It’s Tuesday… the listiest day of the week!
I enjoy two different Tuesday memes, and once again, their topics align this week — so I’m linking up with both.
Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Bookish Goals for 2025, with the prompt: How many books do you want to read this year? Are you hoping to read outside your comfort zone? Are there books you meant to read last year but never got to? Are there new-to-you authors you’re hoping to read?
Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — and the topic is Top 5 bookish resolutions for 2025, with the prompt: What are 5 bookish resolutions you want to achieve in 2025? Any reading challenges you will be signing up for? Or would you like to focus on a specific genre or diversity to read more from? (Click here to see Meeghan’s upcoming T5T topics for January – March)
Isn’t it great when Tuesday topics fit together? I’m not necessarily answering their specific prompt questions — focusing more on my reading and book-shelving habits than on the specific books I want to read. (And not that much has changed from this time last year — I could probably just copy and paste my entire post from 2024 and call it a day!)
My goals are less about numbers, genres, or challenges. Instead, I’ll talk about my intentions: I intend to improve some of my reading and bookish habits, although my focus may shift during the year. Below are goals (intentions) that I’ll try to keep in mind as 2025 rolls along.
Read whatever I feel like, as much as I can. I say this every year… and every year it’s worth repeating! I’m always happiest when I read without a plan. It’s a wonderful feeling! Apart from ARCs and book group books, this is the approach that works for me… which is why I tend not to participate in very few (if any) reading challenges.
Keep ARC requests manageable, and keep up with the ARCs I’ve committed to. I’m a little over-extended for the first few months of 2025, but once I read all my February and March ARCs, my commitments should be much more under control. I intend to slow down on requesting any additional ARCs, other than ARCs for books I intend to read upon release no matter what.
Plan ahead to make time for my book group books. We have our book-of-the-month picks all set for 2025, and I’d like to be more thoughtful about planning my reading time so I include these books without feeling pressure or worrying about deadlines.
Commit to reading (or sampling) my priority series for 2025, which I highlighted in my series-to-read post for this year.
Keep my Goodreads challenge goal realistic. I’ve ended up exceeding my Goodreads challenge goal during each of the past several years, but that has a lot to do with including graphic novels and children’s books in the mix. Which is great, and I love when that happens, but I don’t want to assume it’ll be true every year. I’m starting with a more modest number to keep the pressure off and allow time for reading bigger books too, if I feel like it. And if I find myself ahead of target by mid-year, I can always adjust to a more ambitious goal.
Remember to note the format of the books I read. This isn’t a big deal, but I’ve been noticing that I tend to read certain genres via audiobook and others via print, and I probably should say which is which in my reviews. Not that it truly matters, but the audio experience can be very different than the print experience, and even just for my own reference, I’d like to be more consistent about classifying books correctly.
Continue finding time for classics. I’ve been participating in the Classics Club spins for the past couple of years, which I love — but I have a big list of classics yet to read, and I’d like to carve out some time for at least one or two outside of the “spin cycle”.
Continue to pare down the number of physical books on my shelves, and be mindful about which I keep and which I send on their way. 2024 was the year where one of my dreams came true, and I finally installed my very own Little Free Library. I’ve begun sorting my many, many books into keepers and non-keepers. For the ones I no longer feel the need to own, I’m trying to sell the ones in best condition on Pango Books, and most of the others are going into the LFL.
Do a big audiobook reread: I’ve been wanting to do an audio re-read of the Green Creek series by TJ Klune. I haven’t started yet — the books are long, and I only want to start when I know I’ll have both the time and the focus to listen to the four books in the series straight through.
What are your bookish goals for 2025? Whatever they may be… wishing you lots of bookish delights!
Bookshelf Fantasies 
Rereads are so fun! Hope you make all of your goals.
I do love a good reread! Audiobook rereads are especially fun. Thank you!
LOL – that quote at the end got me. So true. I had not heard of the Classics Club spin blog, so thank you for introducing me to that! How fun. I’ve been trying to read 3-5 classics each year, so classic reading is on my TTT list of goals, too. Thanks!
I’ve really had fun participating in the Classics Club spins — and I think a new one will be announced next week, so your timing is perfect to give it a try!
I love these goals. I’m sure you will have a great time achieving them this year.
Thank you!
It’s funny we’re taking completely opposite reading plans for 2025. Although the paring down my own shelves is one we have in common. Good luck with all of your goals and I hope you enjoy your mood reading freedom! 🙂
My TTT.
I think we all have to find our own way toward bookish happiness!! 🙂
Good luck!
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2025/01/14/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-goals-for-2025/
Thank you! happy New Year!
I’m seeing a lot today about reading more for enjoyment, and also more reading from our shelves. I support both of those goals! I also agree about tracking book formats – I’ve discovered The StoryGraph is a good way to do that if you’re diligent about selecting the format you’re reading. I also want to limit my ARC requests this year, though I always say that and then apply for too many on NetGalley.
I say the same thing about NetGalley every year… it never quite works out thought! My daughter also mentioned that she tracks audiobooks and print/digital books separately on Storygraph, which I haven’t looked into yet, but I’ll check it out. Thanks!
These are great goals! So many of us have talked about reading our own books! I hope we can all have success with it this year.
It’s so easy to get sidetracked by new books! But I end up really enjoying my quieter reading months when I can go back to my shelves and read whatever catches my eye. Good luck to all of us!
Yes, I agree. It always feels like I’ve accomplished this huge thing when I can read my own books. 🙂
I’m massively in favour of keeping the ARC pile manageable. It’s so stressful when it builds up!
Definitely! And despite my best intentions, I’m already finding myself with more ARCs for 2025 than I really wanted to commit to.
I love these goals. I didn’t really list reading goals in my post, but I’m also trying to cut back on ARCs. We’ll see how that goes, lol! I’m thinking about getting a LFL in the Spring/Summer as well.
Ooh, yes to a LFL! It makes me so happy to peek inside and see what new books have come or departed. I live in a neighborhood where people don’t interact very much, and it’s really fun to realize there are other READERS in the area!
I’ve set my Goodreads goal at 52, i don’t want any pressure this year!
That’s so smart! I don’t like being told how behind I am 🙂
I was just thinking the same thing about keeping track of the formats I read in. It would be interesting information to have, just for my own curiosity. Good luck with all your goals!
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I realized the format might make a difference in how I think about my reading habits, because going just by genres, it looks like romance is way in the lead for me — but if I separate out audio and print, then the trends start to look different.
I love your approach to reading goals for the year! Reading whatever you feel like truly is the best way to enjoy the experience. I’m totally with you on keeping ARC requests manageable. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed. I usually just request ARCs from authors I already like.
I’ve been trying to take that approach with ARCs — but have still ended up with way more than I intended for the first few months of 2025! I really have to start holding myself back 🙂
Those are some awesome bookish goals! Good luck with all of them. 😀
Thank you! Happy New Year!
Going through my physical books and cleaning out my shelves is a big one for me this year. It’s gotten a little out of hand. 😅
I know the feeling! 🙂
These are great goals. It’s not a goal for me per say, but I do want to continue to pare down my physical books and not hold onto so many. I love that you have a little free library. There’s one a couple streets over, but it is for children’s books, which I don’t have a lot of anymore. I do donate to the public library though or to the community library in my mom’s neighborhood. Good luck with all of your goals this year!
Thanks so much! Donating to the library is terrific. Our library shut down most of their donation sites and books sales since the pandemic, so it’s been harder to donate to them, but I am definitely enjoying my own little library box! 🙂