Hello everyone,
Every year since 2018 I have participated in the Goodreads Challenge, which is essentially setting yourself a target for how many books you aim to read in a year. In 2024 I opted for 52, or in other words, one book per week. I think it is about time for a check-in on how I am getting on.
The first thing to say is that I am on track! I have just finished my 36th book of the year, which according to Goodreads has me one ahead of schedule. It also means that I only need to finish four books per month for the rest of 2024 in order to reach my target.
I am extremely happy with this, as at the beginning of the year I was thinking 52 was slightly optimistic. I just fell short of my target last year and these days it seems like I have less time to read than ever, so to have read 36 books so far feels like an achievement.
Although I have managed to finish three books in the past week, over the past few months I have had the impression that I take much longer to finish books that I used to. I have found that one of the reasons for this is more frequent buddy reads – which I really enjoy – and also the fact that a lot of the books I have read have either been long or not particularly fast paced.
I have read very few medium length (300-350 pages) books this year; instead most of them have either been fairly short or more frequently, quite long. I am starting to wonder if books are starting a get longer, given the number of 400+ page books I have happened to pick up!
Interestingly, my top three reads of the year so far have all been under 300 pages. Two of them were very short indeed, Jessie Burton’s novella Medusa and the short story collection Tales Of The Celestial Kingdom by Sue Lynn Tan, a spin-off to the Daughter Of The Moon Goddess duology. The other one was The Whispering Muse by Laura Purcell, which clocked in at 293 pages.
I have continued to read books from a multitude of genres, from historical fiction to young adult mysteries. However, I have read a larger amount of fantasy than normal, with Rule Of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo being the longest book I have read in 2024 while I have read the dystopian Hunger Games trilogy as well as its prequel, The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes.
Lack of time has also affected my blogging, with more gaps between posts than I would like. I am currently an unprecedented seven reviews behind, meaning that I find myself reviewing books that I finished up to two months ago. Wish me luck in trying to catch up…
Anyway, my aims for the rest of the year other than simply reaching my target, are to read a few more novels by non-white authors as my number so far stands at a disappointing four out of 36, get back into using my Kindle more frequently, and get through as many on my backlist as I possibly can while also trying to read some of the new releases I have bought recently. It can be done!
Let’s Chat
Are you taking part in the Goodreads Challenge this year? How are getting on so far? Let me know in the comments!
Stephen Reads Books 