I feel this in a big way! My first year of using Goodreads had a bittersweet influence on my reading habits. I was so jazzed to see how many books I had read after a years-long reading lull, but then couldn't help but obsess over making my 50 book goal by the end of the year. This year I set a way smaller goal, and have read 50+. Turns out reading for pleasure yields more rewards than reading for productivity?!
I have an eye condition atm that makes reading physical books difficult, which is how I discovered audiobooks. For a while it felt like 'cheating', but now that I am used to it, I'm definitely a convert.
I often see people say 'I read X books this year' and have no idea how they keep track. You track using Goodreads?
I love this. I've had a goal to read 25 books in a year for the last two years, and I think I may just make it this year! Choosing the right books is KEY, and I always forget about audio books.
During the initial pandemic years, I barely read a handful of books (most likely because I no longer had a 2-hour daily commute). I decided to make a social media-accountable effort to read more books this year, and I've gotten through 24 so far (hoping to make it to 25). It's definitely easier when I'm sucked into the story rather than doing the math on how many pages per day will allow me to finish in two weeks (much like calculating how much longer I have to keep running on the treadmill to make the mile). On the one hand, it's nice to just read at my own pace for fun, on the other, not reading as much hasn't stopped me from buying books, and two new bookshelves later I need to start stacking on the floor again...
Loved this! I’ve actually been thinking about this recently. I’ve always been very strict about giving myself reading goals every year—“I’m going to read X number of books in 2022”—and always find that at the end of the year it leads to me reading tons of tiny poetry chapbooks just to meet some inconsequential goal, just to feel like I did what I set out to do. I’ve decided for 2023 to just read what feels natural. Excited to see how it plays out!
Signed up and looking forward to the zoom discussions on writing and creativity. Has the first book been picked?
I feel this in a big way! My first year of using Goodreads had a bittersweet influence on my reading habits. I was so jazzed to see how many books I had read after a years-long reading lull, but then couldn't help but obsess over making my 50 book goal by the end of the year. This year I set a way smaller goal, and have read 50+. Turns out reading for pleasure yields more rewards than reading for productivity?!
I have an eye condition atm that makes reading physical books difficult, which is how I discovered audiobooks. For a while it felt like 'cheating', but now that I am used to it, I'm definitely a convert.
I often see people say 'I read X books this year' and have no idea how they keep track. You track using Goodreads?
I love this. I've had a goal to read 25 books in a year for the last two years, and I think I may just make it this year! Choosing the right books is KEY, and I always forget about audio books.
During the initial pandemic years, I barely read a handful of books (most likely because I no longer had a 2-hour daily commute). I decided to make a social media-accountable effort to read more books this year, and I've gotten through 24 so far (hoping to make it to 25). It's definitely easier when I'm sucked into the story rather than doing the math on how many pages per day will allow me to finish in two weeks (much like calculating how much longer I have to keep running on the treadmill to make the mile). On the one hand, it's nice to just read at my own pace for fun, on the other, not reading as much hasn't stopped me from buying books, and two new bookshelves later I need to start stacking on the floor again...
Loved this! I’ve actually been thinking about this recently. I’ve always been very strict about giving myself reading goals every year—“I’m going to read X number of books in 2022”—and always find that at the end of the year it leads to me reading tons of tiny poetry chapbooks just to meet some inconsequential goal, just to feel like I did what I set out to do. I’ve decided for 2023 to just read what feels natural. Excited to see how it plays out!