Reading Goals, Yay or Nay?
Good Afternoon Book Nerds,
How’s your week going so far? Good I hope! Keep on trucking, you can do this!
It’s been a hot minute since the last random post I’ve had on here, so I wanted to get some more opinions.
The question like last time is simple. Do you set reading goals, yay or nay?
Personally, I can see why people set reading goals. If you want to read more and have a way to track your progress, that totally makes sense. And reading more is a great thing to want! So many people just don’t read all that much today.
Personally, I do not set reading goals for myself.
Being a reader and writer, my time is very scant, and in the past I’ve stressed myself out trying to get everything done. So when I do get some time to myself, I like to relax and read without any kind of pressure.
Basically I fear that by setting a reading goal I’m making reading a job. The last thing I want to do is feel that way, so I tend to read at whatever speed I can handle. Typically that’s about a week for a book. If I fell behind on a reading goal, that pressure would eventually get to me, and I just don’t see it in a positive way, at least not for myself.
So what do you think? Are reading goals a great thing or are they for the birds?
Feel free to tell me all about your opinion in the comments, and have a great day!
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Your argument makes sense. I think putting too much pressure on reading is a sure way to burn out. I record every book I’ve read, and I try to read 52 books a year, but in the last few years I’ve fallen well below that limit. Last year I discovered the goal on goodreads and set it to 50 books, but after reaching that total in almost a month, I changed it to 100 and flew past by a couple of books. This year I’m aiming for 150, but if I reach my goal of 50 books read before the end of March, I’ll be heading towards 200. It’s motivating me at the moment, I like seeing that I’m so many books above target (11 at the moment), but I’m not going to let it get to me if it’s no longer fun. It’s a self imposed target.
Thanks, I was hoping to not come off as neurotic. I just don’t think using the GoodReads goal is a healthy idea for my personality. The balance between reading and writing is so tough already, and I’m prone to dropping my writing goals so I can just read, which sounds good if I never want to get published again lol.
Still, I’m super proud of you and all the books you plan on reading. That’s seriously amazing! I think I read about 50-55 last year, but a few of them were short stories.
Thanks 😊 I like goal setting, but when I start beating myself up because I’ve fallen behind on my reading or writing goal, well, it’s not working and becomes a disincentive. Your writing is much more important, Jonny! I need your book to be one of my 200 this year. 😊
Yeah, I’m good with goals too, but too many goals will make me cray cray, haha!
Aww thanks friend! I just finished the second to last chapter of the second act on my lunch break. One more chapter to go, then all I have is my brief third act!
Yay!
I’ve done reading goals before, but they felt false because the number of books I ended up reading depended on stuff like the thickness of each book and the reading level of each book. So now I still have reading goals, but they’re not based on numbers. For example, I have a goal this year to include in my readings one non-fiction book per month, and another goal to work through a craft (writing) book by the end of March.
Great answer!
I don’t believe I ever really judged by the length of a book other than avoiding things over 600 pages in general. It kind of frightens me.
I like your goals! I’ve contemplated reading books on writing for sure, but have yet to do so. It’s definitely not a bad idea!
Knowledge is power