[Discussion] - On 2020 Reading Goals and Opportunistic Reading

Source: Avon

Tips on the Simple Truth to Reading 200+ Books a Year From a Reader Who Blogs

Why Read - On Being a Reader who Blogs

Reading is a favorite pastime that has evolved in a meditative learning practice. Now, the fact that I am reader who blogs takes things in a different direction.

On Having a Literary Lifestyle
There is a difference from being a bookworm and having a literary lifestyle

Bookworms: appear to live in books, are obsessed with books, will ignore all things in life just to read. I never liked this impression, so I created something different - the literary lifestyle
Literary lifestyle: As a connoisseur of the literary art form, I seek to create a life where books are leveraged to assist in understanding the human condition and create a treasure map complete with guideposts.

The keys to unlocking the power of a literary lifestyle - opportunistic and planned reading.

On Reading OR Navigating Social Media - Latest Statistics (Source: Medium.com)

45% of the world spends 2 hours and 23 minutes on social media
Breakdown

Facebook: 58 minutes
Instagram: 53 minutes
YouTube: 40 minutes
SnapChat: 35 minutes
Twitter: 3 minutes (little shocked by this one...Twitter used to consume so much of my time)

My Solution

Left Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter - no value added to my life
Set realistic goals based on my preferred genre, as well as scholarly articles
By knowing my average reading speed and the average word count of my preferred genres (and those I wish to begin consuming), I know that I need to devote approximately 2 hours to reading each day.

The Details

Genres	Word Count Range*	Minimum (of record)	Maximum (of record)	Average (with fantasy and sci-fi)	Average (without fantasy and sci-fi)
Literary fiction	120,000 to 150,00 words	120,000	150,000	135,000	135,000
Crime, Thriller, and Suspense	90,000 to 170,000 words	90,000	170,000	130,000	130,000
Fantasy and science fiction	200,00 words and more	200,000	200,000	200,000
Memoirs and Biographies	70,000 to 100,000	70,000	100,000	85,000	85,000
Middle-grade fiction	20,000 to 40,000	20,000	40,000	30,000	30,000
Non-fiction	75,000 to 110,000 words	75,000	110,000	92,500	92,500
Average		95,833	128,333	112,083.33	94,500

*Source of numbers: Just Publishing Advice

2020 Reading Goals (by word count)	With Fantasy and Sci-Fi	No Fantasy and Sci-FI
My average WPM	350	350
Goal number of books	200	200
Average # of words	112,083	94,500
Calculated total words/year	22,416,600	18,900,000
Expected Number of Reading Minutes/Year	64,047	54,000
Expected # of Reading Hours Per Year	1067.457143	900
Expected # of Reading Hours Per Week	20.52802198	17.30769231
Expected # of Reading Hours Per Day	2.932574568	2

Planned Reading - how to read what I want when I am are ready

Identify when my favorites authors or publishers are releasing new titles

Reading publishing catalogs to be able to pencil in upcoming titles
Edelweiss is a great source
NetGalley is a good source as well...the key is not to request to review everything, especially if I cannot possibly review prior to the publication date
Following favorite authors (those who have a website and on Amazon & Goodreads) to know when new titles are expected for release