Since we’re at the halfway point for the year, I like to take a look at the reading goals I set for myself back in January and see how I’m doing so far. Spoiler alert: not too bad!

1. Read all 10 of the books on my Top 10 TBR/5 Star Predictions for 2022

So far, I’ve finished 4 books from my top 10 TBR list.

That means that I still have to finish 6 in the second half of the year, which isn’t ideal. I did already read the first few stories from Sooner or Later Everything Falls into the Sea, technically my 5th book, so I have a bit of a head start there.

Although ideally I’d have reached the halfway point with this goal, reading the 6 remaining books is certainly something I can do.

2. Increase my ratio of 5 star reads from my Top 10 TBR – In 2021, 4 books from my Top 10 TBR/5 star predictions stack ended up being actual 5 star reads; so far in 2022, ALL 4 OF THE BOOKS FROM MY STACK HAVE BEEN 5 STAR READS! That’s pretty amazing, and it puts me in a good position to hit this goal–all I need is one more 5 star book out of my last 6 picks!

3. Buy more of my books from independent bookstores. I think I’ve been doing pretty well with this goal! I’ve visited my local indie bookstore a few times so far this year, and have also stopped by multiple indie bookstores while visiting family in Chicago.

4. Read a classic. I technically haven’t done this yet; the closest I have come would be Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Jeanette Winterson, a classic of queer literature that was published in 1985.

5. Finish (or decide to DNF) books I started in 2021 but didn’t finish. I’m doing really badly at this goal. I’ve only finished one of the books from my previous list of “paused” books, A Marvellous Light, and I really didn’t enjoy it. (I’ve also picked another one, The Spanish Love Deception, back up, and am enjoying it this time around.) Furthermore, I’ve expanded my list of paused reads to include even more titles, and yet I also haven’t decided to DNF any of them. Here are my current paused reads:

By the end of 2022, hopefully I’ll either have finished or DNF’d all of these, but I’m not sure how optimistic I am about that.

6. Read at least one poetry collection. I did this! I read and enjoyed I Hope This Finds You Well, a collection of found poems by Kate Baer.

7. Read more short story collections than last year. Since I read 4 short story collections in 2021, my goal is to read at least 5 in 2022; since we’re halfway through the year and I’ve already read 4, I’m ahead of schedule for this goal.