Does it Matter How Many Books You read in a Year?
Perhaps now is the time to start prioritising quality over quantity
Having a list of books you want to read, or even a number of books as a target to read in a year, can help us stay on track and help form a reading habit — sometimes. But this pressure to read a certain amount of books in a given amount of time can turn reading into a chore rather than an enjoyable hobby.
If you’re on Goodreads and use the reading challenge, you’ll know how it will say you are ‘behind schedule’ if you’re not reading enough books per month to meet your yearly challenge. It can be depressing to log on, only to get a telling off. But above all, it can make you feel like you’re not reading enough. It can make you feel inadequate and want to give up reading altogether.
We live in a world which always prioritises more over less, in any capacity. But this focus on reading solely in terms of how much we can get through may obscure the value and enjoyment we should get from reading in the first place. When I was younger, I used to whizz through books and get a real thrill from it. Nowadays, as my reading is more of a snail pace, I’m trying to see the value in quality instead of quantity.
The reason I’m starting this newsletter with this anecdote is that this month, we’ve had a lot of stories about the negative side effects of setting yourself a reading challenge or goal — primarily facilitated through Goodreads. Reading these has helped me re-evaluate my relationship with books and what I perceive as reading ‘success’ and I hope they’ve done the same for you, too.
Updates on A Thousand Lives
We’ve had a really successful month despite various algorithm changes happening across the platform 🎉
- We are now accepting new writers via email instead of commenting on the Write for Us page. We will be processing these weekly, so please allow 5 working days for us to get back to you. If you want to be added as a writer, please drop us a line: [email protected] with your username, or alternatively, you can use our contact form.
- We have two new editors, Sophie F. and Sam Hewitson, who are helping with publishing articles and sharing them across social media. Go ahead and give them a follow!
- Our distribution rate has increased hugely — in February we had a rate of 44% and in March that increased to 80%! This is largely due to writers sticking to the new style guide.
- We now have well over 100 followers and writers 🥰
Every month I do a round-up of some of my favourite pieces we’ve published. Please note, if you’re not featured, it’s not because I didn’t enjoy your story. This would be an awfully long newsletter if I mentioned everything! In case you missed them, these are three of our stories I *particularly* enjoyed this month.
Stop Reading Faster, and Instead Read Better, Fleurine Tideman
The first thing we think about when we pick up a book to read, shouldn't be about how long it will take us to read it or how best we can move onto the next one. We should savour every moment we get to share with a great read. Because, as Fleurine reminds us, each book has been crafted by a writer who has poured their heart out on every page for us to read.
To honour them, we should take our time with everything and not be in a rush to race to the finishing line. Rushing, stressing and panicking about our book numbers for the year being low is a waste of time.
Instead, we should be focusing on pouring all of our energy into every book we read and never look back. Less is more, hey?
10 Books Every Woman Should Read in Their Lifetime, Maryam Merchant
International Women’s Day on March 8 seemed to have a lingering impact on the internet, which I’m all here for. I love seeing an abundance of content online celebrating the successes of women all over the world.
And in the book community, we should all be using every opportunity to celebrate the efforts of an intersectional cohort of women writers in an industry that is still dominated by men. Maryam provides us with an excellent recommendation list of books by powerful women spanning across the genres from business to self-help.
If you’re looking to read more books by inspirational women (which we all should be) look no further.
Why I’m Pulling Back On My 2021 Reading Goal, Logan Noble
Quality is constantly negated over quantity in many spheres of life — books included. I’ve been on the platform, Goodreads, for as long as I can remember. What I use it most for is the TBR (to be read) function. Whenever I read about a book I’d like to read, I’ll head over and add it to my list. The result is several years worth of books I’m not prepared to abandon if I give up on the platform.
It’s useful in many ways, but it naturally encourages competitiveness and the idea that reading more books is always better. But Logan reminds us that this is not always the case.
Reading should always be enjoyable, and just because we read less, it doesn’t mean we don’t gain as much — as quality can trump quantity. If you’re feeling overwhelmed that you’re not ‘reading enough’ then head over to this story and take a read. You’ll definitely feel better about it.
In short, it doesn’t matter how many books you read in a year and it absolutely doesn’t measure your worth as a reader. Sometimes it’s better to sit back and leisurely read a book, taking each and every word in for as long as you need. With every book, comes hours of writing and editing from the author and it would be a disservice if we rushed through everything we read.
A reminder — we are always looking for new writers — be sure to contact us if you would like to get involved.
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“Reading is an act of civilization; it’s one of the greatest acts of civilization because it takes the free raw material of the mind and builds castles of possibilities.” — Ben Okri
