I’ve had about two weeks to recover from the holidays (the longer the recovery period, the better the time you had, right?). After reading 153 books last year despite my deceptively simple reading goals, I decided to take it easy this year. I’m still going to read a ton, but maybe not quite so much. Here’s my new set of reading goals, which is actually longer than last years but with the intensity dialed down:

1. Read the World – Yes, I’m still doing this, just at a slower pace. Instead of 10 countries, I think I’ll do 4 to 6. I like the structure, though: a history, a fiction, a classic, maybe a few WWII, but spread out over two or three months.
2. World War II – I’m still doing this again, too. Also at a slower pace. There are some WWII books I wasn’t able to read (or re-read) that I really want to.
3. Classics – I loved reading 10 classics last year, some of which I never would have read if it wasn’t for Read the World. For instance, The Tale of Genji would not have been in the running. Neither would The Doll, and that would’ve been a shame. I would like to concentrate on reading the collected works of a few writers this year, though. Such as Charles Dickens and maybe Shakespeare. I haven’t thought beyond those two. This has the potential of including a lot more than 10 books.
4. Must-Read List – I have a list of books that I want to read. And I’m planning on reading them all this year. Yes, you heard right. All.
5. Bookshelf – I also have several books in series and on my bookshelf that I’ve been meaning to read. I’m also going to read those. I’m not sure how many, but I’ll definitely make a big dent.

These last two items are books I’ve been wanting to read and haven’t found the time. And yes, many of them are candy books. I’m rewarding myself for my hard work last year by reading lots of fun books this year.

So what books have you read lately that you love? What books are on your list moving forward? Let me know in the comments!