» What are your 2020 Reading Resolutions?The Booktopian

The phrase “New Year’s resolutions” is so eye roll-inducing to me that I swear one of these days my eyes are going to become permanently stuck to the top of my eyelids. While I may not share in other people’s brief enthusiasm for new diets or exercise regimes, I do understand the appeal of using the opportunity given by the passing of another year to engage in some meaningful self-reflection and goal-setting.

Perhaps this is why the only New Year’s resolutions I will ever really care about are reading ones. Reading can be a very powerful and rewarding thing, but it can be hard to know where to start if your only resolution for the new year is to “read more.” So, with that in mind, today I thought I’d share some of my own reading goals in the hopes of inspiring you to take some on yourself.

Read on!

In 2020, I will … try and read 80 books

For the past couple of years, I’ve taken part in the Goodreads Reading Challenge and set myself a goal for the number of books I want to read in a year. In 2020, that number is 80, which amounts to 6-7 books a month.

Not everybody finds this approach to reading helpful, but I find that it keeps me on track and motivated, and when you have to do as much reading as I do (more on that later), any little thing helps!

In 2020, I will … read more non-fiction

I say this every year, but this time I mean it!

I’m pretty sure that I read more non-fiction books last year than in my entire 26 years on this earth combined, and I honestly loved everything that I read. Essay collections were a particular highlight for me in 2019 – Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror was a revelatory breath of fresh air, and I also loved sinking my teeth into Beauty by Bri Lee and Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion. It took me almost an entire year to read Charlotte Bronte: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harmon, but every second spent unravelling the life of this peculiar and brilliant talent was worth it. And, like thousands of readers before me, I was completely captivated by Tara Westover’s Educated and Lisa Taddeo’s Three Women.

(Before you ask, yes I am well aware that this sounds like the reading list of a millennial Rory Gilmore.)

This year, I’m particularly looking forward to starting with Anna Wiener’s Didion-esque memoir Uncanny Valley, a coming-of-age story about her experience as a young woman in a Silicon Valley startup, as well as Jenny Slate’s quirky essay collection Little Weirds and John Carreyou’s bestseller Bad Blood.

In 2020, I will … read more diversely

For me, the great magic of reading lies in the ability to inhabit other lives and worlds for 300 pages or so, and reading diversely, across race, gender, sexuality and ability widens that scope magnificently. Of course, you shouldn’t just read diversely because it’s fun or personally rewarding – it also supports those authors who haven’t enjoyed the same access to publication that many white, heterosexual or able-bodied authors have.

My reading habits already skew mostly female, but I’m looking forward to diving into books from all walks of life, particularly from Australia’s thriving local scene. High up on my list is The Coconut Children, the debut novel by 17-year-old Vietnamese-Australian writer Vivian Pham – a love story about two teenagers, Sonny and Vince, living in western Sydney in the early ‘90s. I’d also love to check out the next Growing Up anthology coming in June, Growing up Disabled in Australia, which is being edited by the wonderful Carly Findlay.

This year, I also want to read more books by authors from the LGBTIQA+ community and I’ve already started with Naoise Dolan’s Exciting Times, a love triangle story with a caustic twist that I absolutely loved (review coming soon!). Also on the list is On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, a novel I’ve been itching to get into but never found the time for.

In 2020, I will … figure out how to balance reading for work, uni and pleasure

The book industry is filled with people like me who somehow manage to hold down a job while reading lots of books for work and for pleasure, often while studying or freelancing on the side.

This year, I will officially dive into my 12,000 word dissertation for my postgrad English degree, which means lots and lots of reading on one subject for 12 months. You don’t need to tell me that the likelihood of bookish burnout here is high, but I’m determined to pace myself and recognise when I might start feeling a bit overwhelmed. I usually have between two and three books on the go at any given time, but if I’m feeling like any of them are a chore and aren’t absolutely necessary then I’ll put them down for something else I know I’ll love.

I might even just take a break from reading for a few days – it’s been known to happen, and I find I’m a much better reader for it.

In 2020, I will … worry less about what everyone else is reading

Does anybody else feel slightly panicked when talking about books with other bookish people? That any second they’re going to find out you’ve never read The Goldfinch or The Grapes of Wrath, and you’ll be exposed as the fraud you are?

I honestly don’t know why I sometimes feel this way, especially since I’ve never been the type to religiously read everything on the Booker shortlist or the latest bestseller. Call it a symptom of being in the book world for a long while or whatever you like, but this year I’m having none of that.

If I read a book, it’ll be because I actually want (or need) to.