I Failed My Reading Goals 2021 in Review Featured Image
Personal,  Wrap-Up

I Failed All My Reading Goals | 2021 in Review

(Last Updated On: January 15, 2022)

2021 has passed and it’s time to look back and reflect on the reading goals I set last year. And friends, it’s not looking good. I failed almost all of my reading goals. Why did it happen and how do I feel about it? Let’s talk about it.

My 2021 Goals

At the beginning of 2021, I decided to focus on goals that weren’t purely numeric and instead focused on other areas of my reading. I set 7 goals in total. Of course, I thought they were very clever and totally realistic for me to achieve.

Related: my original 2021 Reading Goals post

1) read what I have

I don’t think I achieved this at all! But I can’t even check, because I didn’t track my reading (or book buying/borrowing) enough to have any data. I decided against setting myself a goal TBR number, but I might have to rethink that choice for 2022.

2) buy fewer books

Can you hear my TBR laughing in the background? Yeah, me too. Again, I did not track this so I don’t even know how many new books came into my life. But it’s probably best that I don’t know, because I’m pretty sure I won’t like the answer. Admittedly, I don’t really regret buying books! It’s a great hobby, I love supporting authors and having shiny new things makes my lizard brain happy. But at some point, I have to be realistic with myself and possibly create more concrete rules around my book buying for 2022.

3) read more books with disability representation

This is the goal that failing hurt me the most. It’s both a personal failure but it also feels like I’ve failed the community. I’ll go more into why I didn’t achieve this goal later, but I’ll probably include an updated version of it in my 2022 reading goals to give myself another chance!

4) read at least 33 books, 12 death books

Okay so this is the only goal that I achieved at least 50% of. I read 70 books in 2021, though at least 10 of them were probably rereads of The Martian. It’s not as many as I hoped for, but it is decidedly more than 33! Now, for the death books…I did not read 12 of them. In fact, I still haven’t read a single one of my 12 death books I wanted to read in 2021. It’s embarrassing, to be quite honest. For someone who prides herself on her death book collection and has a genuine interest in death and forensics, I can do better! My failure to read any of these books also meant that I couldn’t make content about them, which was a plan I had for this blog! Ultimately, I want this blog to be a space for all the books I read, but I also want to highlight and share books about death, grief and forensic science!

5) read 5 translated books

Because of my lack of consistent tracking, figuring out if I achieved this goal meant scrolling through my Goodreads data. From what I can tell, the only translation I read was The Strange Library by Haruki Murakami. That’s just one out of five! So I definitely fell short on this goal, too. Are you catching a theme, yet?

6) read 2 German books in genres I like

Oh boy, I somehow also failed this one! I read one German book, Der Satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch by Michael Ende. It’s a children’s book that I used to love but did not enjoy on reread. So I failed to read two books and I also did not even enjoy the time I spent on it. Yikes.

7) catalogue my library and get some stats!

I did this…and then promptly fell of the wagon again. At this point, I don’t know how many books my handy Notion database is missing. Honestly, I’m scared of the work it’s going to take to update it, which is why I have been procrastinating it. Of course, that only makes the problem worse.

Why I Failed My Reading Goals

1) They Weren’t Specific and Measurable Enough

One thing I’ve realised looking back is that most of my goals were too vague. What does “fewer” in “buy fewer books” actually mean? What does “more books with disability rep” actually look like? While I was good at attaching measurable quantities to some goals, like reading 5 translated books, other goals remained nebulous. I didn’t clearly define what success would look like, so I never succeeded.

2) I Didn’t Track My Progress

The other major reason why I failed at achieving these goals is that I did not track my progress. I didn’t even really have a system for doing so! I didn’t have a monthly check-in, didn’t collect helpful data and had no milestones in mind. Ultimately, this meant I mostly forgot about these goals. Without a system to track and achieve success, I only set myself up for failure.

3) My Mental Health Wasn’t Great

2021 was probably the worst year ever for my mental health. This impacted all areas of my life, but definitely the amount of energy I had for logistics. Part of why I didn’t track my reading is because of the perceived effort it took. I started using a spreadsheet…and abandoned it after January. My reading journal lasted until March. I simply did not have the energy to try and track my reading when I didn’t have a solid and easy system in place.

How I Feel About Failing

Failure is not a nice feeling. I have to say, there is a lot of shame attached to publicly sharing these goals and then having to admit that I basically failed every single one of them. It makes me feel like a fraud and like I’m a bad reader and blogger! I set a 21 for 2021 TBR…and didn’t read any of them. In fact, I probably haven’t read any of the books that I said I would. However, I’ve also come to realise that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter much. In 2021, I’ve also learned that I truly am a mood reader…but that making TBR lists is super fun! So I’ll probably continue to make them…and just accept the likely option of complete failure.

Overall, 2021 was a great reading year for me! I discovered new favourites and had a wonderful time reading and talking about books. And ultimately, I believe that that matters more than any goals I set.

Did you set reading goals for 2021? How’d you do in achieving them and how do you feel about it?

I hope you have a lovely day,

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14 Comments

  • Sumedha

    Having fun reading definitely matters more than hitting goals, especially in these not so great times. While books help improve knowledge, they’re also there for escape and to make us feel better. I’m glad you liked your reading even if it didn’t fit in with your goals 😊

  • claire @ clairefy

    I hope that you don’t feel too much pressure about not meeting these goals in 2021 — what matters most is your enjoyment of the books and your own well-being! :)) I also didn’t meet my reading goal last year, which was to read 52 (I fell short at 41) but I’m looking forward to giving it another shot this year. Wishing you a wonderful 2022 🙂

    claire @ clairefy

  • Kat Impossible

    I always struggle with specific reading goals and sometimes even lower my Goodreads goal towards the end of the year just to hit something haha I think it’s more important that you read things you enjoy and feel comfortable with (even if it’s the 100th reread of the Martian) rather than forcing yourself and potentially ending up in a reading slump. I do, however, like the challenges you’ve set for yourself. I’d like to read more in German as well. In 2021, I reread Siddartha, but that was it. I do have contemporary or more recently released German books on my physical TBR, I just can’t bring myself to actually read them haha it’s a whole struggle. As for the Wunschpunsch, I never read it, but I did watch the show as a kid!!

    • bookshelfsoliloquies

      I also lowered my Goodreads goal, I increased it from 33 to 75 and ended up making it 70 which I could barely hit😂 And I’m super excited to rework my goals and hopefully make them more achievable in 2022 (still have to write the post about that tho haha). And you bet I’ll continue rereading The Martian, maybe not quite as much as I did this year but I still have a few rereads in me 😌

  • Anika

    I’m sorry to hear your mental health was so detrimental last year, it’s awful wanting energy but feeling like it’s an impossible find. Your year definitely doesn’t look like a failure to me but I hope you find lots of success in 2022!

    • bookshelfsoliloquies

      Thank you so much, Anika! Mental health is such a fickle thing and it always frustrates me when I want to do stuff and my brain and body are just like “nah, not today”. But I’m learning to adjust to what I actually need which, shockingly, sometimes is actually rest (who would’ve thought?!). I hope your 2022 is everything you want it to be! 💜

  • Jenna @ Falling Letters

    Hi Lay, I recently came across your blog via Twitter. I’m intrigued by your death book collection and your goal to read more books on the topic. How folks approach death and dying these days is a topic I’m interested in, so I look forward to your thoughts on such books. Sorry to hear you didn’t have success with your goals in 2021. But I agree that as long as you read some great books and enjoyed your time talking about them, then that’s all that really matters. Here’s to many more great reads in 2022.

    • bookshelfsoliloquies

      Hi Jenna! I’m so glad other people are also interested in those books, that’s like half the reason I started my blog (even though it might not seem that way yet haha). I have so many on my shelf that I can’t wait to read and talk about! And yeah, as frustrating as looking back on these failed goals was, remembering all the books I loved is much more important to me!

  • Your Tita Kate

    I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t succeed so much with your defined 2021 goals, but I for sure agree that it’s a lot better that you discovered new faves and had a great time with your reading!!

    • bookshelfsoliloquies

      Absolutely! One of the things I want to actively cultivate in 2022 is joy, in all aspects but my life but especially when it comes to reading. Finding books I love has been incredibly important for my mental health these past years and while my lizard brain is inclined to only measure success by goals and numbers, I’m beginning to feel like joy should factor into my definition of success, too!

  • Karla

    Thank you so much for your honesty!! I’m so sorry you had a hard time last year and I hope this year treats you more kindly, because you deserve it 💕

    • bookshelfsoliloquies

      aww, thank you! I just felt it was important to talk about failure, too! So much of social media is just our highlight reels and personally, it always makes me feel less alone when I see other people share the not-so-perfect parts of their life. I really hope 2022 is kind to all of us 💜✨

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