The Picky Pledge 2020

2020 is the sixth (!) year of The Picky Pledge, a low-key collaboration with Hannah from So Obsessed With where we strive to be intentional when it comes to acquiring and reading books.

The underlying aim of this project has always been to curate our TBRs and get them down to a more manageable number. With this in mind, we chose to narrow down the statistic we shared to just one: the sources for the books we read last year. I had a total of 250 reads, and the source breakdown is as follows: 

• Purchased: 43 (17%) 
• Owned: 82 (33%) 
• Gifted: 7 (3%) 
• Borrowed: 34 (14%) 
• Review: 82 (33%) 

I’m so happy that I read more of my own books (whether already in my library or newly purchased)! Personally, this feels like a monumental improvement and I’m proud of my progress. I wasn’t expecting my number of borrowed books to be this high, but I did use the library a lot more. I’d like to continue cultivating these reading habits in 2020, and perhaps maybe attempt to get that percentage of review books even lower. 

It’s now time to check in on how I did on The Picky Pledge Reading Challenge in 2019. Here are all the things I read to fulfill the challenges!

• A book you bought for the cover: Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
• A book you bought based on a recommendation: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
• A book you bought for the hook: Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames

• A book you bought because it was on sale: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch 
• A book you bought because it’s the next in a series: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater 
• A book you bought in a different format: The Diviners by Libba Bray

• A book you bought because of the author: Catwoman: Soulstealer by Sarah J. Maas
• A book you were gifted: A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab
• A book you pre-ordered… but haven’t read yet: Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff

• A book you bought more than three years ago: The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
• A book you bought because of the hype: Vicious by V.E. Schwab
• A book you bought because of the topic: Circe by Madeline Miller

We will still be doing The Picky Pledge Reading Challenge in 2020! The categories will be the same as they were last year, for the sake of simplicity. We’ll be updating you on our progress next January (though I may try to squeeze in a mid-year update) when we revisit The Picky Pledge. 

As always, if you want to join us in being more intentional with buying and reading books, you are more than welcome to do so! Here’s to hoping that 2020 is another successful reading year for us all.