Really love this! I have similar intentions when it comes to reading fewer, but deeper novels and reading more criticism. This year, I want to read the works of Virginia Woolf (not only the novels, but also diaries, essays, short stories etc) in chronological order. Already started and it’s great. She has such a fascinating mind.
I've never really thought of reading goals outside of numbers until I started engaging more with reading communities online. I did some analysis of my reading last year and found that I read mostly female authors which I am a okay with. Works by Latino/a authors and Native authors were underrepresented in my reading so I would like to read more by folks in those communities. I also work with Veterans and have come across a couple of books by veterans that I would like to read try to understand America's involvement in international conflict by people who participate in it. I read primarily things that have been published within the last 5 years with a sprinkling of early 2000s & late 90s works. Last year I read one book published in the 70s. I'd like to read more older books and by older I'm just going to say things published before the 1980s since that was when I was born.
I'm also looking to include more works by Latino/a authors in my reading, including translated works. If anyone has suggestions of good book lists or bookstagram accounts that feature these types of books, I would love some recommendations!
I enjoyed this whole post, but this in particular struck a nerve: “I just don’t want to get to the end of the year and wonder why I let books I’m excited about languish on my shelves while I was busy reading the books plastered all over social media.” Yes! You summed up something that left me unsatisfied in my 2024 reading. Thanks for the encouragement to be more intentional in 2025.
Why is it every time I read your posts I feel as if you're inside my head? My writing funk has been prolonged so I've had to reduce my reviews to 2 a week, but this year it feels even harder. I was also not a fan of new releases last year- 11 of my 14 five star books were backlist. I need to reconcile that with the whole 'content-driven' model you're grappling with.
I'm not sure about goals this year as I'm in a space where they feel more negative than positive. Not sure what comes next, but I feel as if it's going to involve stepping away from the computer and the online world and moving towards the world in my vicinity.
I love how open and thoughtful you are about your reading. In a world of sound bites and curated photos it's beginning to feel like a lost art. Thank you for this welcoming space. Also, how did I not know you live in Denver?! I have family there and visit in the summer/fall. Maybe a meetup at Tattered Cover at some point?
Thank you, Catherine! I'm sorry to hear you're in a similar space with reading and writing, but it is nice to know I'm not alone. Not to drag you back to the computer, but have you thought about starting a Substack? You're such a lovely writer and I think you might love it here!
This sounds hugely ambitious; if you do one-third of it you will be a star. I would love to read some longer literary criticism written by you.
I have such a huge TBR pile, I'm going to work on that, and write close reads of books I am extra curious about. I signed up to do a one year group read of The Cromwell Trilogy with Simon Haisel on Substack; it's called Wolf Crawl. I love his commentary and all the ancillary enrichment material he offers. It's an appropriate work to read in a course, where the extra knowledge provided really enhances the reading.
That sounds wonderful to complete the slow read of The Cromwell trilogy with Simon Haisel. I read War and Peace with him last year, and enjoyed my experience. So many participants brought interesting articles and connections to the group:)
Haha yes! Too ambitious, but I didn't want to forget anything! I've been seeing his Wolf Crawl posts and that sounds so intriguing to me. I've only read Wolf Hall and don't have any desire to reread it, but maybe I'll join in for books 2 and 3. It sounds like this could be the kind of slow, intellectual reading experience I'm looking for.
Oh my goodness, I LOVE the Cromwell trilogy. For me it is the gold standard in the type of literary historical fiction that I love. I'm signing up immediately!
1 — re: editors, FYI Peter Blackstock from Grove told me at the NBA after party that he’s particularly excited about Circular Motion by Alex Foster, coming in May!
2 — as a person whose childhood and early adulthood was also dominated by an artistic physical passion (dance), I think you simply must try to get back to ice dancing. I take a weekly adult ballet class these days and it’s truly the highlight of my week. It’s so incredible for my mental health and my heart. I had no idea how much I’d missed it!
Thanks I'll keep an eye out for that! And that sounds so fun! I want to figure something out but it's really hard with skating. There aren't group classes and there isn't much geared towards adults who aren't beginners. Just going and skating is boring, but I don't think I want to pay for private lessons. It's tough!
Those are ambitious goals and I look forward to seeing what shape they take— thanks in advance for putting fewer books on my TBR in 2025 (lol, but really).
My reading intentions sum up to: mostly unplug from new releases and read older books, including some of the behemoths that have been sitting in my queue for a while (although, ironically, I think I’ll start with a new one, Caledonian Road). And maybe more short stories. Stick close to my shelves and the library!
Your goals are amazing and not vague at all, I would say. I also want to reread some books, focus on those on my shelves, especially non-fiction books. I hope to be consistent with uploading videos on YouTube and writing essays on Substack :)
Your first goal really resonates with me. Specifically, the line "improve the quality of my reading, not necessarily the quality of my books." It's so intimating to feel like I have to pick the "right" book; the reframing of improving the quality, depth, focus of my reading practice feels more controllable, and like more of a practice rather than luck.
I have a handful of loose intentions for my reading this year... I might label them more like optional guideposts that I can choose to refocus on or draw inspiration from throughout the year.
One of those I'm calling "solo reads with supplements" which feels aligned with the "quality reading" goal. I felt a little bogged down by group readalongs last year. While I really valued the additional commentary and context shared by the hosts and other readers, the scheduled pacing didn't really work for me overall. So this year I'm pairing back on those live commitments. But finding collected resources that I can engage with while I read at my own pace (articles, deep-dive podcast episodes, published blogs or recaps from finished readalongs, etc.), so I can still get some of that valuable context and engage more deeply.
I love all of this, Ainsley! I really like your solo reads with supplements idea. I completely agree that I can get too bogged down with reading commitments, which is why I rarely join readalongs, even though I know I'd get a lot out of them. I might have to follow suit!
A lot of great intentions here! Looking forward to following along. I also have become weary of certain first person narratives; I crave Ferrante first person but there's not too many writing interiority like her. My recent read of The Empusium made me excited for more interesting narrative voice(s). I just finished a first person retrospective book and I had so many logical issues with how the story was told.
Let's read them!!! I started My Brilliant Friend the first week of pandemic lockdown and, understandably, couldn't finish. I really want to read the series this year.
Sarah, you have great intentions for 2025. I had a fabulous year of reading by being very thoughtful about my selections. I want to continue with that method for 2025, with reading backlist from my own TBR, and translated books. Thus, I am paying attention to small press books. Have fun and I can’t wait to hear about your progress. 🙂
I don’t know if you are looking for local events unrelated to reading but just in case, have you heard about the Denver Post’s Pen & Podium Series? I just learned about it and want to keep an eye out for the 2025/26 season because they have hosted some really great authors!
Yes I've gone a couple times before as the guest of someone with tickets, but it's really hard to get in! They always offer tickets to current season ticket holders first and there's very little turnover!
Many of these resonate with me as well. My 2025 reading intentions are still percolating and being decided upon, but I would also love to do more in-depth thinking and writing about what I read and to find and engage with more literary criticism. Looking forward to hearing about how everything goes for you! Best wishes!
Really love this! I have similar intentions when it comes to reading fewer, but deeper novels and reading more criticism. This year, I want to read the works of Virginia Woolf (not only the novels, but also diaries, essays, short stories etc) in chronological order. Already started and it’s great. She has such a fascinating mind.
What a wonderful goal! That's sure to make for a fantastic year of reading.
I took a seminar in college that was that exactly. It was so great.
I've never really thought of reading goals outside of numbers until I started engaging more with reading communities online. I did some analysis of my reading last year and found that I read mostly female authors which I am a okay with. Works by Latino/a authors and Native authors were underrepresented in my reading so I would like to read more by folks in those communities. I also work with Veterans and have come across a couple of books by veterans that I would like to read try to understand America's involvement in international conflict by people who participate in it. I read primarily things that have been published within the last 5 years with a sprinkling of early 2000s & late 90s works. Last year I read one book published in the 70s. I'd like to read more older books and by older I'm just going to say things published before the 1980s since that was when I was born.
I love how thoughtful you are about your reading life. The introduction of nonnumerical goals is so world expanding!
Re: the veteran point: Karl Marlantes has written multiple amazing books, but I would recommend this one especially based on your comment!
https://groveatlantic.com/book/what-it-is-like-to-go-to-war/
Thank you for the suggestion!
I'm also looking to include more works by Latino/a authors in my reading, including translated works. If anyone has suggestions of good book lists or bookstagram accounts that feature these types of books, I would love some recommendations!
lupita.reads on instagram and coffeeandcuentos also on instagram are a couple latino/a focused bookstagram accounts I like
Thank you!
I enjoyed this whole post, but this in particular struck a nerve: “I just don’t want to get to the end of the year and wonder why I let books I’m excited about languish on my shelves while I was busy reading the books plastered all over social media.” Yes! You summed up something that left me unsatisfied in my 2024 reading. Thanks for the encouragement to be more intentional in 2025.
YES! I don't know why I continue to do that to myself! This year I vow not to.
Why is it every time I read your posts I feel as if you're inside my head? My writing funk has been prolonged so I've had to reduce my reviews to 2 a week, but this year it feels even harder. I was also not a fan of new releases last year- 11 of my 14 five star books were backlist. I need to reconcile that with the whole 'content-driven' model you're grappling with.
I'm not sure about goals this year as I'm in a space where they feel more negative than positive. Not sure what comes next, but I feel as if it's going to involve stepping away from the computer and the online world and moving towards the world in my vicinity.
I love how open and thoughtful you are about your reading. In a world of sound bites and curated photos it's beginning to feel like a lost art. Thank you for this welcoming space. Also, how did I not know you live in Denver?! I have family there and visit in the summer/fall. Maybe a meetup at Tattered Cover at some point?
Oh! And yes I would love to meet up the next time you're in Denver!
Thank you, Catherine! I'm sorry to hear you're in a similar space with reading and writing, but it is nice to know I'm not alone. Not to drag you back to the computer, but have you thought about starting a Substack? You're such a lovely writer and I think you might love it here!
I have and am considering it. My hosting fees for my site are paid through 2025 and then ??
Much of this resonates with me. And I'm looking forward to enjoying the fruit of some of these intentions!
This sounds hugely ambitious; if you do one-third of it you will be a star. I would love to read some longer literary criticism written by you.
I have such a huge TBR pile, I'm going to work on that, and write close reads of books I am extra curious about. I signed up to do a one year group read of The Cromwell Trilogy with Simon Haisel on Substack; it's called Wolf Crawl. I love his commentary and all the ancillary enrichment material he offers. It's an appropriate work to read in a course, where the extra knowledge provided really enhances the reading.
That sounds wonderful to complete the slow read of The Cromwell trilogy with Simon Haisel. I read War and Peace with him last year, and enjoyed my experience. So many participants brought interesting articles and connections to the group:)
Haha yes! Too ambitious, but I didn't want to forget anything! I've been seeing his Wolf Crawl posts and that sounds so intriguing to me. I've only read Wolf Hall and don't have any desire to reread it, but maybe I'll join in for books 2 and 3. It sounds like this could be the kind of slow, intellectual reading experience I'm looking for.
Oh my goodness, I LOVE the Cromwell trilogy. For me it is the gold standard in the type of literary historical fiction that I love. I'm signing up immediately!
1 — re: editors, FYI Peter Blackstock from Grove told me at the NBA after party that he’s particularly excited about Circular Motion by Alex Foster, coming in May!
2 — as a person whose childhood and early adulthood was also dominated by an artistic physical passion (dance), I think you simply must try to get back to ice dancing. I take a weekly adult ballet class these days and it’s truly the highlight of my week. It’s so incredible for my mental health and my heart. I had no idea how much I’d missed it!
Thanks I'll keep an eye out for that! And that sounds so fun! I want to figure something out but it's really hard with skating. There aren't group classes and there isn't much geared towards adults who aren't beginners. Just going and skating is boring, but I don't think I want to pay for private lessons. It's tough!
Those are ambitious goals and I look forward to seeing what shape they take— thanks in advance for putting fewer books on my TBR in 2025 (lol, but really).
My reading intentions sum up to: mostly unplug from new releases and read older books, including some of the behemoths that have been sitting in my queue for a while (although, ironically, I think I’ll start with a new one, Caledonian Road). And maybe more short stories. Stick close to my shelves and the library!
I want to read Caledonian Road too!
Your goals are amazing and not vague at all, I would say. I also want to reread some books, focus on those on my shelves, especially non-fiction books. I hope to be consistent with uploading videos on YouTube and writing essays on Substack :)
Great goals!
Your first goal really resonates with me. Specifically, the line "improve the quality of my reading, not necessarily the quality of my books." It's so intimating to feel like I have to pick the "right" book; the reframing of improving the quality, depth, focus of my reading practice feels more controllable, and like more of a practice rather than luck.
I have a handful of loose intentions for my reading this year... I might label them more like optional guideposts that I can choose to refocus on or draw inspiration from throughout the year.
One of those I'm calling "solo reads with supplements" which feels aligned with the "quality reading" goal. I felt a little bogged down by group readalongs last year. While I really valued the additional commentary and context shared by the hosts and other readers, the scheduled pacing didn't really work for me overall. So this year I'm pairing back on those live commitments. But finding collected resources that I can engage with while I read at my own pace (articles, deep-dive podcast episodes, published blogs or recaps from finished readalongs, etc.), so I can still get some of that valuable context and engage more deeply.
I love all of this, Ainsley! I really like your solo reads with supplements idea. I completely agree that I can get too bogged down with reading commitments, which is why I rarely join readalongs, even though I know I'd get a lot out of them. I might have to follow suit!
A lot of great intentions here! Looking forward to following along. I also have become weary of certain first person narratives; I crave Ferrante first person but there's not too many writing interiority like her. My recent read of The Empusium made me excited for more interesting narrative voice(s). I just finished a first person retrospective book and I had so many logical issues with how the story was told.
So true about Ferrante! And I have the rest of the Neapolitan Novels waiting for me so maybe I'll make that another goal this year!
Let's read them!!! I started My Brilliant Friend the first week of pandemic lockdown and, understandably, couldn't finish. I really want to read the series this year.
I would love that!
Did you see Brandon Taylor's essay on first person narratives and interiority in contemporary literary fiction?
I saw it hit my inbox but haven't read it yet! I'm looking forward to reading his thoughts!
Sarah, you have great intentions for 2025. I had a fabulous year of reading by being very thoughtful about my selections. I want to continue with that method for 2025, with reading backlist from my own TBR, and translated books. Thus, I am paying attention to small press books. Have fun and I can’t wait to hear about your progress. 🙂
I don’t know if you are looking for local events unrelated to reading but just in case, have you heard about the Denver Post’s Pen & Podium Series? I just learned about it and want to keep an eye out for the 2025/26 season because they have hosted some really great authors!
Yes I've gone a couple times before as the guest of someone with tickets, but it's really hard to get in! They always offer tickets to current season ticket holders first and there's very little turnover!
Many of these resonate with me as well. My 2025 reading intentions are still percolating and being decided upon, but I would also love to do more in-depth thinking and writing about what I read and to find and engage with more literary criticism. Looking forward to hearing about how everything goes for you! Best wishes!
How do you find out who the editors are?
It's hard to find! Usually, I look in the acknowledgments and Google who's mentioned at the publishing house to find out what their role is there.
Those are really good strategies. I don't understand why is it so hard to find someone's editor- they are such a significant contributor to the book.
I love this, Sara! I hope 2025 has many rich reading, writing, learning, and living experiences for you!! 🩷