Now that 2017 has come to an end, and before revealing my bookish resolutions for 2018, it’s time to assess if I managed to achieve the goals I had set for last year. I wanted to try to read graphic novels again, read both more non-fiction and short stories collections, read at least 25 books, and publish a post twice a week (every Tuesday and Friday) on the blog.
Last year I read two graphic novels: The Black Project by Gareth Brookes and The Encyclopedia of Early Earth by Isabel Greenberg. Although The Black Project didn’t considerably motivate me to read more graphic novels, I ended up picking up The Encyclopedia of Early Earth and quite enjoying it. Since a really young age, my main problem with graphic novels and comics has been having to read dialogues inside speech balloons. I cannot explain why, but it has always deeply annoyed me. However, I didn’t feel such an exasperation while reading the book by Isabel Greenberg. In fact, it made me want to read more graphic novels in the future.
I also wanted to read more non-fiction in 2017, but ended up reading the same amount as in the year before: just one… I tried to read more, but ended up not finishing The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell, having given up on it just after one chapter. Nevertheless, I quite appreciated reading The Morning They Came for Us: Dispatches from Syria by Janine di Giovanni, a book that I recommend to everyone.
Regarding short stories, I was far more successful. I read five short stories collections in 2017. The majority I generally liked, despite each collection featuring a couple of forgettable stories. My favourite collection was Diving Belles by Lucy Wood.
Another goal which I also managed to achieve was to read 25 books. In fact, I surpassed that number. In 2017, I read a total of 34 books! I know this is a small number for many people, but to be honest I don’t think I had ever read this many books in a year before, and if I did it was a really long time ago. Having the blog and sharing my love for books with all of you is definitely helping me to want to read more. Nonetheless, I still believe that what really matters is what we get from reading – knowledge, emotions, learning to be more empathetic.
Finally, I didn’t accomplish my goal of writing a post every Tuesday and Friday in 2017 unfortunately. Although I managed to do so from January until May, I then didn’t until the of the year. I missed one day in June, two in October, one in November and two in December.
So, I only ended up achieving three of my five initial goals. But to be honest I’m happy I didn’t force myself to read more non-fiction when I clearly didn’t feel like doing so, and that I still managed to publish quite regularly on the blog.
