Here are my (belated) reading goals for 2017! I’ve been thinking a lot about the books I managed to read in 2016 and how I can adapt that in 2017 so that I can not only get more enjoyment out of my reading but hopefully also continue to learn more and more through books. Pictured above are the ten books at the top of my TBR list for this  year, and below are the goals that I’ll try to use to shape my reading in 2017.

Reading Goal #1: Read more than one classic, including one longer classic – I completely failed at my goal to read at least one classic in 2016 (I read zero) but this year I’m determined. My classics reading has really taken a nosedive in recent years, but I really do enjoy them–not to mention I hate feeling like I haven’t read certain books that pretty much everyone else has.

Potential reads: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, Persuasion by Jane Austen, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Reading Goal #2: Read more diversely – I didn’t do as well at reading diversely in 2016 as I’d wanted to. This year, I’d like to significantly increase the percentage of books I read by diverse authors.

Potential reads: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, The Mothers by Brit Bennett, A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki, The Devourers by Indra Das, and about a million other books

Reading Goal #3: #readmyowndamnbooks – 2016 was a huge year for book buying for me, and my physical TBR shelves have exploded. This year, I’d ideally like to focus on reading the books I own for the majority of my reading so that things don’t get too out of control.

Reading Goal #4: Read more big books – I’ve always been a huge fan of immersing myself in giant reads, but it’s something that I think being involved in bookish social media has somewhat dampened for me in the past few years. I think that I’ve been putting pressure on myself, intended or not, to read a certain number of books per month, and the fact that it takes me longer to read a 500+ page book has played into my decision on whether or not to pick up those longer reads. I’d like to try to ignore that “pressure” and instead just focus on what I really want to read, whether it’s 100 pages long or 1,000.

Potential reads: 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami, Arcadia by Iain Pears, The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell, The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Reading Goal #5: Read more lesser-known and/or independently published books – Again, this goal goes back to being more active on Bookstagram and Litsy, as well as the blogging community. There are some books that we tend to see more than others on bookish social media, and they do tend to be new releases and YA books. There’s nothing wrong with that, and I do like to read both new releases and YA some of the time, but I also think that I need to do a better job at picking up books that aren’t as well-known and to discover hidden gems that aren’t always hyped up online.

Reading Goal #6: Discover new favorite authors

Potential reads: Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente, White Teeth by Zadie Smith, All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

Reading Goal #7: Read more books from authors I love

Potential reads: Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood, Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, Kindred by Octavia Butler, Hunger by Roxane Gay

Reading Goal #8: Relax, and enjoy what you read – Sometimes I can get too caught up in TBR lists and reading goals, and the resulting pressure can nudge me into a reading slump. So in 2017, I need to let myself realize that reading is fun and amazing no matter what I’m reading, and I don’t always need to overthink things. Reading is what I love, and it should be something that relieves stress, not adds to it!

What are your reading goals for 2017? Let me know!