Summary

The author reflects on the personal approach to reading goals, emphasizing the importance of reading enjoyment and diversity over numerical targets, while also sharing their intention to read classics, discover new books, and support fellow writers.

Abstract

The article discusses the author's ambivalent relationship with reading goals, particularly the annual challenge they set on Goodreads. Despite historically meeting their goal of 100 books per year, the author acknowledges the pressure these targets can impose, leading them to reconsider the value of such quantitative objectives. Instead, they propose a more qualitative approach to reading, focusing on savoring good books, exploring diverse genres, and reading for pleasure without the constraint of a specific number. The author expresses a desire to engage deeply with books, discover new authors, and enjoy the process without the stress of achieving a predetermined goal. Additionally, they encourage readers to explore the library's shelves for unknown titles and to read works that provoke strong emotions or thought-provoking content. The article also promotes the reading of award-winning books and supports the idea of celebrating the new year every day as a mindset for continuous appreciation of life. Lastly, the author invites readers to join Medium and support writers by using provided links.

Opinions

The author questions the usefulness of setting a numerical reading goal, suggesting it may detract from the enjoyment of reading.
They believe that a diverse reading list is more important than reaching a specific number of books.
The author values the experience of reading a classic and finding new books by chance at the library.
Reading should be an immersive experience that can break the habit of mindless social media scrolling.
Discovering new authors and enjoying new work from favorites is a priority for the author's reading goals.
The author is keen on reading books that they would enthusiastically recommend to others.
They seek out books that elicit a range of emotions, from happiness to fear.

Book Prompt

Goals? We Don’t Need No Stinking Goals

Why I Hope to Ignore My Reading Goals.

I am back from my holiday writing hiatus. I am happy to see Marrisa W. has another book prompt to kickstart my new year in writing. The link is below if you would like to play along.

A Bibliophile's New Year Resolutions Prompt Times 11

New year resolutions, but for book-lovers

medium.com

Despite what is implied by my title. I do have a reading goal set on Goodreads. I always set my Goodreads challenge at 100. For many years, I was able to hit that 100. I missed it for the first time in 2019. I struggled even more in 2020 and a friend mentioned that you can reset the goal, so I did. I started 2021 with a goal of 100 and then reduced it to 90. I hit 89. You can read my year in books post here. I have set my challenge at 100 again this year, but as the year goes on I might change it to fit my reading progress. I don’t need Goodreads making me feel like a failure by reminding me I am off my pace.

I wrote about the downside of goals here.

I like the Goodreads challenge because it helps me keep track of my reading for the year. It is valuable as I do my monthly and yearly reading recap articles, but I don’t want to use it as my real reading goal. An artificial number as the standard is not the best. If I make 100 books but did so because I didn’t savor the good books or skipped books that are too big is it really a worthwhile goal? If I can’t enjoy my 900 pages Ken Follett book because that number is staring me down, then it does more harm than good.

I want my reading goals to be less number-based.

I want to make sure my reading is diverse.

I want to read a classic this year.

I want to find a book on the shelf at the library that I’ve never heard of.

I want to read books that will engross me so much that I break my habit of pausing to scroll mindlessly through social media.

I want to discover new authors, but also enjoy new work by my favorites.

I want to read books that I want to recommend to everyone I know.

I want to read books that make me smile.

I want to read a book that scares me.

I want to read the Youth Media Award winners.

I want to read the books nominated for an Edgar Award.

I want to enjoy reading so much that my screen time drops considerably.

It would be great to accomplish all of that and still read 100 books. It might happen. It has happened before. I will not hesitate, though, to reduce that number if I think it will help me focus on what’s important about my reading and not a random number.

Speaking of the new year, Alex Rosado’s article below gives us a great way to live in the new year. I will try my best to celebrate every day.

We Should Celebrate New Year Every Day

It is not the day that matters, it is the intention.

medium.com

Speaking of the new year again – Why not start it by using this link to join Medium and support writers like me. Or click here to buy me a Ko-fi.