For some reason, 2022 seemed to both drag and fly by. Now, here we are on the cusp of 2023. Twenty twenty-three. A New Year. Can you believe it?

2022 was a crazy year for me with moving back to the states from Japan and being homeless for a coupe of months and starting a new job. As a result, my reading was a bit up and down as a result. 2023 should be a bit more stable since I don’t plan on another big move. And so I have made some big reading goals!

Read Off the Shelf

My primary reading goal for 2023 is to Read Off My Shelf. Or really, to read off of the two bookcases full of books that I have not yet read.

I totally believe that book collecting is a separate and distinct hobby from reading. That being said, I collected all these books with the idea that I would someday read them.

That day has come. Or at least that day will come during 2023.

I don’t know exactly how many books I have sitting on my shelves waiting patiently to be read. But the number is over 100. I know that because I created a list of 100 for the next reading challenge. (Maybe one of these days I will actually count all my books.)

#Roll100 & #Bookspin

Both of these challenges were created by Littens and are found exclusively on Litsy.

#Roll100 was created by a reader who’s also a gamer. Each month, she rolls 3 times for 3 numbers between 1 and 100 (hence my list of 100 books). Then you read the book associated with each number. If the next month she has a duplicate number, you can either read a different one or skip it.

#Bookspin is a a fun bingo-style game created by reader who wanted to tackle her TBR. Each player creates a book list with 20 to 25 books on it. She draws two numbers each month, and those books are your #bookspin and #doublespin. She will then place all 25 numbers on a bingo board for those players who want to take the game to the next level.

I use 1 list for both games with the books listed at numbers 1-25 for #bookspin. I noted the non-fiction books with an (N) and any book that has a sequel with an asterisk.

Chunkster Challenge

A chunkster is a big book. On Litsy, we classify chunksters into 4 categories:

• Almost a Chunkster – 500-649 pages
• Mini Chunkster – 650-799 pages
• Chunkster – 800-999 pages
• Super Chunkster – 1000+ pages

I have a few chunksters on my bookshelves. In 2023, my goal is to read both Pillars of the Earth (973 pages) and World Without End (1040 pages) and get them off my TBR shelf!

Annual Reading Goal

Since 2011, when I first started using goodreads, I set an annual reading goal. In 2022, my goal was 104, which broke down to 2 books a week. For 2023, I decided to aim for 3 books a week, or 156 books.

I’ve also switched to using StoryGraph too. Sadly, goodreads was acquired by Amazon and I haven’t liked the changes. It’s gone from being an awesome book tracking and book title library to being more another sales platform for Amazon. Luckily, some other smart folks who were also disappointed in the acquisition of goodreads decided to create StoryGraph.

StoryGraph is by readers for readers. I love that you can not only see how many books you read, but other stats like genre, pace, mood, rating, and page numbers. (And if you use goodreads, you can import your book list. You don’t have to start over!)

StoryGraph also lets you set your goal by reading hours or pages instead of number of books. So lots of flexibility on creating your annual goal.

12 Challenge

This is a challenge you can find on many a bookstagram or booktok page. The 12 Challenge is 12 months to read 12 books recommended by 12 friends. My 2023 board:

My Listy friends came through. I got so many great recommendations! In fact, I received more recommendations than spaces. Needless to say, my TBR grew more than 12 from this challenge.

You can find all 12 books on my Bookshop.org shelf.

Booked 2023

This is another Litsy reading challenge hosted by three Littens. A seasonal reading challenge, each season has 6 prompts for a total of 24 books. The prompts vary and can be interpreted however the reader wishes. At the end of each season, you post the books you read for that season’s prompts.

NaturaLitsy 2023

As the name indicates, this Litsy reading challenge is focused on books about nature. NaturalLitsy has 25 prompts and can be tracked on StoryGraph or by the above bingo board. As an environmental attorney, this fits my nature nerd side. Bonus, not all of the prompts are for non-fiction books.

The Postcard Reading Challenge

I learned about this reading challenge on Litsy, but it was created by Abbie Machia, who owns Your Adventure Awaits, an etsy story that sells bookish postcards and more.

The Postcard Reading Challenge is a kind of subscription game. Each month, Abbie sends one new postcard and a small goodie. The participant readers match the postcard to a book by its cover. After you read the book, you will submit your monthly entry by posting a picture of your postcard and book on the facebook group.

I really like her postcards and I thought this would be a fun and different game. Plus, I’ll have 12 beautiful bookish postcards at the end of the year.

I will probably stumble into other reading challenges throughout the year. And I probably won’t complete all of these. But I will read a lot and have a lot of fun along the way!

What reading challenges are you tackling in 2023? Share yours in the comments.

And check back tomorrow for my Top 10 Books of 2022 and the on Sunday for my 10 Most Anticipated Book Releases for 2023

Links to Bookshop and Amazon are affiliate links (read more about my affiliate links here). Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores and I support Bookshop whenever I can. All other links are just for your convenience.