It is really important to be kind to yourself when setting goals for the year.
Last year, I set what seemed like a reasonable goal considering that I had managed 82 books in 2023. 84 books, or seven books per month, seemed achievable. And certainly, for the first three months of 2024, it was. Until I ran into some health issues that made reading, not difficult, per say, but definitely tricky. Did I still finish books? Yes. I managed 58 books in 2024.
But this year’s goal is only 3 books a month, because that is what I averaged after the onset of my health (quite possibly stress-related) issues.
I am hopeful that I will bypass a total of 36 books this year, maybe even by a long shot. But I am not going to give myself grief if I don’t. As I have learned when my eyes were not an option, audiobooks, while I enjoy them, are also not an easy way for me to get my reading done either. My hands need occupation.
Was health the only reason that it was hard to read more books? No. I also re-discovered television with my child at school for the first time. (I haven’t been able to watch anything other than PBS Kids and Bluey for the last three years, particularly after my child became fully cognizant of what was happening on the screen.) I did enjoy a number of new and new-to-me shows, and even a few re-watches.
2024 was also the year I stepped back into a movie theater for the first time since 2019 – and it was, of course, for Wicked Part 1. It was a fantastic reason to return to the theater, especially as a lifelong fan of Gregory Maguire. (Yes, sir – Wicked was the first book of yours I read. And yes, I read it in 8th grade… maybe pushing it for age appropriateness, but you did warn my mother and me. I did not regret it.)
Happy 2025!