In 2021, I did several year-long challenges in terms of blogging and reading, but last year, with my mom’s deteriorating health, more hours at work, and lack of time, I didn’t make any public goals, but had a few in the back of my mind throughout the year.

One goal was to read enough ARCs from NetGalley to get my 100 reviews badge. I started the year with approximately 50 reviews, so it was a big goal, assuming I would have the time and be approved for that many books per year. Despite being a member of NetGalley since 2018, and I didn’t begin blogging again until 2020, I did not utilize the site as much as I could have. But that has changed. I am happy to report that I read and reviewed 59 books from NetGalley in 2022, passing the 100 reviews mark sometime in October. This year I have a similar goal and have been approved for 20 books so far with publication dates as far away as June 2023. I’m not requesting any more books right now because February and March are pretty heavy with already-approved books. I currently have an 84% feedback score on NetGalley.

The only other goal I had was to read at least one book a week for my Goodreads goal of 52 books a year. Between NetGalley and all the audiobooks I listened to at work, I finished the year with 147 books completed. This year’s goal is to read or listen to and review 100 books. Unless I have another catastrophic year personally or professionally, I don’t find this a problem, either. Going back to 2013 when I first started partaking in the Goodreads Challenge, I’ve read at least 100 books a year. One year I even included all the children’s books I was reading to the kids and hit 516 books! Those days are long gone, but I always find time in my spare hours to get a little reading in every day.

I may do an Audiobook challenge and will post at a later date. That is simple and easy as I can listen to audiobooks at work, so it’s not really a challenge. The challenge for me is to write reviews for all the books I go through. Lately, I have been simply rating the not-so-good books on Goodreads and maybe write a paragraph, but not blog about it. Too often last year, I did not write up audiobooks or even rate them on Goodreads, so my book count was actually higher than 147. This year I vow to be more diligent in tracking my books.

One of the other things I’d like to do is utilize my local library again. I’ve used Overdrive through my library to borrow books, but as of January 1, Overdrive is no longer available, so I’ll have to rely on Hoopla, Libby or Axis 360 for my borrowing of digital books. I don’t think I borrowed a single physical book last year, which astonished me when I realized it.

What reading goals do you have for 2023?