Written By: Sophia Ciraldo
If you’re a book lover like me, you’ve probably heard of or already have a Goodreads account. I enjoy Goodreads because I can visually see my reading progress and get recommendations to add to my TBR stack. You can set a yearly reading challenge on Goodreads and these are my quick tips to reach your goal!
Set a Reasonable Goal
Don’t set an outlandish goal and then assume you’ll be able to finish it. A good rule of thumb is to set a target that is a couple of books higher than your last goal. This way you’re gradually pushing yourself. Or if you’ve never done the reading challenge before, consider how many books you usually read in a year and start from there.
Break it Down
A good approach is to break down the number of books by weeks or months. For instance, if 50 books is your goal then reading around 4 books per month would keep you on track. Also, think about your upcoming schedule. Are there certain parts of the year you’re less likely to have time to read? As a student, I do most of my pleasure reading on breaks. Make sure to take those factors into consideration.
Don’t Forget, Textbooks Count!
I personally think textbooks should count. As an English major, many books I read for class happen to be novels, but I’d say any book can go towards your reading challenge. Does it look weird if you have 10 literary fiction books and that one obscure textbook about physics on your list? Maybe, but who cares? You did the work of reading it.
Read Shorter Titles
I wouldn’t advise you to read shorter books just to fulfill your goal, but in general, I think mixing up book lengths is a good thing. Reading a kid’s chapter book, picturebook, graphic novel or comic are all good ways to get out of a reading funk because they’re so digestible. These are all perfectly respectable books to add to your challenge. There’s no rule saying they all have to be 300+ page novels.
Hold Yourself Accountable with a Friend
The friend feature on Goodreads is great because it means you can see where they’re at with their goal and hold each other accountable. I’ve never done this, but it sounds like it could be really fun and helpful. Like mental gym buddies!
The important thing to remember is even if you don’t hit your reading goal, it’s about quality, not quantity! The challenge is just supposed to get you reading more and enjoying yourself. So don’t be disappointed if the end of the year rolls around and you haven’t reached your goal. You did your literary do-diligence and there’s always next year!