Do you set any kind of reading goals?
Do you try to read a certain number of books a year?
Do you want to read more of a certain genre? Or just more of a variety of genres?
I am curious to hear about any kind of reading goals you may have.
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No, reading should be fun, not a task.
That’s totally fair, some folks like it, some folks don’t. As long as you are content, that’s all that matters.
Not sure if entirely appropriate for the community (or fediverse really) but last year I came close to reading each issue of the Economist cover to cover. This year, I want to do it including all the special reports plus my couple issue backlog.
Though in these turbulent times, that may get too depressing.
In our bingo challenge for example, we try to make it so it fits for any recreational reading (recreation being activities you freely choose to engage in when there are no other pressures on your time).
I’d say this counts unless it’s required for work or studies.
Good to know! And yup, absolutely recreational.
That counts in my book! I hope you do reach that goal, but I also completely understand the hesitancy 💚
Thanks!
To read books I enjoy? Why should I have reading goals? Sounds like a great way to put me off reading.
That’s totally fair! Some folks like to make goals while others don’t. As long as you are happy with what you read, that’s all that matters.
I went big last year and set a goal of 100 books/audiobooks. I didnt think I had a super high chance of making it initially but I actually ended up doing it. It was like 85% audiobooks and probably 20% of that was stuff I had read or listened to before but it still felt good to hit that goal. My 2026 goal is to try to get through everything that I currently own but have not read yet, which is probably 20-30 books total so not nearly as many but all physical books and mostly non-fiction so it will be a good change of pace.
I did The Count of Monte Cristo last year, so I was thinking of tackling Don Quixote in 2026.
I read lots of other books too I mean, just that I’m aiming to specifically read that one.
That’s still a good goal. It’s kind of like my goal, to get through some of the books in my personal collection, my read to unread ratio is embarrassing. I hope you enjoy Don Quixote if you do pick it up.
Every year, my goal is to read more than I did during the year before. Last year, I aimed for two books a month and I ended up going over so this year, I’ll shoot for 3 a month, or 36 books.
I want to read more but life makes it really hard to find time. Audiobooks are my saving grace.
I think that’s a good goal. I’m not much of an audiobook person myself, but I do like that it helps others read more so I can discuss books. Good luck!
I read 36 books last year. Most of them were 300 pages or less. This year, I’m going to try reading at least 18 books, some of them being more than 300 pages long or rereads. I think that reading that many books will improve my retention.
Furthermore, I usually “study” philosophical and political texts. This year, I will try to look for some novels.
I make my goals low enough to be slam dunks. Last year it was 6 and the year before that it was 8. The goal of the goal is to just keep going even after I hit it. What threw my 2022 goal WAYYYY off was reading Count of Monte Cristo. Took me 8 months to complete, making ‘22 a 3-book completion year.
I’ve heard Count of Monte Cristo can be kind of slow. I like that your goal is to keep going you hit your goal. As long as you’re reading something 😊
The last couple of years I’ve been trying to read stuff in 4 languages. This year I want to read books equally spread out across those languages. I’ll probably go for 16 books, 4 from each. Finding interesting books in my target languages is also part of the challenge
That’s a really cool goal and a fun way to learn other languages. Is there a certain genre of book you like to read in other languages?
That’s part of the fun actually as different countries prefer different genres. So there’ll be much more sci-fi in English than in Spanish for example where I’ll read mostly horror and drama.
That does sound like fun. Now you have me considering trying to read some horror in Spanish, but I’m not sure my Spanish is that good yet.
If you do try it Argentina has many good books (even though their Spanish may be a bit harder).
In 2024, I set a goal of 52 books and by the end it felt like a chore. In 2025, I scaled back to a goal of 25 books and ended up easily reading 52.
For 2026, I decided my goal is to go through some of the unread books in my personal collection. Specifically, I would like to get through some of the book series I’ve been carrying around for a while. Some of these are:
- Sekret Machines by Tom DeLonge and A.J. Hartley (3 books)
- The Legendborn Cycle by Tracy Deon (3 books)
- Uncharted Hearts by Constance Fay (3 books)
- Dune by Frank Herbert (I have 6 books)
- The Dandelion Dynasty by Ken Liu (4 books)
- The Protectorate by Megan E. O’Keefe (3 books)
- The Otherland series by Tad Williams (4 books)
Do you set any kind of reading goals?
Nope. I know in advance many of the books I will read this year, that’s about it.
To be honest, I never worried much about how much I read, I worry more about what I read. Nowadays even more than ever as I’m getting old, with serious health issue. I know (my remaining reading) time is scarce ;)
That’s totally fair. I’ve started trying to consider more of what I read this year as well. Good luck and I hope you find more time than you think to read.
Thx, I will do my best to find more. And congrats on focusing more on selecting what you read. I hope you will appreciate the change it should bring :)
I’ve set my goal at 26 for the past 5 years and always seem to just scrape by. Last year included quite a few graphic novels…
So the goal is 26 with fewer GNs I suppose.
I understand that! I enjoy reading graphic novels as well. Good luck!
Other than reading for the community book bingo, my only goals are to read more authors of color (doable) and to cross off more titles from my TBR pile than I add (really unlikely).
I get the second part, my TBR is basically my book collection and this year I’m trying to get the read to unread ration better. It’s pretty bad now.
Reading more diversely is a good thing. I started doing that a few years ago and I found a lot of great authors and stories out there.
Good luck on both your goals!
My reading goal for now is being able to go through Lord of the Rings once again with a newborn daughter on my hands, ahahahahah. I think this will be a year when quantity is going to count less.
Oh my, that’s a tough goal! Congrats on the new kid! There is a dramatized audiobook version of those floating around somewhere, if that might help. I wish you luck on your journey with a newborn and trying to read! 💚
Mostly just to finish Wheel of Time I think.
I’d also like to read Dungeon Crawler Carl #8 early summer.
I’ll probably read Sunrise on the Reaping before the movie drops as well.
Other than that, I don’t usually set hard goals. I just like to read. ^_^
Oh yeah, maybe I’ll finish the rest of the Red Rising series. I took a break at the end of book 3, since it seemed like a solid stopping point. Oh yeah, and I want to read the Poppy War (trilogy?) and Blood Meridian…
Backlogs are hard.
I think no goals and just read is a great goal! I used to push myself more, but I think I’ve finally got the habit down enough that I don’t need to. I’m at the point where I read more than I watch tv.
My backlog is kind of crazy too. My TBR is basically my bookcase 🤣
