried, and I got so, so close! I ended up reading 95 books in 2016, which I am ecstatic to have read so much. I really cranked it up and read so much more this past year than I usually do. This one is going back on my list for 2017!
  1. Finish/Catch Up on Series I Have Started – I am in the middle of reading many series, and I just hate that. It’s one thing to be caught up with a series and eagerly waiting for the next installment, but to have a bunch of series started but not caught up/finished is driving me crazy. I started listing them all out, got to 20 and realized the list was waaaay too long! I knew there were a lot, but didn’t realize there were that many … See my post Ten Series I Need To Catch Up On for a few of them. I’ll be thrilled to catch up on just one of these series in 2016! /Another miss here. I didn’t catch up on any series!

Each year I put one or two classics on my list, this way I will be sure to read them. 2015’s classic was Anna Karenina, which I’m sadly still reading (does that book ever end???!!!). (I did finally finish Anna!!) This year I’ve got two classics I’d like to attempt:

  1. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens (YES!!!)and
  2. Moby Dick by Herman Melville. (YES AGAIN!!!) I’m not too thrilled with the selection of Moby Dick – I asked my husband to name a book for me to read, and that’s what he chose. He isn’t a reader, so I suppose I should be glad he named an actual book and not a car manual…. /Two down! And I asked the hubby to choose another book for me this year, and well, he’s still thinking. He tried to saddle me with War and Peace, but as I’m already reading that, he has to think of something else.
  1. Next on my list is to attempt a series that I tried in the past. It is Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series. Several years ago I tried the first book, and got about 150 pages into it and had to stop. There was just too much blah-blah-blah of how wonderful Jaime looked in his kilt, and the books are sooo long. But I know a lot of people really love this series, so I’ll give it another shot. Really, when I was reading the first book I’ve never been stopped so much by people telling me how much they love the series. Only other series that has gotten that much attention when I read has been the Jack Reacher series. /Naaahhh. I didn’t try this again, and honestly, I’ve kind of lost what interest I had in this series. Maybe some day I’ll get to it, but probably not anytime soon.
  1. Read more science fiction. I’ve really enjoyed the few science fiction books I’ve read, so I want to read more books in this genre. Any suggestions? /I read a few science fiction books, but not enough to call this one complete. Maybe next year!
  1. Start reading Agatha Christie. I really need to read her books! (And uh-oh. These series will most likely land on next year’s “need to finish/catch up on series” list.) /Alright! I’m not that far into the Hercule Poirot series, but I did start the series and am really enjoying reading classic mysteries. And yeah, it’s on my list.
  1. Read L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series. I love the movies (mini series?), and I adore the Avonlea TV show as well. I’ve read a bit of the Avonlea books, but can’t recall ever reading Anne. Plus, with all of the negativity around, I need to read something sweet and innocent every once in awhile. (and what am I doing? Sabotaging myself? Here is yet another series…). /Yeah!! I started this series and even though I haven’t finished it yet, I just adore this series. And I’m calling this one done! I will definitely finish the series. At some point.
  1. Go to more author events locally. Have you ever been to an author event? I’ve been to a few: Jacqueline Winspear, Rhys Bowen, and Joyce Carol Oates, to name a few, and they are SO much fun! My local bookstore hosts them, and they really help with the overall experience of reading a book. It’s been awhile since I’ve gone to one, mostly because I haven’t been all that interested in the authors they’ve featured recently, but I’d like to go to more and hear of new books. If you are in an area where these types of events are offered, they are really fun. I come away feeling that I understand the author more, and I learn more about the books and the writing process. /Well, I went to two events all year. So I’m not calling this complete. They were great fun, but for some reason (probably time), I just didn’t get to any others.
  1. Catch up on my movie adaptations. Not technically a reading goal, but watching movie adaptations goes hand in hand with the book experience (for me), so I’m counting it. I’ve got this terrible tendency to go out and read a book because they are making a movie of it, and then I never see the movie. I’d also like to start doing “from book to screen” comparison reviews, but that will only work if I read the book and watch the movie close to each other. /Another one that I didn’t have time to do. Since I’ve been reading so much more, I’ve found that my movie and television watching has dramatically reduced.

I’ve also got some books I’d definitely like to read in 2016, but I’m not officially making them a goal, but here they are anyways!

  • All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer /READ!
  • The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah /READ! And it made my Top Ten Reads of 2016.
  • Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie /READ!
  • A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman (this one is my book club’s choice for February) /READ! And another Top Ten!
  • The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt /Nope. Didn’t get to it!
  • And I would definitely love to re-read the series A Song of Ice and Fire for the third time, but I’m only going to start that once the release date for book six is announced. /And no. This one goes on to my list for 2017. Here’s to hoping for a Winds of Winter release date!

So, I didn’t do all that great. But I am determined that 2017 will be a better year and that I will at last make my 100 books goal! I came so darn close this year.

Happy New Year and be safe out there! Did you meet your 2016 Reading Goals?

Thank you for reading my blog – I really appreciate all of the likes and comments.

And stay tuned for tomorrow’s post, My 2017 Reading Goals!

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32 thoughts on “How Did I Do? Checking in on My Reading Goals for 2016”

  1. Hey go you for reading 95 books! That’s quite a number! 😀

    If you’re still looking for sci-fi recs, I jumped into the genre myself this year and have found a few that I really liked: Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey, The Forever War by Joe Haldeman and Hyperion by Dan Simmons. I especially recommend the first and last ones. If you decide to read any of these, do let me know. I’d love to compare notes. :”D

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  3. Ah well done on reading those two classics!! And at least you read some sci fi- I started reading it this year and am happy that I managed a handful! I also started the anne of green gables series this year! And I agree about movie and tv watching- I feel like I barely watched anything all year cos of reading so much more! And we really need a winds of winter release date already!!

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    1. Thanks! Good for you for getting through some sci-fi. I want to read more as it’s so intriguing, but somehow I just never seem to pick it up.
      Yes – we so need Winds of Winter!! I’ve been dying to re-read the series, but want to wait until the release date is announced. At least we get the show to tide us over until the book is released, even if the two are bound to be vastly different!

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  6. Copperfields has a whole display of Old English Mysteries. Of course I wanted to buy every one, but made myself hold back to one to begin with (still dying to go back and scoop them all up Now!)
    I LOVE that you always include classics in your reading – wish I had that kind of strength. I know I didn’t make my goal this year, but haven’t looked at Goodreads to see how many I have to read Today – LOL!
    What a fun blog to read – i always come away with more books for my TBR stack! Happy, healthy, book-filled New Year!

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    1. Thank you 🙂 🙂
      I love the old English mysteries! There’s just something so comforting about reading a well written, clean mystery with lots of red herrings! I just read a modern mystery called Swiss Vendetta (review will post in Feb) that really reminded me of the classic mysteries.
      And now we are in a New Year – ready for happiness and positivity and great reads!! 🙂

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  7. Wishing you a happy and satisfying new year!

    I think you did extremely well to reach 95 given that you were sort of struggling at the halfway mark, and since you’d never done this. I think you’ll surely surpass the century mark this year.

    I haven’t read much science fiction lately but I do remember a book called Next by Michael Crichton. Maybe you could try some of his works. Or the Space Odyssey series and Time Odyssey series by Arthur C. Clarke.

    Author events sound like a lot of fun. I’d like to go to one someday in the future.

    Happy reading!

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    1. Happy New Year!!
      Thanks for always being so supportive – I really appreciate your optimism! I so hope to get to that 100 mark in 2017!! 🙂
      Thank you for the sci-fi recommendations – I’ve added them to my TBR. I don’t know a whole lot about the genre, so I’m sure that I’ll discover more of what I like and dislike the more I read it. I haven’t read any Michael Crichton before (he’s Jurassic Park?).
      Author events are a ton of fun! It makes the books more enjoyable, and as the author usually reads a portion of the book outloud at the event, you get to hear the author’s voice and it makes the book feel more real.

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      1. I’m glad to be able to read your wonderful reviews and learn from them. You can see how my reviews have evolved in line with a lot of what you do. To be able to support you in any minuscule way, I’m happy to do that. You will surpass that mark, mark my words. 😊

        Those are classics of the genre, if I have read and heard correctly. Yes, Michael Crichton is the Jurassic Park guy. He also wrote the script for the 1973 movie Westworld which was adapted for a TV series this year by HBO. BTW, did you watch that? The series?

        Oh it feels so wonderful, imagining any favourite author of mine reading a lovely passage from his book out to us. Wow!

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        1. Aw – thanks so much! I love reading your reviews as well (I think I’m behind on a couple of them) 🙂
          Is Westworld good? I’ve heard good reviews of the show and the premise sounds really intriguing! I haven’t seen the movie either.

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          1. Never mind my reviews, read whenever you are free!

            Westworld is extraordinary. I think it has received near-universal acclaim. And I personally loved it. Give the first two episodes a watch. If you aren’t hooked by then, forget it. One thing, don’t read the internet fan theories before you watch the episodes.

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  8. Pingback: My 2017 Reading Goals – luvtoread

  9. Hey! How did you like the Anne books, and how far did you get? I read all 8 last year (whew!). I found that all the even numbered books were not enjoyable because they felt like short stories strung together, but I late learned they were all written at a later date because fans demanded certain time periods be filled in. Also, necessary income. Book 8 is great, though. Rilla possibly became my favorite character.

    For your classic, I’d recommend Bleak House by Dickens. I do have The Brothers Karamazov that I need to read, if you want to be reading buddies.

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    1. I have just read the first four of the Anne books. I’m hopeful that I will finish the series this year!
      I really want to read Bleak House, so that will probably be the classic I tackle next. I loved the latest adaptation of it!
      Eh – I think I have to decline your offer of a buddy read on The Brothers Karamazov. I’m currently struggling through War and Peace (my Kindle tells me I just have 18 hours left to go…) and think it will be quite some time before I’m convinced to pick up another Russian classic. I think it’ll be awhile before I tackle that one!! 🙂 But thanks – I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the book!

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      1. I think the Anne book start to pick up after book 4 because we get some new characters. The old folks who live next door to the Blythes when the first get a house, the children who live next door when they move, and Rilla.

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      2. Woops, I hit send too soon. I remember when I was in college we had to take classes from certain categories in our major. Often, they were lit classes that discussed a certain time period, but there was one category that only had TWO choices–and both professors were hard-asses and weird!! 😦 The woman’s class read War and Peace, and I remember my friends strategizing how to finish the monster as soon as possible. I believe the students were expected to have read the book by the end of the semester as opposed to being part of a regular reading schedule (e.g. read chapters 1-2 by Jan. 6th).

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        1. I can’t even imagine reading War and Peace for a class – there’s just so much there to have to pay attention to for analysis! It isn’t an easy read either – I’m getting all of the characters mixed up and have no clue what is happening half the time.
          Glad to hear the Anne books pick up and get some new characters added. I may be picking up book five soon! 🙂

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