I maintain a reading inbox to cast a wider net for possible useful materials for all my projects. However, to keep my reading more focused on my writing projects, I maintain a reading list. I focus my reading list and make it my own by narrowing down on books that help me work on my specific writing projects, improve my writing in general, and expand my understanding of literature as a whole.

An initial part of my reading list are my abc books, which are made of anthologies, book of prompts, and craft references. I keep physical copies of books in this list as much as possible and keep them nearby.

My reading list is divided into four categories:

1. Competitive
2. Contextual
3. Contemporary
4. Classics

Competitive books or comps are the closest to the work I want to create. The are in the same genre as my work and they cover similar themes I explore. Comps point me to authors whose readers could also be my readers.

Contextual books don't have to be in my genre but they should be exploring the themes I'm exploring. They may also use techniques I want to use. When exploring a specific technique, it is helpful to track the earliest material where it appeared.

Contemporary books are any books in my genre published in the past three years. It is important to read them so I'm updated of recent trends and techniques in my genre. It is also helpful to be updated of books written by the founder of my genre.

Classics should also be read to expand my understanding of literature. However, it's best to consume them in short-form literature.

At any given time, I have at least 12 books in my reading list with at least 2 books in each category.

I aim to read through my list within one year, which means I try to read at least one book per month.

While I'm careful to add materials into my reading list, sometimes I'll need to read at least ten pages to determine whether to continue reading or drop it. If I want to give it more chance, I'll read at most 10 percent of it.

Here is my reading list.

References

Pereira, G. (2016). DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community. Writer’s Digest Books.