Every December, I compile a list of “book priorities,” which includes all the books I want to read and/or try throughout the upcoming year. I pull the list from several sources: my audio queue, my physical and virtual TBR, my library hold list, anything in my “to investigate” list on GoodReads, and any books I want to read that will be published throughout the year. The list is usually between 20 and 30 books long, and by the midway point of the year, I’ve gone through a large chunk of them. For 2019, I had 26 books on the priorities list, and as of right now, there are 10 left. Of those 10, six have not been published and three are waiting for RIP season. Which really leaves only a single possibility on the list at present – and that means it’s time to make a new list, as I usually do around the midpoint of each year.

My mid-year priorities list is less formal than the one I create in December. I kind of think of it as a rollover list – whatever doesn’t get read/culled from it ends up as the next year’s priorities. It’s really just a way for me to drag all my various lists (Goodreads, Audible, library, etc) into one location so that I don’t forget about stuff that might be buried deep in a queue. These lists also get me excited about reading again, after a few months of slump in this year’s case. I have 22 books on the new list, not including the 10 still on the original. There’s LGBTQ+ graphic novels (Gender Queer, My Lesbian Experience With Loneliness), non-European fantasty (David Mogo Godhunter, The Bird King, Soul of the Sword), new releases from authors I love (Leigh Bardugo, Rainbow Rowell, G. Willow Wilson, Maggie Stiefvater, Brandon Sanderson), and so much more. Unlike my original list from the year, I see a lot more reads and a lot fewer culls on this upcoming list, and that makes me happy. It’s been quite some time since I had a lot on my TBR that I was excited about!