Genuinely curious!
I’ve never set a reading goal or tracked what I’ve read, and while I can kind of see how it may be fun to do so, personally it feels a bit like I would be taking a lot of the joy out of reading. Almost like turning something relaxing into work.
But ever since I joined this sub I’ve noticed that *loads* of people do it! Whether it’s setting goals to read X number of books in a year, tracking and cataloguing what you’ve read, even comparing reading speeds with others, or feeling bad for not hitting targets…
So I’d just love to understand this from the point of view of readers who are into it. What’s inspiring you to do it? Has it helped you in some way?
by just_writing_things
11 Comments
I just like having my books organized, so I know what I’ve read and how much I’ve enjoyed them! It doesn’t feel like a chore or like work to me, I love seeing the progress and it’s personally quite motivating to see how many books I read in a month. I like seeing the progress bar go up, and how many books I have until my yearly goal. And I can’t lie, the competitive part of me loves a good challenge, and comparing how many books I’ve read vs my friends is fun!
I started it because I often would forget what I really liked about the book and quotes or passages that hit close to home or anything that I just liked very much. So I started writing all my favorite passages in a notion spreadsheet. It helped me with remembering the stories and how the books have made me feel.
I started after getting out of the habit of reading. I loved to read as a kid. Then as a teenager I had sports and jobs. Through college I had class and work. After college I was just out of the habit and rarely picked up a book. A few years ago, I decided to make my new years resolution to read X amount of books. I liked it because it was a totally attainable number, but would require me to choose to consistently pick up a book throughout the year. Not so demanding that if I took awhile off I couldn’t catch up, but enough that I had to think about it occasionally. And I read my goal that year. Now, every year I pick a goal. It depends on how busy I anticipate the year being, but it keeps reading a priority for me and something consistent in my life. I think this is year five and I plan on sticking with it indefinitely.
I track what I read because I have a horrible memory and I track my reading because I like being able to go back and see what I’ve read and how I felt about it at the time! I also just like organizing things haha
Regarding goals, I set a goal every year of 24 books because for me personally that’s a minimum amount of reading that helps improve my mental health, so as long as I’m reading with at least that level of consistency I’m pleased. I struggle to do things even when I want to due to some mental health issues and the way my brain works, so being able to mark books as read and see progress through the year gives me something a bit more tangible to look at to make sure I’m doing well by myself. I read a lot more than 24, but I leave it there so that it doesn’t become about the numbers and so that it doesn’t add any pressure or stress in any way.
I started reading a book a week last year, so I read 52 books in 2023. It helps keep me motivated, and makes sure I prioritize time every day for reading.
I track what I read because I find many books/series have very similar titles that are easy for me to mix up. I often go 5-10 years between reading books in a series and my very short notes help orient me.
I don’t set goals. I don’t compare reading speeds. I don’t care what/when/how/who/why anyone else reads.
i read a lot (170 books last year), and i admit i sometimes lose track of what i have and have not read.
If it’s something that feels like it would take the joy out of reading or like it would turn it into work, then just don’t do it. We all find different things enjoyable.
It takes me like 30 seconds to look up and log a book, and I enjoy being able to look at my reading list at the end of the year. It’s fun to see what I read, and to notice if there are weird trends that pop up that I didn’t notice while I was reading. I always set a reading goal of a book a week, but I never feel bad if I don’t make it. It’s just a personal goal for fun, so who cares?
Helps me keep track of books when I‘m reading multiple at the same time or upcoming releases
And books I want to read, otherwise I would forget them
Also it‘s really fun to update my app when I‘m reading!
I just think it’s fun
I have a bad habit of letting my hobbies fall to the wayside when my mental health takes a turn. I’ve found that setting myself a small goal of reading, say, 10 books in a year, and being able to keep track of them all on Goodreads keeps me from falling back into my old ways. The goal is small enough to not feel like a chore, but I get a lot of satisfaction from achieving/exceeding it.