So How Did My 2024 Reading Intentions Go?

Blogging

As I have said before, I have always tended to think of myself as a reader who blogs rather than just a book blogger. This is shaping how I blogged last year and even more so in this coming year. I will be scaling back the number of books that I will be reading and reviewing this year because of a mini-family crisis that needs some of my attention.

I am still here and still blogging. I am reviewing a bit less than before, but I am endeavouring to get through my review backlist. However, that might take some time… I have a series of blog posts about bookish related this for this year ( I was aiming for one a month, but only have eight ideas at the moment!)

 

Books

Review Books

I am forever grateful for every single review copy that I receive. I am making a concerted plan to work through all of the review books that I have been sent and much reducing the number that I request still further. That said, I would be delighted to receive some of the books that were on my anticipated list

I feel that the advent of TikToc means that some of what I am doing and reading will be seen as unfashionable and not hip. I don’t really mind; I am going to keep reading the books I want to do and helping the small publishers that still send me books by supporting them where ever I can.

 

My Own Books

I have been cataloguing the books that I have in the past few months, and have found several duplicates, some of which I have passed on and others will be given away on social media channels occasionally. I have passed 2000 books so far and have a growing list of books that I want to read and pass on.

I have been cataloging my books this year and have passed on the last of the duplicate this week. I have a lot to read that I don’t want to keep so there will be more being passed on to others.

 

Library Books

I have managed to reduce the number of books that I have out from the library and on one card even got down to half full! But I know that I can do better on this and I am aiming to have only one shelf of library books. I am not that far off achieving this.

I have only got 33 books out across both cards now so it is coming down steadily. Won’t stop using the library though, they are still a key resource in this day and age.

 

Reading Plans

I am fairly happy with the mix of books that I am reading at the moment. I feel that I got the balance right between travel writing and natural history books last year, but as these make up the bulk of my collection, then I want to read more of them. I also want to read more science fiction and fiction, because, hey, why not? I also have some other intentions detailed below, that whilst not set in stone, I would like to achieve.

Still fairly happy with this mix.

 

Female Authors

I am going to keep my target of reading women authors at 40% for 2024.

And I achieved it!

 

BAME Authors

I had my target set to 12 last year and I am going to set the same again for 2024. Slowly more BAME authors are being commissioned in the genres that I like reading, but it is sadly too few still.

I read 14 in the end. I have changed from BAME to P of C, though I may revise that to ethnic minority as that seems to be what the official guidance now recommends. Any thoughts?

 

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Aiming again to average at least one a month for this. Science fiction is good for expanding the mind and as Terry Pratchett says: Fantasy is an exercise bicycle for the mind. It might not take you anywhere, but it tones up the muscles that can.

Didn’t quite make this as I had only read 10 by the end of the year.

 

Fiction

I don’t read or buy a huge amount of fiction, but I do have a lot around that I have acquired or been sent. This year I am going to make an effort to read at least one fiction book a month. I probably won’t review them, but it depends on the book.

My target was 12 for 2024, but read 34 in the end!

 

Poetry

I am aiming to read one poetry book a month this year.

Met this target too.

 

Photobooks

I have bought an awful lot of art & photobooks in the past two years and I want to read some of these books next year. Aiming to read at least around six of these in 2024.

Er. One. Oops!

 

Literary Awards

Last year I was a bit better at reading some of the shortlisted books from my favourite prizes (as usual). I did manage to read some from the minor prizes too, but still have a long list of books that I haven’t quite got to read yet… The same list of prizes from last year:

Wainwright

Stanford

Royal Society

Baillie Gifford

Arthur C Clarke

I would like to read some of the winners from other prizes too, including:

The Republic Of Consciousness Prize

Rathbones Folio Prize

Women’s Prize for Fiction

Jhalak Prize

The Portico Prize

I have all bar the winner of the 2024 Dolman travel award books and Read eight of the twelve longlisted Wainwright prize. Didn’t really read many outside of those two prizes

 

Challenges

I quite like book challenges. It is a way of finding new books that you might not have come across before to fit a particular brief. It kind of follows my philosophy of reading widely and reading deeply.

The World From My Armchair Challenge

My ongoing challenge is to read a travel book set in or that passes through every country, sea and ocean in the world. I did really badly at this last year as I only read one book (!!!) for the challenge. Aiming to read at least twelve for this and there will be an update on a blog post sometime in February.

Nature Challenge

There is no challenge this year for the Nature group that I am in so I will roll over the books that I didn’t read to this years reading to complete it.

20 Books of Summer

This is run by the blogger, Cathy of 746 books. I normally sign up to read 20 books and will do so again this summer. Last year was the first time I completed it too!

Completed this. In November. Oops!

 

Other Bookish Stuff

Cataloguing Books

I have started cataloguing my books now. I have catalogued five bookcases and have five more to go, plus the piles that are scattered hither and thither around the house. So far I have 2150 books and actual shelf locations for about half of them. In the end, I decided on a spreadsheet rather than using an app. I have found several duplicates and these have been passed on. Around 10% of my collection is signed too, I hadn’t realised that I had so many books scribbled in by the author.

I am still going on this. It was quite eye-opening just how many books I have and have been reliable informed that I have to get rid of some!!

 

Spreadsheets

I wrote about this back in 2023 here. I have now made further refinements and will write another post about these changes later in the year. So far these changes seem to be an improvement on what I have used up until now.

I have refined what I am doing on this and it is working much better, I have the notes to type up soon for a blog post for the part 2.

 

Bookshelves

I wrote a blog post showing all my shelves here. I have drawn up a plan for what genre of books that I want on which shelf, and this will be implemented following me reading a clearing out a fair number of books. There will be a mid-stage post later in the year when I have made significant progress on tiding up!

This might happen. Depends on how tidy I can get them!

 

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8 Comments

  1. Penny

    I think you’ve done really well!
    I had one intention and that was to try and read more fiction. I failed miserably. Out of nearly 100 books read, only two were fiction. Mind you, one of these was the new Murakami and it was brilliant!
    Can I ask what exactly you mean by cataloguing a book?
    In the quietish time over Christmas I did sit and go through my ridiculous TBR mountain and managed to cull over 1000 books.
    I also had a cull of my bookshelves for books with ridiculously small print, especially on horrible yellowy paper. They’ve gone!
    Glad you are still blogging, especially when you go through the catalogues.

    • Paul

      Thank you, Penny.

      By cataloguing, I mean actually listing all the book I have, the condition, and on what bookshelf they are on. I am more than happy to email you list of you’re interested

      • Penny Hull

        I’m curious as to what info you are gathering – for instance Rebecca could tell you the date she got each book, where she got it from, how much it cost etc.
        I wouldn’t have a clue and don’t need that level of knowledge although I confess I do find it interesting.
        I assume you are cataloguing so that you can find a book easily, or spot when you’ve got duplicates etc?
        All my books are only in two places in our house which makes things easier! And I have nowhere near your amount.
        I’m going to read your stats post now!

        • Paul

          Have a look at the spreadsheet post!

          • Penny Hull

            Just read the spreadsheet post! All questions now answered. I think!

          • Paul

            Haha! I collect the information that gives me useful data at the end of each year

  2. Liz Dexter

    On the terminology, I’ve been using Global Majority People when talking about Black or Brown people as that reestablishes the actual mix across the world. I might use Marginalised Peoples when talking about social justice stuff but that will include anyone who gets marginalised. I’ve seen GMP used more and more so it seems good at the moment. I keep an eye on the Conscious Style Guide for terminology as they’re really on it, but that’s more because of my editing work.

    • Paul

      I’ve not come across that terminology before

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