The end of the year is ripe for reading metaphors. Time to close the chapter on the old year. To turn the page. Rewrite the plot.
No matter how you phrase it, the start of a new year is a great time for reflection and intention-setting. As always, when we reflect here at Bookclubs, our thoughts turn to books and reading. We're looking back at all the wonderful reading we completed last year, and looking ahead with excitement and anticipation to the books we'll read this year. We're thinking about all the ways that reading is good for our mental health and well-being, and making resolutions to do even more reading this year.
In this post, we'll walk you through how you can set and track your reading intentions on the Bookclubs app or website, and then share some of our favorite New Year's reading resolutions.
Setting and tracking your reading intentions in Bookclubs
If, like us, you're setting some new intentions for your reading in the new year, we have good news.
You can now set and track your annual reading resolutions on the Bookclubs app or website. Just navigate to your profile, and then to your 2024 Reading Goals. Set a goal for the number of books you'll read throughout the year, and the number of book club meetings you'll attend (this is the year to prioritize book club!) or take a second to jot down and memorialize any other reading-related intentions you might have.
If you check back over the course of the year, you'll be able to remind yourself of those early intentions, as well as see how many books and meetings ahead of or behind track you are.
Need some ideas for additional reading intentions to set? We've got you covered below!
Our 6 favorite reading resolutions
1. Read more this year.
Whatever your starting point, you can set aside a little more time for reading as an investment in yourself. Set a goal of number of books or pages to read, or set a goal around the amount of time you'll spend reading each day or week.
Tips and tricks: How to read more books in the new year
2. Work Smarter Not Harder.
Our suite of tools saves readers and book clubbers time so you spend less time organizing and more time reading and discussing. Our organizational tools have saved club leaders and club members countless hours by streamlining communication and planning. Consider setting your club up for success in 2024 by upgrading to one of our Premium, Pro, and Pro Plus plans, which supports Bookclubs’ financial sustainability and has allowed us to develop great new tools for both free and paid users – with lots more to come in 2024!
Here are just a few of the new features we introduced in 2023:
- Shelf Service: Bookclubs’ book delivery subscription service
- Powered-up Polls: Make your book club decisions faster and fairer with enhanced polls.
- Text Message Notifications: Never miss important book club info again with text notifications.
- Club Meeting Calendar Sync: Sync your club meetings with your preferred calendar app.
- In-App Video Meetings: Host a book club meeting directly through our platform.
- Member Subscriptions: Support your work through optional membership subscriptions.
3. Read more actively.
Set intention to not just read more this year, but to read more deeply. Take the time to step back and reflect on what you've read. Engage more actively with the text by taking notes in a reading journal or underlining or highlighting passages as a way to organize your reading reflections. You can also make a new practice to rate or write a community review of what you've read. And of course, joining a book club is an excellent way to deepen your experience of the book through discussion.
4. Tackle your To Be Read list.
Have a stack of unread books piling up on your nightstand or on a bookshelf? Make this the year that you put a dent in the stack. Commit yourself to reading at least one book from your To Be Read list. Not a book hoarder? Take a look through your list of Books I Want to Read and pick a few titles to make the cut this year!
5. Diversify your bookshelf.
Make a plan to read more books by underrepresented authors. This could include reading books by women or an array of own voices literature, including books by Black, Latinx, Native American, and Asian authors.
Diverse author reading inspiration:
- Must Read Books by AAPI Authors
- Native American & Indigenous Authors You Should Be Reading Right Now
- Celebrate Latinx and Hispanic Heritage with These Books
- Books By Black Authors to Read This Year
- Celebrating Diversity: Must-Read Books with Diverse Characters
- The Ultimate LGBTQIA+ Reading Guide
Find a public book clubs focusing on books by diverse authors:
- Book clubs reading books by women
- Book clubs reading books by BIPOC or other underrepresented authors
- Book clubs reading books by queer and LGBTQ+ authors
6. Read to learn!
Read some non-fiction in the new year, whether to learn more about the world or learn more about and develop yourself.
Non-fiction reading inspiration: Check out our Read to Learn hub, where you can see the latest book picks across a range of non-fiction categories, including financial health, parenting & family, business & leadership, and personal development.
Public book clubs focusing on non-fiction books:
- Personal growth and development book clubs
- Health & wellness book clubs
- Business book clubs
- Spirituality & mindfulness book clubs
- Antiracist book clubs
If you don't yet have a Bookclubs account, it's easy and free to set one up. When you join Bookclubs, you can easily track your lists of books you've read or want to read, get personalized book recommendations, and of course, start or join a book club! Plus so much more, including setting and monitoring your progress against reading goals. Join today!