(Graph generated by The StoryGraph)
I read twenty-four books in 2021, a lot of fantasy, a little bit of science fiction, one classic, and one non-fiction. On the fantasy front, I read some books by hugely popular authors and others that were very recently published. In a lot of cases, I was reading to try to get a feel for what fantasy readers want to see and for what the current market is like. I also ended up enjoying a lot of what I read, to the extent that I went out and read all the sequels as well.
This year, I would like to continue doing that, but I want to find a good balance between that sort of reading and the other sort that I enjoy even though it doesn’t contribute to that sort of research. I do want to keep reading classic literature, even though it tends to take longer to get through and isn’t directly applicable to the current market. I do think that I pick up writing techniques from reading books that are masterfully written, and I think it gives me insights into the literary world and the real one in which we live.
So I’m not going to set a goal for how many books I read or even how many pages, but I am going to try to spend at least some time reading in a meaningful way every week. Whether that means a few chapters in a classic that makes me stop and think or an entire modern novella that I just fly through, I’m going to try to feel good about myself for what I’m accomplishing. Numbers aren’t the whole story, but at this time next year, I want to look back and feel satisfied.
What are your current reading goals?
Shannon Fallon 