(annual) reading goals seem pointless

what's the difference if I read 15 or 30 books in a year

an example, from google

I’ve never been one to set reading goals for myself, or even music or movie or TV show goals, in which I have to consume X number of books/albums/movies/shows/etc per year or month or whatever. I didn’t know these types of goals were popular until I saw people online say “I want to read 100 books in one year.” I’ve always thought it was a bit outrageous. It made me kind of frustrated, but I never really knew why. Then, while thinking about how much I enjoyed the book I had just read, I randomly had an epiphany on why I felt this way, so I went on a midnight rant in my notes app when I should’ve been asleep.

With minor editing and clarifications, this is what I wrote down:

What good is a reading goal? “I want to read ten books.” Not everything can be answered quantitatively. What you’re looking for may not be a number, or, if it is, maybe it shouldn’t be. A better reading goal is to try to find a book that changes your perspective. That makes you feel deeply for someone that maybe isn’t even real. That you want to continue reading so bad you lose sleep over it. That teaches you something you didn’t even know was a thing. Maybe a different direction? Read enough from an author that you can decide if you like them. You’ll know when it’s enough, and you won’t know until it’s happened. Not everything needs a predestined mile marker. Sometimes you just have to be intuitive; you just have to feel. You have to close your eyes and be still for a moment to know that you did it. Not everything worthwhile is found from a spreadsheet or totaling up a list. I don’t read to tick off boxes. I don’t think I’d enjoy that. 

I think I had to write it down because I finally understood why I felt so opposed to these sorts of reading goals. I don’t see the benefit in saying I read 100 books in a year if I could instead let myself set my own pace and get more out of the books regardless of how many I read. What is the specific benefit from that specific number of books? For myself, I can’t really think of one. I’ll read when I can because I know that I will read, and I’ll just see how many books I end up with (last year it was like 16). Whether you mean to or not, things like that can become more about checking things off a list than really enjoying reading.

I notice it when I’m near the end of the book or a chapter, and there’s one more stop left on the train. I try to read more quickly than usual to get to the end because it would be convenient, but I can tell that it’s turning off a part of my brain. I don’t absorb the ideas and words as well, or I don’t spend enough time consciously reading to enjoy the book. Instead, I’m too stressed about getting to the end to pay attention enough to enjoy it as much as I would have if I were reading without that pressure.

Things like “I want to read 50 books by X date” remind me of that feeling. I just don’t understand what you get at the end. The ability to say you read 50 books? I’d rather have a goal that is more tied to what I’m getting from the books.

Do I want to finally read a certain genre or author soon? Do I want to make it to the end of a long classic that’ll be challenging to read but ultimately be a worthwhile contribution to my knowledge and learning? Do I hope that I’ll find a new favorite book this year? Another 5/5 star find? Do I want to read something that feels like it’s ripping out my chest to feel catharsis? Maybe I want to read a book that someone else is reading because I’ll have someone to talk about it with face to face.

I just feel like the more vague, feeling- or idea-based goals can produce a better result or more enhanced reading than those number-oriented ones.

It may sound like I’m against numbers, but that’s not the point. I just think that everything has a time and place, and something that I’m doing to benefit my mind and thoughts and feelings probably won’t be described best with numbers. For goals about health or finances, it makes sense to strive for a specific number. Trying to lower or increase unhealthy levels of certain nutrients and hormones makes sense because there’s a range of ideal numbers to be a healthy person. On the other hand, the benefits from books aren’t as tangible. There are better things to strive for that can also make the act of reading more fun for you.

Because this is the internet and I’m sharing an opinion, I’ll put a disclaimer. It does make sense to use numbers for things like time: I want to spend an hour reading before bed. Still, I think these goals should be a bit more flexible to ensure you’re doing what you truly want or need. Maybe it’s “When I spend nights in, I want to read for an hour so I don’t spend it on my phone.” That way when you’re tired after getting home late and needing sleep you don’t feel like you’re a failure because you didn’t read every single night. Then it won’t be a chore and you’ll allow yourself to read when you’d actually be excited to read. Maybe you never read and you just want to read at least 1 book. Or maybe you truly do like the idea of the challenge of reading 50 books in one year. I don’t mean to say that by itself doesn’t mean you’re not enjoying reading or anything. I just don’t see the point in focusing on one number, and I feel like, at the least, you shouldn’t be hard on yourself if you don’t reach it as long as you still enjoyed the journey.

I guess that last sentence kind of summarizes my point. I think that those annual reading goals focus too much on the destination and not enough (or, at all) on the journey. Maybe you can sprinkle in more of the vague, idea-based goals so you don’t feel like you completely failed if you don’t reach an arbitrary number. It could also help you remember how fun the journey was. Whether or not you read 50 books, I think that how you felt when you read them is more important. Being miserable reading 10 books isn’t the same as enjoying reading 5.

Rant over I suppose (did this count as a rant?). I was excitec to finally understand why those reading goals annoyed me because I don’t want to be a hater. I like when I can effectively introspect about those negative gut reactions or judgments to understand why they occur, and putting this into words will probably help me be more thoughtful about my own reading habits. Maybe if you feel the same about the topic, this helped you understand why. Or maybe if you don’t feel the same, you can understand why people disagree with you. I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts! They’re not super topical since I see most of this discussion at the end/beginning of the year, but I feel like it was still semi-relevant.

ttyl -emily