Hey all, wanted to share a perspective that I’ve had recently about the nature of reading and how the way we track things points us towards different outcomes.
I’ve been into reading for a long time, but only recently have picked it up again since high school. And of course in looking at booktubers I was quick to make a reading goal of 30 books that year (which didn’t go so well at first lol).
Much of this was due to me needing to build momentum in the habit – Initially, I happened to not read many books that grabbed me that I really thought would (definitely happens!). I think a reading goal here was in some ways helpful to keep my mind on reading as something I wanted to do more of.
My fable account is funny because the last 3 months of 2024 there were like 8 or so books each month, I had an amazing experience but didn’t reach my goal in the end (which is also ok).
My reading this year has since leveled out to about a book a week, and the presence of my reading goal of 50 books really made me reflect on what outcome that kind of tracking is working towards.
I realized that a reading goal for the sheer number of books read in a year does not measure what’s important to me at all.
The end goal of that kind of tracking is to have read as many books as possible (or how many I feel I wanted to read). I could make a goal of 100, but it wouldn’t at all track how much I got from those books, how much they changed my life, or how much they shifted my perspective.
I don’t care about ‘having read’ a lot of books, I care about the act of reading books, the love of the experience, and the way that books change my life and move me. A numeric reading goal doesn’t do anything for me here, and it’s actually in some ways counterproductive to those true goals/outcomes of mine.
The worry of not reading enough books or getting behind my reading goal is such a huge waste of stress, such a crazy thing as humans to create a scoring system for oneself that makes them feel bad (even if it’s a little bit). I don’t need that extra stress in my life, I doubt anyone does.
So I’m removing my reading goal completely for next year and focusing on what I love and value in books. I’ve built the habit and don’t need the momentum I did in the beginning, and I feel like many other people feel similarly to me.
I’m not sure I’m going to replace a standard reading goal with anything yet. Though I’ve considered giving books next year a rating for gore much they moved me or how entertaining they were in order to track towards the goals I really care about. It’s possible that a similar effect may creep in in a different way.
To reiterate, I think reading goals can be great for someone who’s trying to build the habit or get momentum in the passion of reading. It seems like many of us who have a solid habit would benefit from reflecting on what we truly want to get out of it. Is it to tell other people how many books we read this year? To tell ourselves? To be considered ‘well read’? Or because books have changed our lives and moved us in ways we can’t get anywhere else?
by DungeonMasterGrizzly
16 Comments
I keep a reading goal that I hope I just end up somewhere near. The point is to motivate being a reader, not to crush a bunch of small books to feel superior.
I dont set a goal. I just keep track.
My only reading goal is to decrease my audible un-listened backlog.
I like to keep track of what I’ve read each year. I read fast. If it’s not working for you, don’t do it! It works for plenty of people who aren’t trying to build the habit back. I personally read for entertainment mostly, not to have my life changed, although there obviously have been books that have moved me. Seems like you are feeling guilty about not meeting your goal and it’s causing all of these thoughts, so maybe you’re on the right track to not set a number goal next year.
I usually set a goal, and hold it very loosely. I’m quick to change it at any point in the year if I’m feeling any kind of pressure from it. My motivation really ebbs and flows with reading, and making sure to get at least 1 book in a given month can give me the boost I need to get going again. So I think with my personality, keeping track and setting a casual goal is perfect. I like what you said about reflecting about what you get out of setting a goal. Because I think the best approach will be different for everyone!
I’m not sure that many people even really count how many books they read in the grand scheme. I wouldn’t overthink it. I have a reading goal because it helps motivate me to spread my attention to books over other distractions. If having one works for you, good. If not having one works for you, also good.
Yeah, don’t have goals, don’t track. Just read books I think I’ll like and keep reading if it turns out I do.
Totally agree with you. I didn’t set a goal after doing 52 for several years running. Very freeing and opened up time for some other hobbies as well. Cheers!
I read for pleasure. Why turn it into a task. I’ve never understood reading goals.
I don’t set reading goals for number of books or pages read, only for time spent reading. Like you said, I’m more interested in making reading a solid daily habit than I am in meeting an arbitrary goal.
I have never had a reading goal because reading has been my default pastime since the age of six.
But I agree. If you have one, drop it. If you need motivation to read then why bother? If you don’t, then keep up the good work. 🙂
I set a general goal just to motivate myself, as it can be easy to fall into the TV/scrolling trap, but I don’t much care if I actually meet the goal, as I often read very long books that sometimes take longer to read than I anticipated.
I agree that reading goals are mostly dumb and performative.
I only set one because then it shows me quickly how many books I’ve read so far this year. There’s no other fast way to see that on Goodreads until the year is up! I just have an arbitrary and low goal basically. I purely find the stats interesting.
The best thing I did for my reading was to stop tracking it and setting a reading goal.
My reading goal is 52 books a year knowing that some months I might only read a single book and others I might read 6-8 books.
It works for me, and I like knowing that I’m roughly reading 1 book week. I genuinely don’t know who stresses out over their reading goal.