If you’re anything like us, your ‘to be read’ list is always growing, and the new year means a new stack of potential favourites. For 2021 we wanted to build on our reading and writing habits from 2020, so we set up a reading challenge for ourselves.
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Our Very Own 2021 Reading Challenge
We’re not ones to extend a blanket reading challenge out to our listeners, but we do like to set our own goals. So, in that spirit, we’re sharing our 2021 reading challenge to ourselves as a way to keep ourselves accountable.
Jette
Since we started our book club (then podcast), I’ve slowly increased my reading goal. While always being an avid reader, I would never call myself a prolific reader. In 2018, my goal was 12 (one book per month) and I hit 15 books. Feeling good, I set my goal in 2019 to 20 books. Sneaking in an extra graphic novel on New Year’s Eve, I managed to hit 21.
I didn’t want to push my luck so I stuck with 20 books for 2020. I don’t know if it was quarantine or my Kobo that really helped me exceed my goal this year. In early September I hit 20 books and rounded out the year with 31. Feeling inspired by what I accomplished this year and having no clue what 2021 will be like, my 2021 reading challenge is to aim for 25 books and hope for the best.
Gen
I’ve always been someone who reads a lot. In 2018 I set a goal of 50 books, which, for me, landed in that sweet spot of achievable yet challenging. I hit 60 books that year, so I decided to really reach in 2019 and set my goal of 75 books. I had sailed past 50 books with such ease, that I figured it wasn’t too much of a stretch. Once again I thought I was hitting that sweet spot. Around October though, it became clear that 75 books was actually well outside of my reach, so I lowered it back down to the previous year’s goal of 50. And missed it by three books.
So for 2020 I decided that 50 books is absolutely the sweet spot and stuck with that goal. When I hit my goal in September, I thought AHA! Maybe this strange, social isolation year will be my time to hit 75 books! I didn’t change my goal because I didn’t want the added pressure, and I’m glad I didn’t because it’s not going to happen.
My new unofficial goal is 65 and if I finish reading The House in the Cerulean Sea in the next couple days, I’ll hit it. Heading into 2021, I’m going to adjust my sweet spot goal to 60—achievable yet challenging—and save that elusive 75 book goal for another year.
Top 5 Books We’re Looking Forward to Reading in 2021
With our planning for 2021 complete and the new year just around the corner, we couldn’t help but spill the beans on our most anticipated reads for 2021.
Jette
I’m never up on what’s coming out soon or which author just released a new book but I have a list of books I cannot wait to dive into:
Gen
For once I’m actually in the know about some books that are coming out next year. Here are a few 2021 releases I’m looking forward to. I only narrowed this down to five because Jette made me:
- The Project by Courtney Summers (February 2)
- Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers (February 23)
- Return of the Trickster by Eden Robinson (March 9)
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (June 1)
- Mister Impossible by Maggie Stiefvater (May 18)
Our 2021 Writing Goals
If you listen in regularly, you know that we don’t just love reading, we love writing. Some years we do better than others in hitting our goals, but we always start the year with our best foot forward. Just like our 2021 reading challenge, we’ve committed to a 2021 writing challenge to ourselves.
Jette
So much of 2020 was spent thinking about writing and as much as I want to start something new, 2021 has one focus: Finish my short story collection.
I realized that writing doesn’t have to follow a formula and that a story doesn’t have to end up being a 300-page novel. I want to take my weird little group of characters and happenings and make them into my version of a short story collection.
Gen
I had hoped to finish the first draft of my YA witch book this year, but I’ve tried to give myself a little grace. I’m still about 40,000 words away from the end, but I also wrote nearly 50,000. In this strange year, I’m counting that as a solid win.
Starting in January, I’m enrolled in the Creative Writing correspondence program at Humber College. I’ll be paired with a mentor to work through this draft, so I’m confident that by the middle of 2021 I’ll have a query-ready manuscript.
In addition to my manuscript, I also want to implement a daily journal writing habit. For real this time. I’ve started a fresh notebook for this and have written a couple entries since. If you have any tips for maintaining a journaling habit, drop them in the comments below!
LISTEN to EPISODE 56: NaNoWriMo 2020
Another Book on the Shelf’s Exciting 2021 Plans – Stay Tuned!
With all those books and writing plans for 2021, we can’t wait for the new podcast episodes coming out soon. We’ll be talking about Mexican Gothic, our current book club book next. After that, we were influenced by Bookstagram, and will have an episode on The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes.
Working with one of our favourite publishers soon after, we’ll be highlighting some of Coach House Books’ spring releases. If you listened to our episode on James Baldwin’s Another Country, be sure to check out the episode on If Beale Street Could Talk where we discuss the novel and the film.
We’ll speak (or write!) to you in the new year!
