#readinggoals?

Today, I read an article from The Atlantic that speculates about the proliferation of reading goals, and questions the impacts they have on motivation to read. The article cites some interesting stats on completion of reading challenges, particularly in reading communities like Goodreads, which only had 21% completion in 2018.

This made me pause to reflect on my own reading — the amount I read, my purpose for reading, and how setting an annual reading goal via a challenge impacts both. I didn’t set annual reading goals until 2013, when I joined Goodreads.com. It was late in the year, so I set a modest goal for the remaining 3 months. I exceeded it, so I jumped on board for 2014. My goal was to read a book a week; again, I exceeded it. I enjoyed seeing a tangible record of what I’d read, and I felt accomplished. My time was being put to use in a way that I valued, and I had a place to show the books I’d filled my year with.

I’ve found that setting reading goals keeps reading at the forefront of my mind, and sets it as a priority in my life. Do I read every day? No. Sometimes, I don’t even read every week. But I don’t let a month go by without reading at least one book. For me, this is a piece of my self-care plan; when reading isn’t happening, I’m usually enjoying another hobby.

I didn’t track my reading before setting annual challenges via Goodreads. I’ve always been a voracious reader, but the idea of tracking the books I finished (or started …) was something I simply didn’t think about. Joining a community of readers, however, made it easier for me to track books I read or was interested in, and quantify my reading. As a lifelong learner, I think it’s a badge of pride to look back on December 31 and see that I read so much over the course of a year. Admittedly, I like being able to say I’ve read 100 books in a year. Beck points out in the article that reading is a passtime people consider valuable and an “intrinsic good,” so I do have a sense of pride that I’ve committed to a hobby that leaves me better than when I started.

I also agree that there’s an ugly side to reading challenges. I often see people with challenges upwards of 400 books. I always wonder how. How can you read that many books in a year? How do you find balance with not reading (do you work, have family, find time for other things you enjoy?)? How can you read that fast? Make it make sense!! But more importantly, when the pace isn’t keeping up, how does that impact their reading? Does it push them to dive back into a book or does it overwhelm them and make them avoidant? Beck notes that some readers may find it demotivating to see that they’re not on track to meet the challenge. One reader noted ” I’m wondering if psychologically it made it feel more like a chore as opposed to pleasure.” I get it. While I don’t set reminders for myself, I do find myself disappointed if I see that I’m behind on my reading goal. Because my reading ebbs and flows, however, I’m able to maintain perspective and realize that I’ll have an opportunity later to sit down with a few books and get back on track.

I don’t think reading challenges are going anywhere any time soon. Frankly, I wouldn’t want them to. I believe the good of gamifying an activity that can be challenging for many outweighs the negatives that come when people don’t reach their challenge goal. Ultimately, if they’re reading, I think that’s good enough in and of itself. But I do hope that people are able to set goals that fit their needs so they can enjoy great literature rather than get bogged down in a numbers chase.