Beloved,
It’s technically February and I’m behind on 1) sharing this post and 2) the reading goals I’m talking about in said post. Despite all this, I’m both optimistic and ambitious this year. For some reason, in my head, I feel as though I could read 50 books this year, even though I’ve never in my entire life, ever set such a precedent before. In fact, this whole list is full of things that I have never once shown I’m capable of doing. But anyway, I’m forever powered by delusion so here goes nothing;
1. Finish Anna Karenina
This was on my tbr last year. However, I started it all the way in August and I’m yet to finish it by the time I’m publishing this post. It’s 800+ pages and everyday I question if I have the will power to finish it instead of just googling a summary. But I’d really like to fully read it just for just and I know I’m not nearly reading it as fast as I normally read so finishing it will be a challenge. But it’s a challenge I want to do.
2. Read 24 books
I like to think of myself as an avid reader. Well, as avid as anyone can get with a full time job, a demanding life and the slow atrophy of the brain given that our phones now rule the world. Anyway, as much as my fantastical goal remains 50, my more realistic goal is to read two books a month every year, and that’s always been doable (even though I am yet to finish even one book this month).
3. Read 12 books from my actual shelf
I’m tryna get back into reading physical books, especially since I am addicted to buying them. I have a dedicated tbr for this specific goal this year but honestly, I’ll count reading any random selection of 12 physical books as a win.
4. Read at least 3 non fiction books (that have nothing to do with my job)
My friends don’t usually believe me, but by sheer page count alone I read more nonfiction than fiction. It’s part of the job – as in, reading mammoth sized books is just a a staple in academics, especially when you teach abstract and ever-evolving modules such as Sociology and Mass Media and Society. However, outside of work, reading nonfiction to completion has proven a sisyphean task. But I do want to read more of it. I’ve set aside three nonfiction books for 2026 that seem easy enough.
5. Read at least 12 essays to completion (that have nothing to do with my job)
Speaking of non-fiction, I’m also trying to get into reading essays that are not written by my students (help) and not assigned for academic or research purposes (double help). I just feel like reading more essays on a variety of things would elevate me as person, not sure in what what ways but I’m here to find out.
6. Read at least 183 poems
At some point last year I was possessed by the pure random idea to read a poem a day for the next 100 days. I’m currently on, like, day 65 but I’ve probably read a little over that because some days I read more than one poem (I definitely need a better way of tracking this). I’m only doing this challenge because as someone who (used to) refer(s) to herself as poet I definitely do not give a rat’s hat about it. I’d really like to continue reading poetry after my challenge, and once every other day seems reasonable.
7. Read short stories from at least 10 African countries I have not read from
The past couple of years I’ve been really intentionaI about trying to consume more afro-centric literature, especially short stories (cause they are easier) particularly from African literary magazines (list of some lit mags to check out coming soon). Somewhere along the way, I realised that Nigerians are absolutely dominating the African literary space (like in every other domain at this point). Love that for them, truly. But last year I decided to challenge myself to find and read at least one short story from every African country. I’ve found some. I keep an updated list on my Substack. So far, I’ve only read stories from 11 countries, which is kinda embarrassing (finding them is hard, okay). This year, I want to add at least ten more countries to that list. That’s my official contribution to Pan-Africanism.
NB. I’m also trying to keep a weekly track of my media consumption. So if you’re remotely interested in what I’m reading, watching or listening to, feel free to subscribe to my Almanac of Consumable Things.
