Goodreads Challenge 2014 or The Anal Analysis of How I Set My Reading Goals For the Year

For the past three years I've signed up for the Goodreads Challenge. If you haven't used it before, it's basically a way to challenge yourself to read a certain amount of books and keep track of your progress. I like it a lot but end up feeling like if I don't complete it I'm a loser, which is total hogwash, but who can understand one's own psyche? Mine loves to drive me up a tree and convince me that I failed even though I totally read over 20 books! How can that be a fail? Conclusion: It can't.

Here's a look at my past three Challenges if your interested. The first year I signed up I set my goal way too high.

2011  Goal = 60 books (What was I thinking? Seriously, when did I think I'd have time to read 1 book a week, plus? *Shakes head in disbelief*)
           Books Read = 26 (Wake up to reality, hun)

I ended up feeling like I was behind all year and could never catch up to a goal that was completely out of reach by the fall. Didn't feel too good about my goal setting abilities that year and lost sight that I had accomplished reading 26 books. After all, reading is supposed to be relaxing, right?

2012  Goal = 40 books (Much more manageable of a goal until the Whirlwind Spring of '12 hit my life)
           Books Read = 27 (Not bad)

This time I figured, okay, 3 books a month =36, plus throw in a few extras during the summer = 40. What I didn't factor in were the multiple, time-consuming family events and many exhausting days/nights that year.


At the beginning of 2013, I re-evaluated my purpose in completing the Goodreads Challenge. Did I want to set an unrealistic, challenging goal and feel that pressure again? No. I wanted to feel good about continuing to read for pleasure in the category I write: Young Adult, with a focus on the genre I prefer, contemporary. AND I wanted to use my free time focused more on my writing. For 2013, I realized that my writing had to be my first priority for free time use, so I set my goal the lowest it had been in the past three years. Guess what happened? I ended up reading MORE!

2013  Goal = 32 books (This time I purposely set my goal lower to relieve the self-induced, bordering on neurotic pressure I put on myself to complete this Challenge)
           Books Read = 39 (Yeah, baby!) one was a reread that didn't get added to the GR total)

So this year, I've decided to up my goal a tiny bit higher. My first priority again, is to write during my spare time. This goal ensures that I can continue to read for pleasure during the slower times of the year (like now) and lighten up during the busy months while still reaching a comfortable goal.

2014 Goal = 35 books

Do you set a reading goal for yourself each year? How many books do you hope to read in 2014?

The Last Hurrah

In six days I'll be returning to work and need to get some things done before then. I love lists. I especially love crossing things off lists. Unfortunately, I get a bit enthusiastic and ambitious, adding things I just know I'll never get to. And this one is the same. My hope is that if put it on the blog it will guilt me into accomplishing most, if not all of it.

1. Declutter my room. I really need to do this!
2. Clean out 2 closets. Long overdue.
3. Iron back-to-school-and-work clothes
4. Label school stuff and pack backpacks
5. Finish weeding my garden. I'm halfway there!
6. Go out for Chinese food with friend. I need some fun in the middle of all this, right?
7. Color my gray stripe which is reaching the inch mark.
8. Write 10,000 words this weekend. Say what?

In the spirit of jumping on the bandwagon and riding into the sunset with dreams of finishing this first draft, I sort of committed myself to a writing challenge.

Sigh. Do I ever learn?

Over at Nathan's, one member started a Labor Day Weekend Write-Off. Set a goal and write like crazy for 3 days. Kind of like a mini NaNoWriMo. 10,000 words in 3 days sounded like a good idea at the time. I've never written that amount in such a short time but I'm going to give it a try. A last hurrah as the end of summer approaches. Sure, I could edit my post. I mean, would anyone really notice if I changed the amount to, oh, I don't know, 5,000 words? But no, I'll stick to my original goal (with the cloud of humiliation when I report back hanging over my head if I don't at least come within range). Speaking of end of summer hurrahs, I need to add one more thing to my list.

9. Take the family out for a long drive ending in icecream. No word count is going to take that away from me!

Sunday Night of Summer

Even though I try to convince myself that summer doesn't end until late September (in the Northern hemisphere, that is) let's face it, after Labor Day weekend, summer is officially over. And for those who go back to school in August, summer ends even earlier. I've always thought of this time of year as the Sunday night of summer. Remember that feeling you'd get in the pit of your stomach on Sunday night before the school week started? The weekend was over and it was back to the routine of getting up way too early, sitting in classes, mounds of homework, etc.


That's how I feel at this time of the year. I'm fortunate enough to have summers off and stay home with my kids. I'm able to get up later than the usual 5:30 wake up during the school year, there are no school lunches to pack and uniforms to iron, I'm not juggling my schedule to get the kids where they need to be, and there's a lot more free time to procrastinate, er, I mean, get things done. That's all coming to an end soon and that familiar pit-in-stomach feeling is returning. Soccer practice for 2 of my kids starts this week, cross country practice for 1 starts next week. I've been nervously go over and over in my head if everything is ready - supplies bought, uniforms pressed and ready, school assignments completed - and whether I've forgotten anything. (Cleats! The kids have to try those on today!). This fall I'm also returning to a part time job that I began last winter (with the possibility of extra hours) which means bye-bye to my free time to write. I'll need to get back to a disciplined mindset if I want to achieve some writing goals I've set for myself.

I recently reached the 10,000 work mark in the first draft I'm working on now which means it's only 1/4 of the way finished. I plan to push myself the next 3 weeks before I officially return to work. I'd like to add another 20k by then. This is rather ambitious for me because I'm not a fast writer, but I have other writing goals I'd like to accomplish between now and the end of the year.

Unlike those Sunday nights, I'm not dreading the fall, I'll just miss the laid back, carefree days of summer.