3 mid-year reading goals

Well, hello there! It feels like a long time since I have written in this blog.... and it has been - over two years now. Shocking! I have no idea where that time has gone. (Probably to the same place all my good intentions for blogging went, those elusive little buggers.)

The beginning of this year was a slow one for me in terms of reading. I was in the middle of an ugly reading slump that was proving difficult to shake off, and didn't really start to disappear until mid-March. Because of this, I didn't set myself any reading goals or projects at the start of the year, so have decided to set myself a few mid-year readings goals instead. I feel in the mood for a more focused approach to reading again.

So, without further ado, here are my new reading goals....

Read at least 10 items from the list of finalists for the 2017 Hugo Awards:
I've always been interested in SFF, but this year I've really started to engage with the genre much more. This was the one thing, more than anything else, that helped me fall in love with reading all over again. I decided therefore that this would be a good project to help me explore and grow into the genre further. I already have A Closed and Common Orbit waiting for me on my bookshelves, The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe downloaded to my Kindle, Monstress on order from the library, and a number of the short stories bookmarked to read. I can't wait to get started.

Read at least 5 sci-fi classics:
I'm not exactly sure how best to define a "classic", however my aim here is to complement my first project with some backlist reading. I want to finally read some of those books that I've always said "I really must read that some day..." about, to explore the titles that have shaped the genre. I read The Left Hand of Darkness a couple of months ago and will definitely be including another of Ursula K. Le Guin's books in this list, as well as at least one by Octavia Butler. The rest I haven't decided on yet, but I am interested to see what journey this project takes me on.

Re-read Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials:
This final project has been on my to-do list for a while, but with the publication of La Belle Sauvage this October now is the perfect time for it. I have really fond memories of first time I read Northern Lights as a young teenager, and I still have the same (now somewhat battered) copy I read then, which has a picture of Iorek Byrnison on the front. It's probably the book on my shelves I have owned the longest.

I am really excited and giddy just thinking about all three of these goals (in my own quiet, introverted way). If you have any suggestions (or things to avoid!) for the first two, I'd love to hear them. I really want to get back into blogging to expand my reading horizons, so recommendations are always welcome :)