Building a Reading List
There are so many books to read, but we don’t have time in this lifetime to read all of them. How are we supposed to determine and plan the books we want to spend our precious time reading?
Make a reading list. Why? You won’t forget about the books you want to read or seem interesting to you. You can determine what you really want to read and when.
If you’re a book lover or made it a goal to read more this year, this post is for you. Maybe you have a long list of books you want to read on your Notes app or hundreds of books on your Goodreads “To-Read” shelf, but today, I’m going to give you a step-by-step guide on how to make your 2024 reading list work for you.
Step One:
Decide on a time frame and how many books you want to read
If you don’t read at all and want to get into the habit of it, maybe aim for one book a month this year. If you’re an avid reader, maybe try reading 2 books a month, or more!
Personally, I like to alternate between reading a fiction and then a non-fiction, or read 2 books at the same time. I try to read 1-2 chapters of a book a day, or 2 books a month. My minimum goal for 2024 is to read at least 18 books.
You can even go as far as alternate the types of books you read each month or each season!
Step Two:
Pick your genres and authors (include a classic author and something to learn)
Create a list of genres that interest you the most, as well as authors that you’d like to read or authors you know you enjoy.
For example, I want to continue reading the “Harry Potter” and “A Song of Ice and Fire” series. I also enjoyed “The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo” by Taylor Jenkins Reed. So, I can plan on including the next books of those two series in my 2024 reading list, as well as another Taylor Jenkins Reed book.
Another thing I suggest that falls under this step is to include a classical author you haven’t read before and a book where you learn something new. For example, I’m including the classic “A Clockwork Orange” by Andrew Burgess and I would like to finally finish “Body Astrology” by Clare Gallagher as my “something to learn” book.
Genre to choose from:
- – Fiction
- – Non-fiction
- – Mystery
- – Romance
- – Educational
- – Historical Fiction
- – Science Fiction
- – Dystopian
- – Poetry
- – Self-Development
- – Spirituality
- – Action/Adventure
- – Philosophy
- – Stoicism
- – Thriller/Horror
- – LGBTQ+
- – Fantasy
- – Biography
- – Young Adult
- – Health & Wellness
- – True Crime
- – Essays
- – Memoirs
- – Guides or How-To’s
Step Three:
Leave some room
Once you’ve determined the above, make sure to leave some room on your list for books that may come up that spark interest in the moment. This year, I’m leaving a few spots open on my own list, which you can check out below!
My 2024 Reading List
January –
- Body Astrology by Clare Gallagher
- The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue
February –
- A Clockwork Orange by Andrew Burgess
March –
- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
- Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham
April –
- 12 Rules for Life by Dr. Jordan B. Peterson
- The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
May –
- The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
June –
- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reed
- The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
July –
- TBD
August –
- Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
September –
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
October –
- Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
- TBD
November –
- TBD
December –
- A Feast of Crows by George R.R. Martin
Amber Mirrelle 