Happy New Year!!!

I hope that the new year will bring us back some normality but if not then at least some great reads and fun times.

My stats tell me that I read 144 books in 2021, which is the lowest number of books I have read in years. What I take from that is that a number is just a number. It does not reflect the awesomeness of many of these books – from the excellent The Sparrow and its sequel Children of God to Richard Osman’s Thursday Murder Club and The Man Who Died Twice to being entirely caught up in Sharon Kay Penman’s historical fiction and finally (finally!) getting to read John Mortimer’s Rumpole stories – I would have had a brilliant reading year had I read only those books. But there were many, many more great reads, so tell the reading challenges that focus solely on number of books to stuff it.

With this in mind, I’ve spent some time thinking about what reading plans and challenges I want to take up for 2022. Having moved countless boxes of books to my new home a couple of months ago, there was only one clear goal: reduce my TBR – primarily the physical TBR of books I already own, but also the digital one. I know I already own some stunning books that have lingered on my shelves for far too long.

It’s time to dig them out.

Don’t get me wrong – this is not an embargo on buying new books. That kind of restriction would simply not work for me. I’d last five minutes before I’d defy that sort of nonsensical prohibition. I love buying books. It contributes to my happiness.

All I am saying is that looking at some of my stats from last year, I only seem to read half of the books in the same year as I buy them. So, it should be possible to reduce the “unread” half by focusing on the existing shelves. In fact, it should be easier than I think because I will put my Audible membership on hold until Ammy gets a grip and ceases to dictate which credit card company I can use. But that is an entirely different rant that I don’t have the energy for.

Selection of Mt. TBR books to read in 2022

In previous years, it seemed to work for me to have a visual of the Mt. TBR reduction. I’ll do the same this year, but with a change – I also want to see digital titles reduce. So, I’ll need to come up with a graph for this year. Haven’t done one yet but at least I managed to get some of my physical TBR on a dedicated shelf. The same rules apply as in previous years: for every Mt. TBR book I read that is not on the “dedicated” shelf, I get to use it as a substitute (thereby reducing the number of books on the dedicated shelf). Just one shelf this year … I’m still feeling slumpy.

And that is it.

That is all I am planning in terms of reading and challenges in 2022.