At the start of every new year, there is a predictable swell of social media book influencers. They rush to proclaim their new reading goal. This is usually a quantity, like 30 or 100 books. More often, I’ve been seeing users talking about a quality goal. They talk about reading more BIPOC books, books in their special interest, or banned books, for example. All of these are admirable, but my question every year is: At what point are we taking away the joy of reading to fill a quota?
Resolutions are the hallmark of every new year. We set one, and the running joke is it’s forgotten by the 12th of every January. Gyms fill up for the first week, then thin out by February. Diets are tossed aside. We set our book goals with lofty aspirations. By week two, Goodreads informs us that we are already two books behind.
Life Gets In The Way
I have done a reading goal for every year since 2014, since I joined Goodreads. Some years I’ve hit it and even overshot it. Some years, like 2025, I miserably underperformed by my own metrics. I set the goal of 80 books, and I only read 45. Life happens, and time to read sometimes is nonexistent. We bought a house, and I listened to audiobooks while I built furniture. I had emergency surgery to remove a very angry gallbladder. I had some downtime to read but spent more time sleeping. We had to put to rest one of our cats, and no reading was done for a while after. But all this just added to the pressure later. When I did look at my reading goal, it showed I was apparently several books behind.
Add social media to the mix, and there lies more pressure. It’s human nature to be competitive, and reading suddenly feels like a race. Who can read 125 books (that’s 2.4 books a week by the way) and have time to do much else? Why am I suddenly feeling shame for not reading the most trendy books on TikTok? Should I read them just to tick a box? Should I post a video every week or month wrapping up what I’ve read? That just takes valuable time away from reading!
The Myth of Social Media
Studies show that goal setting online is a complex experience. Users share their success stories, good news, and happy times. People post their intentions and goals without being realistic about the challenges of achieving them. Social goals are inherently short-term, with immediate gratification from posting about their completion sooner. Long-term goals, including a large reading goal, take all year. It’s exciting to discuss reading goals in January. The excitement diminishes by May when the thrill has long worn off for some. The social media algorithm doesn’t show you reading goals being met in the middle of the year. It is packed right now with post after post about them.
Added to this, and I am engaging in this behavior right now, we love to talk about reading books. I’m taking away from reading time to talk about it. For the chronically online, the battle of social media and self-control is challenging. I will admit that’s my problem. For readers such as myself, this is a self esteem issue. If I can’t see what others are doing, I can’t catch up. They are bold enough to post about their actions.
It’s Up To You
If you don’t want to set a quantity reading goal, don’t feel like you have to. You should read whatever catches your eye, at whatever pace you can work at. Don’t feel like you have to conform to social media and speed read to catch up. You’re headed for severe reader burnout if you go that way.
A different approach to your goal is like I mentioned above, a quality goal. Some people want to read more self-help books. Others want to read more books that earned the Hugo Award. I find I prefer this goal, which aims for content. It builds on absorbing what you read and appreciating the books.
My goal this year is to write about the books I read. I want to read each book and review it here and on my social media sites. I want to compile the shortlists of the books I read each month, rank them, and discuss their virtues. I don’t care if I read 10 books in a month or 3. I want to share my thoughts more this year about what I read. I want to draw on my depth of books I’ve read and recommend them.
If you’ve read my post this far, thank you. Please comment below what your goal is, if you have one. I’d love to know what you aim for!
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