SERIESous’ Reading Plan for 2018

2017 Was the Year I Had Been Working Towards

2018 Is the Year I Keep the Momentum Going

You can read all about my journey to read smarter, not harder in last year’s reading plan post. But the gist is that I was overwhelming myself in a lot of ways which, in turn, was creating a lot of reading slumps and not so much fun.

Since 2016, I’ve worked very hard on changing some of my reading habits. I’ve cut down significantly on my library holds, I’ve limited the number of requests I read in a month and I’ve become more comfortable with DNFing books when I’m not interested. Overall, it’s led to a more positive reading experience that has resulted in less reading slumps and more flexibility.

So I want to keep that momentum going and I’ve come up with 3 goals I want 2018 to be all about.

#1 – Read More Owned Novels

While I may have achieved my goal to read books I own with my #ShelfLove Challenge in 2017, I still want to clean up my eReaders and bookshelves when it comes to unread novels. If you compare 2017 (51 books) to 2016 (79 books), I actually read less books from my personal collection and that is a little disappointing. (Mind you, I did DNF at least 8 titles from my personal collection last year as well).

>> 2018 Reading Challenge: Tackling the TBR Personal Reading Challenge 2018

I did a good job of not buying too many books in 2017 so hopefully I can continue that trend and give myself a shot at upping my “% of library complete” on my Kobo.

>> Fun Fact: It takes me approximately 11 read books to complete 1% of my Kobo library!

#2 – Read More Sequels

As I write this, I currently have 131 book series on the go which totals nearly 179 books when all is said and done. Mind you, a third of that are series that will be releasing their Book 2 in 2018 so it’s not totally daunting. (It totally is!).

>> 2018 Reading Challenge: 52 Sequels Personal Reading Challenge

But that being said, I still have a lot of series that do have all their books released and I’d love to update and publish some of those series reviews I’ve had sitting in my draft folder for awhile…

>> Sneak Peek: Look for a post in the next few months detailing how I keep track of all my series sequels!

#3 – Stick to my ARC Limits

I allow myself 3 ARC copies a month (this includes author requests, personal requests, review opportunities and blog tour commitments) but I often increase that limit…with mixed results. I’ve already been tested when it comes to January 2018 commitments but I’m hoping I will stick with my reading plan and not get too request happy this year.

Introducing my 2018 Reading Plan

It’s very similar to my Reading Plan for 2017 only it’s tweaked for more sequel opportunities. The idea is that each month I have a total of 11 books that are the foundation for my reading. Since I usually average 12-15 books a month, I’m using the other books as a “what I want to read when I want to read” option. At the end of each month, I determine what books I want to select and make the appropriate arrangements (like going to the library or purchasing the book) to make sure I can complete the selection.

The Highlights:

1. TBR Picks – purchased novels on my Kobo/Kindle/bookshelf
   • I’m keeping this at 2 as a minimum
   • Hopefully once I fill my monthly checklist, I can read more books from here
2. 5 Year 5 Book Challenge — a Personal Challenge to read 25 books from the last 5 years
   • While I might not have gotten to all the books I wanted to on my 2017 challenge list, I’m bringing it back once again to get some titles off my TBR
3. Sequels — 52 Sequel Challenge
   • I’d like to read (at least) 1 sequel novel a week for the entire year
4. Netgalley
   • In an attempt to curb my requesting habits, only one book per month!
   • This includes review opportunities and/or personally requested novels
   • It does not include provided copies for tours
5. ARCs/Tours/Requests
   • I’m setting a hard limit of 2 books per month
   • I’m going to take my time considering what tours I want and not be so quick to sign myself up all the time
6. Library Holds
   • I’ve done a great job of not putting every book I see at my library on hold. Instead, I use the various wishlist features to keep track of titles I’m interested in and saving them for a later time.

Going Forward:

I’ve done a spreadsheet like this for the last 2 years and I’ve found it’s a great foundation. I don’t always stick to it (especially following the summer) but I’ve promised myself I will re-evaluate it once I stop using it or need to make some changes.

Overall, I’m very excited to see what 2018 has in store and I truly hope I can accomplish some of my reading goals for the year!

Do you create a yearly plan or do you just go with the flow?

What are some of your 2018 reading goals?

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