Benjamin McEvoy

Essays on writing, reading, and life

Unconventional Reading Goals for 2020

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It’s been a couple of years since I set my first unconventional reading goals.

How I read has changed since then.

So, with 2020 right around the corner, it’s time to set some new unconventional reading goals

Reading Goal #1: Read and review everything/have a back to school year 

My first most important reading goal for 2020 will be to review everything I read.

Every book I get through will result in a review in some capacity – either a written book review, a video review, or a podcast.

There are two reasons for this:

  • This is all about being more conscious. I hate reading for the sake of it and forgetting a book once you’re done with it. I’m all about selecting what you want to read with some thought and really living with the book, spending time with the characters, thinking about the themes, extracting lessons from the book. Having to do book reviews forces you to get so much more out of your books. Every book I’ve reviewed already still lives with me today.
  • Seeing as the books I’m reading in 2020 will primarily be books assigned to English students across the world (but mainly in the UK), I’m hoping putting reviews out of these books will help these students appreciate them better and improve their grades. It’s a win-win.

If you want to see what one of my written book reviews looks like, you can check out this one:

If you want to see what a video book review might look like, check out this analysis:

If you really want to get more out of your reading in 2020, why don’t you join me and document everything you read?

You could do this via Goodreads or Medium.

Or you could start your own website like this one.

It’s as easy as grabbing some hosting from Bluehost, getting a nice WordPress theme from Studiopress, and hitting publish on your thoughts.

If you need some ideas for how to write a book review, check out this article:

Reading Goal #2: Have a literary excursion 

I got this idea from my friend Misha, who structured a trip to Europe around the theme of the Holocaust.

He reread Man’s Search for Meaning, making copious notes.

He read books like Elie Wiesel’s Night.

And then he visited Auschwitz and we both went to check out the Viktor Frankl Institute in Vienna.

This idea of a literary excursion really inspired me.

I love to travel. I love to read. So why not pair the two and enhance the enjoyment I get out of both?

I’m already brainstorming what my literary excursion will be for my upcoming trips to New York and Japan.

For New York, I’m thinking I’ll structure it around the work of James Baldwin and tie in a trip to Harlem. For Japan, I’ll be diving into the works of Yukio Mishima. 

You don’t have to choose a ton of books for this. In fact, it’s best if you keep it light because you’re going to be travelling too. I think 2-3 books on a subject that inspires you is a good reading goal to aim for.

Reading Goal #3: More buddy reads 

One of the most rewarding experiences for me is sharing the love of a good book with a good friend.

I have a few friends where a certain book is a continuous reference point in our conversations that deepens both our appreciation of the book and the relish for our friendship. 

I want more of this in my life, so with a few of the closest people to me in my life (between 3-5 people) we will agree upon one book that we can read and discuss with each other.

Either we’ll pick it up serendipitously like when my brother and I grabbed Bulgakov’s Heart of a Dog from the bookstore or it would be a natural extension of our friendship.

Reading is supposed to be social, so this is the reading goal I’m most looking forward to.

A side goal might include joining a book club.

I tried joining the Great Books Online club, but the time zone issue didn’t work out for me unfortunately. A shame because it looked great, but I’ll either find or start my own book club in London in 2020.

Another side goal will be hosting more book reading challenges on SPAR.

We had some great book groups on there this year. The accountability really helped boost how much I read. And I met some great people. So I’d like to make that a recurring part of my life.

Reading Goal #4: Replace screen time with book time

Go on your phone and check your screen time, then replace your biggest time suck with a book. 

You’re wasting time anyway. So replace that 30-minute scroll through Tik Tok, Instagram, and Twitter before bed with a book.

Seriously, check your screen time right now and imagine how many books you could read in a year just by replacing the crap with books

Reading Goal #5: Pair reading with language learning

I’ve been slack on my language learning goals this year.

Barely spoken any Japanese the last six months.

Compare that to this time last year when I was living in Tokyo and speaking Japanese 90% of the time.

I feel like my ability has dropped. And apart from a small trip to Japan scheduled next year, I won’t be spending much prolonged time in the country.

In order to maintain my Japanese level (or at least not allow it to deteriorate any further), I’ll be twinning my love of the Japanese language with my love for comic books and will aim to follow a few manga series throughout the year.

I’ll likely be reading more of Berserk, JoJo, Vagabond, and One Punch Man.

Reading Goal #6: Rereads galore 

We rewatch our favourite films.

We listen to our favourite albums over and over again.

So why is it so rare to reread our favourite books?

When you fall in love with a book, the first reading is just surface – an initial courtship.

If it’s truly a great book and you want to get as much as you can out of it, you should reread it often.

So in 2020 most of the books I’ll read (over 80%) will be ones I’ve already read.

I believe that I missed out on what really makes these books great because I read them at school or during my younger years.

I’ve had a lot of life experience since reading them and expect these books to pack some powerful punches when I return to them.

Reading Goal #7: Four doorstopper classics, one for each season 

I’ve picked four big books that should take some time to get through.

I’ll be reading each of those slowly over around three months. 

Here are mine:

I was thinking about throwing a reread of Moby Dick in there but no need to go too crazy.

Other little reading goals/practices I’m taking into 2020:

  • Leave space for serendipity. I’ve put together a list of books that I’d love to have read by the end of 2020, but I’ve purposefully not filled my roster up to full capacity. I love wandering into book stores, talking to the clerks, and finding gems. I also love getting recommendations from friends and family and being able to grab the book and read it soon after they’ve recommended it. 
  • Read a short story a week and poetry as often as possible. I used to do the Bradbury Trio – 1 poem, 1 short story, and 1 essay for 1,000 nights. That was overkill. But I still love short stories and, in addition to writing them, I’d like to find some great ones that I can read out on the podcast for fun. I’ve already found a story by James Joyce I can’t wait to narrate. I think having a decent anthology of short stories and reading one a week is a good goal to shoot for. Sounds like a decent Sunday morning chilling in the park with a coffee. I won’t set a limit on poetry (because it’s literary heroin) but I do have a list of a few poems that I want to get to know really well and will revisit them often.
  • Supplement your reading with experience. Books are only as good as the experience you bring to them. So make sure you’re living as well as reading. I had a lot of artistic experiences this year (theatre, opera, ballet, jazz clubs, stand-up comedy, art galleries, zen gardens), but I want even more in 2020. Having a new experience at least twice a month is a good minimum effective dose goal for this. In addition, I think it’s a good idea to enrol in classes and pick up some new skills. 

Other reading goal ideas:

These aren’t going to be my reading goals for 2020, but if you want some more ideas about how to structure your reading, some of these might take your fancy.

  • Have a genre quest. Pick a genre you want to explore more and go deep into it. You could become an expert on a whole new literary world by the end of the year. If I was picking a genre, I’d go for horror. But maybe espionage thrillers are more your thing. Or magical realism. That would be a pretty cool reading list to draw up.
  • Focus on series. You could pick 1-3 series that you’d like to get through and spend the year on them. The Discworld series, Game of Thrones, and The Wheel of Time would be good shouts and plenty there to keep you occupied. I always liked the idea of reading the entirety of something like Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books and then ranking them all in a mega book review. People have obviously already done that, but I still think it’s cool.
  • Read the Bible. Or the complete works of Shakespeare. I love doorstopper books and few are as big, chunky, and impactful as the Bible or the complete works of Shakespeare. You could easily get through both in a year. There are tons of Bible reading plans online that will only take you fifteen minutes of reading a day. And you could finish everything Shakespeare wrote in a year by simply reading/watching a play a week. 
  • Play dice man. Leave what books you will read up to the gods and fate. I’ve done this a few times. Like when I chose a random country and picked a book from that country. Or the times I would use a random number generator and pick out a book from 1,001 Books To Read Before You Die. Great bibliophile excitement will be had.

If all of this sounds terribly neurotic and overwhelming, check out my last unconventional reading goals article for some more measured, comfortable goals such as the 12-book year.

Here’s my TBR for 2020.

I’ve left enough space so I can add books that appeal to me as the year goes on and also give me wiggle room because I’ll be reviewing everything. 

Books that are new reads for me:

  • Birdsong
  • Jane Eyre
  • Anita and Me
  • The Awakening
  • The Go-Between
  • The Colour Purple
  • The Little Stranger
  • A Farewell To Arms
  • The Sign of the Four 
  • To Kill A Mockingbird
  • All Quiet on the Western Front
  • One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest

Rereads:

  • Atonement
  • Animal Farm
  • Lord of the Flies
  • Never Let Me Go 
  • The Great Gatsby
  • Wuthering Heights 
  • Great Expectations 
  • Pride and Prejudice
  • Rebecca by Daphne 
  • The Age of Alexander
  • Tess of the D’Ubervilles 
  • The Picture of Dorian Gray
  • Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale

Big Doorstopper Classics:

  • Musashi
  • The Iliad 
  • Middlemarch 
  • Crime and Punishment

Poetry:

  • The Power and Conflict Anthology
  • Love and Relationships Anthology
  • Precious Asses by James Methven 

Plays:

  • An Inspector Calls 
  • Most plays by Shakespeare
  • A Streetcar Named Desire 
  • A Taste of Honey

In-depth reviews I still need to do:

  • The Gulag Archipelago 
  • Frankenstein
  • Man and His Symbols
  • The Corrections
  • The Republic 
  • The Nicomachean Ethics 

What’s on your TBR for 2020?

What are your book reading goals for the year?