I also set an 80 book goal this year and fell short. My goal for 2025 is to try and make it through the longer classics. I’ve never read Victor Hugo for example. It’ll help improve my writing too. Great post!
That’s an incredible goal! And I think you’ll feel more rewarded if you finished 1 difficult, long, thought-provoking classic versus 3 random books! Best of luck & happy reading!💘
I agree. I hit 100 books this year for the first time and probably won't shoot for it again. I did read some great books this year but the goal of a quantity seems shallow to me at this point!
Agreed! After I read 100 books back in 2021, I vowed never to do that again. I felt that I didn’t have time to really appreciate or enjoy the books that I read. I think quantity reading goals are great for beginners getting into the habit of reading, but pairing that reading goal with a learning goal will actually help you commit to reading + help you grow intellectually
I love this! I just wrote about regretting setting a numerical reading goal for books. Instead I’m taking the quality over quantity approach and choosing the books ahead of time. 🤍
I agree! I used to think I have to quantify my reading goals and I can get an idea of how many books I can read in a year. But after reading this post, I guess I don’t care if I’m 2 books off my reading challenge now! Thank you!
Absolutely! The quality of reading books is more important than the quantity of books. Sometimes reading a single beautiful book can give more joy and happiness than skimming through 100 books. I personally don't count the number of books I read; I focus only on how much I can learn and unlearn from a book. If I am not satisfied with a book, I will reread it to get to the crux and nuances of the book. But for beginners, I think counting the number of books can provide some initial motivation to read. When I started reading, my initial goal was to read a minimum of two pages a day. These small goals brought consistency and pulled me into the world of joyful reading. Now, reading has become both a means and an end to me. So, goal setting might be helpful for starters, and as we get absorbed into reading, we no longer need any goals to enjoy the process.
I agree 1000% with you! I stopped my reading goals challenge a few months ago because I did not want to add something totally irrelevant to my "to keep up with" list. Life is already challenging enough, so the last thing I wanted to do was add more pressure to something I enjoy so much such as reading!
I also set an 80 book goal this year and fell short. My goal for 2025 is to try and make it through the longer classics. I’ve never read Victor Hugo for example. It’ll help improve my writing too. Great post!
That’s an incredible goal! And I think you’ll feel more rewarded if you finished 1 difficult, long, thought-provoking classic versus 3 random books! Best of luck & happy reading!💘
I agree. I hit 100 books this year for the first time and probably won't shoot for it again. I did read some great books this year but the goal of a quantity seems shallow to me at this point!
Agreed! After I read 100 books back in 2021, I vowed never to do that again. I felt that I didn’t have time to really appreciate or enjoy the books that I read. I think quantity reading goals are great for beginners getting into the habit of reading, but pairing that reading goal with a learning goal will actually help you commit to reading + help you grow intellectually
I love this! I just wrote about regretting setting a numerical reading goal for books. Instead I’m taking the quality over quantity approach and choosing the books ahead of time. 🤍
This is such a wise approach to reading. Good thinking; great article!
I agree! I used to think I have to quantify my reading goals and I can get an idea of how many books I can read in a year. But after reading this post, I guess I don’t care if I’m 2 books off my reading challenge now! Thank you!
As long as you feel intellectually fulfilled, that’s all that really matters!
Absolutely! The quality of reading books is more important than the quantity of books. Sometimes reading a single beautiful book can give more joy and happiness than skimming through 100 books. I personally don't count the number of books I read; I focus only on how much I can learn and unlearn from a book. If I am not satisfied with a book, I will reread it to get to the crux and nuances of the book. But for beginners, I think counting the number of books can provide some initial motivation to read. When I started reading, my initial goal was to read a minimum of two pages a day. These small goals brought consistency and pulled me into the world of joyful reading. Now, reading has become both a means and an end to me. So, goal setting might be helpful for starters, and as we get absorbed into reading, we no longer need any goals to enjoy the process.
I agree 1000% with you! I stopped my reading goals challenge a few months ago because I did not want to add something totally irrelevant to my "to keep up with" list. Life is already challenging enough, so the last thing I wanted to do was add more pressure to something I enjoy so much such as reading!
Exactly! When our main goal for reading is a vanity metric, it takes away the main point of reading (which is learn & grow intellectually)
Well put!