My 2016 reading goals

I'm probably not the only one who really loves reading but somehow fails to do it in the right way. Most people's problem is that they want to read a lot but don't find enough time. My problem is slightly different: I also want to read more and I even spend a lot of time doing so, however I find myself struggling to finish the books I start reading. It's not that I don't like the books and therefore stop - I read each "The Messenger" by Markus Zusak and "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell to approx. the half but never got beyond that point despite enjoying it. The reason for that is that I always read several books simultaneously and forget about the others I was reading when starting a new novel. So, in order to read more and especially more efficient I have set myself a few reading goals for the new year.

My aim is to read at least 54 novels over the next twelve months. Considering that I'm a very slow reader it could be a little too much but since I'm graduating from school this year and have three spare months before going to university I think that it will be manageable. I had a look on Popsugar's Reading Challenge for 2016 and the Challenge Suggestions on Goodreads and picked the ones I liked the most from both of the lists and kind of created my own personal challenge. 

Books I want to read in 2016 include ...

1. a book by a Nobel Prize-winning author (I'm considering Orhan Pamuk?)
2. a book that's more than 600 pages (probably »Gödel, Escher, Bach« by D. R. Hofstadter)
3. a graphic novel (never read a graphic novel before - quite excited for this one!)
4. a book with a protagonist who has your occupation
5. a dystopian novel
6. the first book you see in a bookstore
7. a book from the library
8. a book based around a library or bookstore
9. a book picked for you by someone else (this one probably scares me the most ...)
10. a book considered a »classic«
11. a book of poetry
12. a book with a cover that drew you in 
13. a book that was originally written for NaNoWriMo
14. a book that takes place in a college/ university setting
15. a book published this year
16. a book with a creative title
17. a book with a short title
18. a book with an unappealing cover
19. a book with time travel (probably »Slaughterhouse-Five« - still need to read this one for English class!)
20. a book you bought secondhand
21. a book you own but haven't read 
22. a book you're excited about
23. a classic children's book
24. a forgotten classic
25. a short-story collection
26. an ancient play (probably »Medea«)
27. a book recommended by someone you just met 
28. a book that's becoming a movie this year
29. a book you can finish in a day
30. an ancient book (»The Iliad«! Probably not going to survive this one, because Achilles and Patroclus, and the feels just ugh)
31. a play by Shakespeare
32. a contemporary novel
33. a book you've always wanted to read but haven't
34. a book you saw someone else read
35. a book you could use as a doorstop (i.e. 700+ pages) (probably »Being and Nothingness« by Jean-Paul Sartre)
36. a book written by an author born in the same month as you (I still need to read »Das Parfüm« by Patrick Süskind for school, and found out that he's born in March too! yasss)
37. a book with names in the title
38. a book with a title that describes your life 
39. a book with a long title
40. a book recommended by a teacher or librarian
41. a book that everyone is talking about
42. a book that takes place on a continent other than Europe or North America
43. a book that's been adapted into a musical
44. a book originally written in a minor language
45. a book considered a »modern classic«
46. a book by or containing an LGBT individual (considering my love for gay romance, this really shouldn't be too hard ...)
47. a book based on true events
48. a book about a road trip
49. a classic from the 20th century
50. a book with a blue cover
51. a book that takes place during summer 
52. a book published in 2015 
53. a science-fiction novel 
54. a book at least 100 years older than you 

So, yes that was the easy bit. Because I have extended my reading goals by saying that by the end of 2016 I need to have covered all of the following genres:

Biography, Autobiography or Memoir ... Gamebook ... Detective Novel ... Dystopian ... Fantasy ... Graphic Novel ... Historical Fiction ... Horror ... Manga ... Science Fiction ... True Crime ... Urban Fantasy ... Western ... Young Adult 

Since I only read popular science books and contemporary romance (yeah, I'm one of those people) some of these are going to be really hard for me. Especially when it comes to Manga, Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Detective Novel, True Crime, ... basically every genre apart from dystopian, historical fiction and young adult I have no idea what to do. I'm kind of lost. Meeh. 

So, yeah that's it (I just realized how often my sentences begin with »So«. Akward). I will try to make monthly updates on my progress! 

Diren.