It's the same like studying just for a good grade instead of studying for knowledge. Like walking for tracking steps instead for our health. Like visiting instragrammable places and taking selfies instead of sitting on a bench, watching people. I think these are general problems we have nowadays: We always think about our life and ourself as something "to show others" (especially online), something that has to be created and curated. It's this misbelief that things aren't real if we haven't posted them, that things don't count if we haven't tracked them: magazines we've read, the walks without a smartwatch. I think tracking and counting is helpful to start a good habit, to push yourself, but not to really enjoy life.
So nice of you for sharing these incredible thought. I was in guilt for not sharing anything. Now I have different perspective to think. However Ruby shears to inspire us. I feel like sitting in garden and a beautiful girl, (we call it Pari in our language ) comes from heaven to play with words and motivate.
Definitely reading for pleasure is preferable to reading and studying for a formal qualification - I've joined a reading group in my local library it is so beneficial for my mental health
I completely agree. It’s much more important to read what interests you and to enjoy the experience than to try to reach a certain number of “books.” This way the length of the material, be it a book, article, poem, pamphlet or magazine does not matter, and provides much more freedom of choice.
It’s wonderful that you’re giving reading more intentionality. Your explanation of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation was enlightening! Reading challenges didn’t work for me, especially trying to keep up with my Goodreads friends, so I stopped. What helps me is to intentionally set aside time for reading each day. Making it a habit - without making it a competition - surprisingly improved my reading.
I set a very modest reading challenge every year (45 books) and I'd say it usually helps me more than distracts me. For instance closer to the end of the year I'll be like we're 3 books away, let's prioritize reading over other forms of entertainment at least until we reach the goal. It definitely helps me read more, but I still get to enjoy the process, so definitely doing one this year
As someone who has never set a reading goal, I quite agree with you, Ruby! I can see how setting a goal could help with motivation (and heavens, have I needed that sometimes), but I can also see how it might stop you from reading deeply and slowly. And I agree that reading different kinds of literature is just as valuable as reading novels. I'm happy to read anything and everything that gives me new thoughts to think and new ways of seeing the world.
I could never put a number on the books I read. I have my commonplace, which I constantly write words I've looked up, quotes, location identifiers for other information that I want to look up. Such things are cafés, bars, and hotels mentioned. This means it can take two weeks to read a reasonable book. This began after being introduced to JP Donleavy. One of his novels takes place largely in Dublin. In 1983, I flew to Dublin and asked the taxi driver to take me to 'The Shelbourne Hotel', not knowing if it actually existed. It did. Now I love to visit places in novels.
You mentioned Robin Waldun at the beginning of the video but you are so inspiring too ! Your videos are so impactful for me but also many other people; and this one again was very interesting and for me the occasion to reflect on my way of reading, I found what you said on what is literature so interesting and this video also reminded me to prioritize the pleasure of reading, as I'm having a reading goal for the first time this year. I also really enjoyed your course on skillshare ❤️
I only started actually reading again in 2021 when I joined an actual bookclub online and started watching people on RUclips and seeing what they were reading. For the first two years, I only set my goal to 12 because I didn’t want to overwhelm myself to read so many books when I just got back into reading. 2023 was a terrible reading year for me because I fell into the biggest slump ever and only read two books. But last year I read 32 books (even though most of them were graphic novels) and I enjoyed reading all these different books and talking about them with people! I mainly read because not only do I love jumping into all these different worlds but I also love talking to people about books and their thoughts and experiences. As an autistic person I do like gamifying things to help motivate me to do them like reading and seeing all the different books I’ve read does also help to keep me motivated, but I can understand your points and your reasoning and I am looking forward to seeing your reading process.
What a wonderful video Ruby! Very thought provoking…I find myself stressed out about not reading hundreds of books every year but then I remember that yes my current read of Jane Eyre may have taken me 6 weeks, but what a wonderful 6 weeks it has been! I does not matter how long it takes you just have to enjoy it! :)
The kind of books we read are more important than the number! I would hate to be rushed in such a way. Nower days everything is categorised and tracked; things lose their bohemian nature 😂
Very insightful Ruby, thank you. I don't consider myself a "reader" per se, I consider myself to be "curious". I want to hear what all these writers have to say, and I also subscribe to magazines on topics like science and news and theology, and I never really set a goal. You're so sweet!
I didn’t set a reading goal per say but my biggest problem of 2024 was buying too many books for the speed that I was reading so my to be read pile grew and I ended up feeling, although through excitement to read the next book, rather than pressure to attain goals. I was still not entirely enjoying the reading experience, or reading slowly. My main goal for this year is to actually slow down on buying books and focus on the ones that I have, as well as, buying my own bookcase to decorate with all of these books!
My son suggested we get on Goodreads last spring so 2024 was the first goal I had ever set. I set it at 10 books because I had no clue what my goal should be! I read double that at 20, so this year I put it at 20 and I’ll see if I go higher then adjust it for the next year if I continue challenges. For me reading is truly for pleasure and an escape and I’m an information hound, so lots of nonfiction! So I guess we’ll see how this year goes. My son stopped using Goodreads about 5 months into it. We’ll see if I keep it up! Thank you for this wonderful thought provoking video, Ruby!
Hi Ruby, I am new to reading regularly, even though I am relatively old in age. I definitely have more time on my hands these days to read. But this year I discovered I am autistic. I learnt that I needed a hobby that I could become totally engrossed in in order to stop myself ruminating and self escalating my emotions to a 10 on a 1-10 scale. I'm pleased to report that it works a treat! I have never set a reading goal but I do like to start another book after I have finished one, to always have a book on the go to escape into. Just yesterday I took with me in my handbag the beautiful Macmillan collector's edition of Alice in Wonderland to a meeting which I feared might be trying for me. To be able to just read the first few pages put me straight at ease because the story is so far from reality. When, at times, I find reality hard and painful, being able to escape it into the world an author has made for me as the reader is an absolute godsend. Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I really appreciate it. X
thank you for the reflection on what literature is. I "read" barely nothing last year in terms of popularly loggable books, but I've been reading chapters from class literature as well as 1-2 research papers each week. not saying these are superior to a fiction story, but they are so much more demanding and I wish there was a way to count them towards a goal that's not just in an individual tracker or speadsheet. this really made me realise hoch much I've actually been reading, though it's not something seen as reading in the popcultural way.
I think a book challenge can be helpful to help get people in the haaaaabit of reading. If you want to do it, but have trouble setting aside time, that extrinsic motivation can remind you to make time. Worked for me!
Thanks for this video Ruby! I set my reading goal quite low so as not to feel pressured but still feel accomplished. It has been working for me for the past few years.
Nice one Ruby. I once stumbled across an internet site (circa 2003) where the number of book pages read and the number of words read appeared to be the sole focus of the content creator. Assuming that he (and it was a bloke) read, say, 100 books annually the site was a blizzard of numerical data. Most peculiar.
During covid I read 50 books which was so many more than I had ever read before but I felt like it was a bit of a manic challenge I gave myself cuz the read was so stressful and I wanted something to escape into but still challenge myself. Now I'm a new mom and reading about 15 books a year and I enjoy reading much more without the pressure.
I really look forward to listening to your posts - for me an ideal reading challenge is reading is anthologies or a long book which you can pick up and put down over the course of a year... Happy new year MMXXV
i agree with you a lot on this, ruby! i stopped setting numerical goals a couple years back too, and felt my reading became so much more intentional from it 🥰
I had the same thing happen to me when I was tracking my studying, it started being about that dopamine high and external validation rather than because I actually enjoyed it. And when I didn’t track other aspects of learning (I only tracked formal studying), I felt as if they had less value. I stopped tracking a year ago and it’s so much better now because my motivation is no longer a dopamine high but the actual enjoyment of the thing. Very inspiring.
It's fascinating how we can stress ourselves out by being behind a schedule that we arbitrarily set for ourselves. No numbers doesn't necessarily have to mean no goals. We can also direct our reading by giving us some other fun tasks, such as learn more about a certain topic, or be a "tourist" and read books from different countries. But we don't have to! The reading-related project I'm most excited about this year: Transcribe my grandma's handwritten recipe book (which she wrote as a schoolgirl in her cooking class) and try out some of the recipes. 🤗
I'm with you where I ultimately came to the conclusion that I could set a lower book total goal and then not shy away from the longer books or different literature. I have my book count goal, but ultimately my true goal is page count. This allows you to count everything that you are reading, regardless of the form that it is in. Happy New Year!!
I did end up doing this as well last year because I don’t have a lot of readers in my life and so I started feeling like I was a weirdo and read too fast and too much. And well it allowed me to consume without more fear. And to expand what I read without the fear. So I dove into books and topics I wouldn’t normally post about on goodreads. I have been enjoying fable over goodreads lately. And well I read with a lot of confidence. This year I’m challenging myself to a reading goal and to read as I would if I didn’t have one. Because it’s important to me to be a little more authentic in who I am. Especially online.
Interesting topic. Neither is right or wrong, all about how you use numbers/no numbers and why. Reading is a good habit for some, for others it is research, for many it is pleasure and can be a necessity. You read more one month and less the other. Some years you might not read at all. It is ALL about why you read and how you read. What’s in it for you. Essentially not about some numbers on some platform, but then again it can be useful to read a book and then reflect on it by writing a review. It is, however, not about at what speed you plough through them ❤ oh and, indeed, don’t need to finish or continue with a book if it just doesn’t work for you. I had to learn that one over the years. Now I not only allow myself not to finish, I also donate that book and take it out of my library as I know I won’t read it again. Reading comments on your videos is also interesting I love how your explorations provoke thinking about things differently.
Agreed. Having a numerical number feels like I’m grinding just to reach an arbitrary number. Same thing when I play games to increase the hours I played for a character, so I agree with this attitude for reading and other hobbies in general
Ruby, this video was very inspiring, thank you! Looking forward to your upcoming book content! Since you are rethinking how you track your reading, I want to tell you about my reading journal in Notion! I am a very slow reader, and like reading long books, or bits of poetry, or essays in a collection, etc - so I find it discouraging to track my reading by number of books read. I started a table in Notion in 2022 that tracks my reading by pages read. At the end of each month and year, I write in the table description the total pages read, and do the math to isolate that month’s reading. In 2022, I read 3,000 pages; 2023 I read 8,200 pages; and last year I read 5,050! Within the table, each item is a piece of literature, typically a book. I enter every book I buy into the table which allows me to keep track of my reading lists. The properties (columns) I track for each book are the page goal for the week, book page length, pages I’ve read, the genre, reading list (currently reading, reading soon, 2025 reading list, read, etc), last time I updated the book (so I know if I haven’t picked it up in over a month), and what year I read it in. I also created a property that tells me how many pages I have left in the book (book length minus pages read), but some books I’ve read multiple times so the pages read is hundreds of pages longer than the book length. Since it’s in Notion, I can also write notes about each book. I intend to write in quotes, summaries, or thoughts on a book, but I often forget. (Common placing has taken the place of this quite nicely, though!) I also find that tracking page read vs books read encourages me to reread sections or chapters rather than powering through to finish the book and check it off. For example, I reread a story in a Sylvia Plath collection I’m reading three times, and so my pages read for that book is 40 pages higher than the page number I’m on in the book. I love how much Notion can be personalized and I’m often adjusting my table or making new pages depending on how I want to track or plan my reading at present. Of course tracking pages isn’t perfect, like I’m currently reading a very dense history book and it will take me an hour to get through four pages. So I also have a chart on my wall above my habit tracker where I try my best to track hours read every day to motivate myself when I feel like my page count is too low. So nerdy but I think you will understand. This is such a long comment, sorry 😂😂
Me too I did a reading plan set up manually and I am working on it to be sold because it helps a lot tracking my reading, and because I am launching my small tiny planner business, it will be a great idea to start with.
I always think there’s sometime beautiful about your own time passing as time passes for the characters in a book, thats what I remind myself when I am reading slower than I want to or feel I should :)
I also did not set a reading goal this year. I'm an English education grad student right now and a slow/deep reader. I found that making a reading challenge stressed me out/made me sad when I wasn't able to read as much as I liked. When so much of my coursework is based around English Literature and Education Theory (which I love) I often don't have the time or energy to read for myself at the end of the day. Also, when did it become a subtle competition to read the most books on social media? I always feel bad about my 20 books a year opposed to others' 100. But theres no reason to feel bad for that! Thank you for this video, Ruby
I personally have my reading goal for 10 books so then, I can only focus on what I’m reading instead how much I read. I also love the graphs on StoryGraph and the tracker on goodreads, but it’s like I use it as an achievement when I hit 50 books. I want to break that mindset too and I’ll also be doing the journal idea too!
Such a thought-provoking video! I’m also changing my approach to my reading challenge this year. I didn’t reach my goal last year and rather than feeling disappointed, I was actually just like… ok… what was the purpose of this again? I’m very busy at the moment with my masters and so I really want to make reading as relaxing, enjoyable, and as possible. I’m challenging myself to pick up the longer books that have been on my shelf for years - the ones I was avoiding for fear they would make me ‘behind’ in my reading challenge (currently The Goldfinch, which I’m loving taking my time to read!) I’ve also chosen to really reduce the number of books I’d like to read so that inevitably I’ll have some sort of sense of achievement, which I think links in with what you were saying about the importance of motivation haha! I’ve also found that working from a handwritten TBR list in my journal, the kind I would have had as a child, has really alleviated the self-imposed pressure to be updating my progress on Goodreads and to sort of just feel more like this is ‘my’ challenge, a curated list just for me, made by me :) Edit: I’m so sorry this is so long!
Looking forward to the book related videos! I have done a master's in linguistics, so I've always been more about the scientific side of language, but I'm finding I want to start getting into literature. I would love to read German and English/American classics, but it's quite difficult to decide where and how to start 😅
Reads 98 books, but "had far more reading slumps". Clearly, I need to up my game. My 2024 slump added up to a shameful 7! But I'm currently reading book 3 of 2025 - so I'm on the up. Thank you Ruby 🙏
I read 19 books last year and my goal is 12 this year (a book a month) because I want to get through some of the longer books on my shelf (~600+ pages). And don’t forget you can always adjust your goal if you pass it during the year!
I once heard an interview on CBC Radio in Canada. The person was a judge for the Charles Taylor Prize in non-fiction. He was required to read something like just over 200 books in a year, and do an assessment on each one before he could submit a short list. That is almost four books per week. Just imagine the reading schedule to accomplish that task.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on reading goals! I would love to hear about your research (and musings!) on re-reading. Since I do a lot of reading on my iPad, I’ve been tracking it there and one of my frustrations is that it doesn’t count books you’ve read before! I don’t let it stop me. My goal of 100 books a year is low enough that I have flexibility to read books that aren’t counted like books on paper and rereads. It just annoys me because I think we can gain so much with rereading whether it’s just the cozy feel good vibes of some books or being able to focus on different nuances of a book. Jane Eyre was a very different book as a young teen than it was when I read it at 40. I’ve found my goal of minutes of reading per day is more meaningful for me. It’s a gift I give myself, and I like to see how long I can keep up a reading streak of at least 45 minutes a day. So far it’s stuck at 89 days.
What a book mean to me is almost like part of the unknown. When I look at a book, its like there is that weird strike of curiousity because I don't know what is in the book. Could be knowledge, could be a folktale, could be a poem, better yet, someone's voice. I always go by the famous quote "don't judge a book by its cover". I don't even read the summary of what the book is about. I rather learn that for myself. Books are so important and beautiful.
i used to think being magnetic was just about looks or confidence, but i couldn’t have been more wrong. i read this book called Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and it totally changed my perspective. it breaks down the energy and mindset behind true attraction in a way that just makes sense. once i started applying what it taught, i noticed people reacting to me differently almost instantly. it’s seriously worth a read.
I have had exactly the same conversations in my own head this year about reading goals. I have previously not counted audiobooks as "books read" in my reading goals and now I wonder why. Did I really think listening to a book was not "reading" that book? Really?!? This year I will be counting ALL books I consume. I do wish though that Goodreads/Storygraph would allow a number of pages goal rather than number of books - feeling like I "can't" read a long book because it takes too long is not productive.
This is the first year I have made a goal because i haven't been reading at all recently. As long as I read 5 this year, I'm happy. I think a lot of people become competitive, either with others or themselves. My goal every year will be a minimum of 5. Anything else is purely for the extra fun.
Miss Granger, given your enthusiasm and erudition of the written word, I cannot help but think it is only a matter of time before you are asked to do 'voice-over' work? In any event, please keep up the good work!
For the last few years I’ve set a goal number of books that I know I’ll hit somewhere between August to October. I find I do need the motivation to finish the books I start, but I know I’ll have a few months at the end of the year where I’ll be over my goal and I can relax in my reading habits. For example in 2024 my goal was 40 books and I ended up reading 76. For the latter half of the year I was ahead so it gave me a boost each time I extended the lead.
I've set a goal of 100 for rhe past few years and only read 34 books last year. I've decided to not set a goal at all but keep track in bullet journal to hopefully get out of a reading slump I've been in for a while
I set a reading goal each year, as a form of motivation and for the graphs. I didn’t reach my reading goal last year, but I don’t mind. I have set another reading goal this year, but I would like to be more mindful of my reading, and slow down and enjoy it more.
Such a great video, I set my first ever numerical goal in 2024 and went above it. However, I think what reading targets push us to do is read shorter and lighter books so we can read them more quickly and therefore tick them off and get closer to our goal. This means we pull away from reading classics and longer books which is such a shame!x
Ruby, I think you would absolutely love 'Michael Rosen's Book of Play'! It was one of my favourite books from 2024, even though I usually don't read much non-fiction. I cannot stop telling people about it! It's SO good if you are interested in childhood, the psychology of creativity, language and the education system.
Between my job, family, and other commitments I never read as much as I would like. I finished 45 books in 2024. I am always tempted to set a number for myself and then I feel stressed and anxious to keep up, however if I don't have any goal, I don't prioritize reading enough.
Storygraph has the option of manually import a book, or even something that's not a book! As I'm usually reading in italian I import lots of books that aren't in the database yet, and I like to track some long fanfiction as well. I too struggle with titles and can't remember all the reading I do, and the app is my reading journal
You can also add those other forms of literature to Storygraph. If you add a book, there is a ticky-box at the end of the form for 'this is not a book' which is described as 'Not a book' status is for records that do not represent what is typically considered to be a 'book'.
in 2023, i read 80 books. in 2024, i read 11. MASSIVE drop. life got in the way, health issues got in the way and my brain couldn’t cooperate. now, i’m recuperating slowly, but it’s really hard. i also like feeling like i’m achieving things, so i did set a goal this year: to read 365 hours. not one everyday, but in total 365 hours. so when life is harder, i just won’t read. and i know some days i will marathon 10+ hours of reading, on good days when i’m too immersed in a book (i AM a long book girlie, like reeaaaally long books), so it all works out in the end. i won’t feel pressured if i’m reading one book that takes me a whole month, or if i’m reading unpublished books by friends i’m beta reading for. i won’t feel demoralized if i end up having to reread one page a thousand times because my brain is foggy that day, at the end of the day it all counts toward the goal! i can also take my time reading slowly, tasting the words, enjoying the ride without caring about how much i’m reading. this year, i’m taking my time to smell the roses. i’ll keep track on goodreads and storygraph like i’ve been doing so far, but i won’t care about numbers other than the hours i spend reading. also, i’ll keep track of everything (including non-books!) in my reading journal. let’s hope it works and this year is heaps better than last.
i love this idea so much! i also tend to enjoy long books, but i don't reach for them that often; they take a long time to finish and hardly contribute to my goodreads challenge 😅 but the idea of setting a time-based goal is perfect, because i would like to prioritise reading over other forms of entertainment this year, whether that means reading 10 really long books or 40 short ones. if i may ask, how are you tracking the time you spend reading?
@@katarinka_jpg yesss! i’m trying to stay away from my phone as much as humanly possible, and I find that a time-based goal is helping me a lot. reading feels more enjoyable, and i’m not like “why don’t i have already three books under my belt?”. nonono, just calm all around. i like that better. and i’m super excited to read my BIG books 😁😁 goodreads’ goal can be cool for others, but i think for bigger books people it’s so much harder, much more pressure. yes, of course! at first i wanted to just start a stopwatch when i began and when i finished and just write that down the time spent in my writing journal or notes or something. that could work, but i’m currently experimenting with two apps: one is Toggl and the other is Clockify. you can enter data either manually (selecting the time you started and finished), or with a stopwatch (you press start, read and then stop it). i find that i prefer the stopwatch, because if for whatever reason i pick up my phone while reading, the timer stares at me like: “whatcha doin’ here?” and i get back to my book. i haven’t decided yet which one i’ll keep using. Toggl is the one i’m liking most so far, it has more bells and whistles (a feature to set time-based goals daily or weekly, better filters to see your stats, a Pomodoro Timer, on iPhone you can see the timer from your lock screen, it has an apple watch app…) but since Clockify is simpler, it may be better (also, i like the way you can save Tasks -that i’m using for each specific book i’m reading). I don’t know yet hehe, so i’ll keep using them for a while. i’m also tracking other stuff i like doing this way, like writing. this is helping me to be more mindful of where my time is going and not use my phone so goddamn much lmao. but if you only need to track your time reading and you don’t want to involve even more technology, then using a stopwatch/a clock and a notebook/your notes app is more than enough. i love that you like this idea! i think it helps us in more areas than just reading more books ☺️
@@A.H._ Thanks for the suggestions! I have already been using the app Forest to track my focus time (you plant a tree for an amount of time, and if you exit the app before the timer ends, the tree dies). I found out they also have a stopwatch function, which is perfect for me 😄 Also, I am always looking for more goodreads friends if you'd like to add me! :)
My reading goal is simply a method of encouragement and a fun reflection for the end of the year. I DNF books, I let my mood dictate what I read, I don’t stress about it. If I was making content or getting paid to read books then I probably would be more strict about it or feel pressure.
Wow this was super interesting! I love hearing about your reading; I like how tapped in you are to your specific interests! This is only second year really tracking my reading and I did find myself becoming obsessed with the numerical feedback on Goodreads a lot (especially the percentages, which made me update constantly!). But I did find myself reading more, as you found as well. This year my goals are going to be centered more around reading more widely (not just fantasy :D), especially nonfiction, literary fiction and historical fiction are fairly new to me and I'm really excited. I also want to read at last half of my books from the library or re-reads from my own :) Do you ever have goals outside of the numbers?
I didn’t set a reading goal this past year either. It felt so nice to just read what I wanted when I wanted. I truly enjoyed it📚❤️ Happy 2025 to everyone😊
Me too I didn't sell also my Goodreads challenge this year because I am totally burned from my work and committments, I am giving myself a time of relax to recharge myself again and going refresh.
My goal for 2024 was simply "read more" and actually I did really well. I think it was about reminding myself how much I love reading. I used to track how long I spent reading, initially to see how long it took to read X book, but seeing it in numbers that I was spending 10+ hours a week was pretty motivating for a while. I stopped when I realised the tracking had become an extra step that was putting me off reading. In 2015 I set myself the goal of 50 books, which I just about managed. But a few of those books I only chose because they were short. And I also gave up on a book I was enjoying because it was too long and it would've put me behind schedule. I've just recently picked it up again and am almost halfway through.
I set a reading goal the last handful of years, usually 100 books. I didn’t reach it by a long shot this year (only got 40), but thought I set a goal, I make sure I just read what there is to read. I also have a re reading all my books challenge, which means I have to read the big slow ones at some point. This last year, that was reading Game of Thrones. I set a goal to get me to prioritize reading, but I try not to pay too much attention to it. Most I’ll go “hmm I haven’t read my ten ish books this month, what in my schedule do I need to change to make that happen next month?”
Hey, since you've mentioned that you cannot track a lot of the things you are reading on Storygraph (like manuscripts, etc.), maybe you could use Notion to track these? I've already used Notion a few times to make my own templates and it's great! The most recent one was me going through free or partly free writing organisation apps like campfire, etc. and using them as inspiration to make my own template for writing a (fantasy) book, the perfect mix between all the free stuff out there and what I actually need/want. And obvioulsy without any limit to how many characters, etc. I can create :) And so far it worked amazing and I can only recommend to do this! Especially tracking is really easy to implement in a Notion page, as the recently added charts work just as well as any tracking-app to visualize different parts of your database. I'm also going to build myself such a tracking page as I'm not sure if I want to use storygraph, as it's another app I'd have to use each time I read something whereas I already use Notion for a bunch of things.
Can you put up again your Spring try-on clothing haul from first year of university? It was my favourite, it doesn't matter if your style has changed now. But it was really big inspiration for me
I have the goal to read at least 12 books this year, just so I have a count in Goodreads. This is far lower than my usual 52. This year I want to do other things during the time I would normally read. Like meet up with people and don’t feel pressure to go home to read. Maybe finally learn to knit probably. I also joined a group to read Das Kapital by Karl Marx. So I am shifting my priorities but still want to read, however with less pressure
I just set a minimum goal that I'm sure I'll beat, and then I just go on to exceed the plan. The main point is to read every day without interruption, and how much is not so important. But in your head should always be a specific figure in pieces, and then just the interest of how much you can surpass this figure. And if you don't set a goal and thus don't establish a mental importance and priority, you can stop reading altogether.
I feel quite different I think about reading, and I'd be really interested in hearing you talk about why "reading streaks" are important? I've always read a lot, but have recently have years where I've read a lot less. Like you I finished doing my masters summer 2024 and that definitely correlated with me reading less (mine was a science, didn't require reading books- just academic journals and medical research), but if I don't feel motivated to read a book then I don't try to make myself motivated. I read because I like reading so I'm intrigued about your thoughts and would be really interested in hearing your thoughts on why it feels important to be forcing motivation to read and the importance of reading streaks for you?
This is actually such an interesting question, and it's really got me thinking because why IS the reading streak important to me?? It feels so arbitrary when you put it like that. I think, in essence, it comes down to the fact that I feel happiest and most myself when I am reading regularly, which is why I dislike reading slumps so much. It's funny how we can deprioritise the things that mean the most to us & and are the best for us - and a good reading streak just means I keep consistent with reading, and never let it slack as a habit.
If you read a book at exactly the right frequency and exactly the right intensity of concentration, time comes to a dead stop and you can read infinite books. That was Kim Peek's genius.
I read a fair amount of books a year but I never want to create a goal that forces me to read so fast that the info doesn’t stick with me. I know lots of people who read 100+ a year but can’t have any in-depth discussions about the books because they can’t remember enough details. If you can’t remember much about a book a few months later I don’t know what the point is.
I did create my own reading challenge for the first time ever😂 I am trying to "regrow" my reading voice as adulthood has completely diminished it😭 and also build up my attention span&endurance for reading things when I do not want to for school.
I stayed because I caught 'watched migrating thrushes' and wanted to know more! Great vid edit and production. Also, some good companies linked-advertising to your vid. Anyway...who thinks speed reading dilutes the sinking in time of the words and meaning? Conveyance. Maybe try reading Laurie Lee fast and then slow? Does it make a difference? Is that difference of any importance?
The reading project is tricky, isn't it. When I was at university, I developed a style of reading -- quick, analytical, dismissing parts in favor of gleaning ideas that could support my argument. It has taken me years to be able to slow down my reading, to read more deeply and more enjoyably. Now I have both reading styles at hand and can use either as needed. I'm always interested in how many books I've read in a year. But I don't care what that number is.
One book I recommend everyone to read in 2025 is Your Life Your Game by Keezano...It beautifully shows how connecting with God and building meaningful relationships can lead to spiritual growth and success in both your personal and professional life. This book truly changed my life-a must-read. Thank you
This motivated me to remove my GR reading challenge for 2025. I tend to read a lot of books (150-200 range) because it's my primary source of entertainment, so as a result the quality of the books I read vary dramatically. Late last year I started being more critical of the types of books I read and didn't want to bloat the challenge tally with brain candy books, so I was categorizing books as worthy or not worthy of being included in the challenge tally. Now I've decided to be more intentional about books as a personal goal and vow not to do a reading challenge at all. If I'm curious about my reading statistics, I'll remind myself to set a GR challenge on Dec 31.
i have failed my 15 books challenge in the last 2 years😅 but i'll try again this year, i think it's fun to keep track, i have done this since i was 14! i am 25 now
It's the same like studying just for a good grade instead of studying for knowledge. Like walking for tracking steps instead for our health. Like visiting instragrammable places and taking selfies instead of sitting on a bench, watching people. I think these are general problems we have nowadays: We always think about our life and ourself as something "to show others" (especially online), something that has to be created and curated. It's this misbelief that things aren't real if we haven't posted them, that things don't count if we haven't tracked them: magazines we've read, the walks without a smartwatch. I think tracking and counting is helpful to start a good habit, to push yourself, but not to really enjoy life.
This is so well articulated - thank you for sharing this and bring this into the conversation
So nice of you for sharing these incredible thought. I was in guilt for not sharing anything. Now I have different perspective to think.
However Ruby shears to inspire us. I feel like sitting in garden and a beautiful girl, (we call it Pari in our language ) comes from heaven to play with words and motivate.
This is well-said. Very true!
Very wise ❤
Definitely reading for pleasure is preferable to reading and studying for a formal qualification - I've joined a reading group in my local library it is so beneficial for my mental health
I didn't set one this year either, for the first time in years. I already feel more enjoyment in reading, valuing quality over quantity.
Yes, it doesn't matter how many books you read, just enjoy what you are reading for each book itself.
Me too. No goals. I am more excited about reading like when I was a child. 🎉
For me is about enjoying what I read and get something meaningful out of it than how many books I read and the speed that I will read them.
I completely agree. It’s much more important to read what interests you and to enjoy the experience than to try to reach a certain number of “books.” This way the length of the material, be it a book, article, poem, pamphlet or magazine does not matter, and provides much more freedom of choice.
It’s wonderful that you’re giving reading more intentionality. Your explanation of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation was enlightening! Reading challenges didn’t work for me, especially trying to keep up with my Goodreads friends, so I stopped. What helps me is to intentionally set aside time for reading each day. Making it a habit - without making it a competition - surprisingly improved my reading.
I set a very modest reading challenge every year (45 books) and I'd say it usually helps me more than distracts me. For instance closer to the end of the year I'll be like we're 3 books away, let's prioritize reading over other forms of entertainment at least until we reach the goal. It definitely helps me read more, but I still get to enjoy the process, so definitely doing one this year
As someone who has never set a reading goal, I quite agree with you, Ruby! I can see how setting a goal could help with motivation (and heavens, have I needed that sometimes), but I can also see how it might stop you from reading deeply and slowly.
And I agree that reading different kinds of literature is just as valuable as reading novels. I'm happy to read anything and everything that gives me new thoughts to think and new ways of seeing the world.
I could never put a number on the books I read.
I have my commonplace, which I constantly write words I've looked up, quotes, location identifiers for other information that I want to look up.
Such things are cafés, bars, and hotels mentioned. This means it can take two weeks to read a reasonable book.
This began after being introduced to JP Donleavy. One of his novels takes place largely in Dublin. In 1983, I flew to Dublin and asked the taxi driver to take me to 'The Shelbourne Hotel', not knowing if it actually existed. It did. Now I love to visit places in novels.
Oh I love this. Wistful and curious (two of the most important things). Thank you for sharing
How interesting ❤
You mentioned Robin Waldun at the beginning of the video but you are so inspiring too ! Your videos are so impactful for me but also many other people; and this one again was very interesting and for me the occasion to reflect on my way of reading, I found what you said on what is literature so interesting and this video also reminded me to prioritize the pleasure of reading, as I'm having a reading goal for the first time this year. I also really enjoyed your course on skillshare ❤️
I only started actually reading again in 2021 when I joined an actual bookclub online and started watching people on RUclips and seeing what they were reading. For the first two years, I only set my goal to 12 because I didn’t want to overwhelm myself to read so many books when I just got back into reading. 2023 was a terrible reading year for me because I fell into the biggest slump ever and only read two books. But last year I read 32 books (even though most of them were graphic novels) and I enjoyed reading all these different books and talking about them with people! I mainly read because not only do I love jumping into all these different worlds but I also love talking to people about books and their thoughts and experiences. As an autistic person I do like gamifying things to help motivate me to do them like reading and seeing all the different books I’ve read does also help to keep me motivated, but I can understand your points and your reasoning and I am looking forward to seeing your reading process.
What a wonderful video Ruby! Very thought provoking…I find myself stressed out about not reading hundreds of books every year but then I remember that yes my current read of Jane Eyre may have taken me 6 weeks, but what a wonderful 6 weeks it has been! I does not matter how long it takes you just have to enjoy it! :)
The kind of books we read are more important than the number! I would hate to be rushed in such a way. Nower days everything is categorised and tracked; things lose their bohemian nature 😂
What i really like about storygraph is the 'not a book' option, which lets me track all my fanfiction, article and manuscript reading
Very insightful Ruby, thank you. I don't consider myself a "reader" per se, I consider myself to be "curious". I want to hear what all these writers have to say, and I also subscribe to magazines on topics like science and news and theology, and I never really set a goal. You're so sweet!
Oh I adore that
I didn’t set a reading goal per say but my biggest problem of 2024 was buying too many books for the speed that I was reading so my to be read pile grew and I ended up feeling, although through excitement to read the next book, rather than pressure to attain goals. I was still not entirely enjoying the reading experience, or reading slowly. My main goal for this year is to actually slow down on buying books and focus on the ones that I have, as well as, buying my own bookcase to decorate with all of these books!
Pumpkin Productivity Reading Journals would be so good!
My son suggested we get on Goodreads last spring so 2024 was the first goal I had ever set. I set it at 10 books because I had no clue what my goal should be! I read double that at 20, so this year I put it at 20 and I’ll see if I go higher then adjust it for the next year if I continue challenges. For me reading is truly for pleasure and an escape and I’m an information hound, so lots of nonfiction! So I guess we’ll see how this year goes. My son stopped using Goodreads about 5 months into it. We’ll see if I keep it up! Thank you for this wonderful thought provoking video, Ruby!
Hi Ruby, I am new to reading regularly, even though I am relatively old in age. I definitely have more time on my hands these days to read. But this year I discovered I am autistic. I learnt that I needed a hobby that I could become totally engrossed in in order to stop myself ruminating and self escalating my emotions to a 10 on a 1-10 scale. I'm pleased to report that it works a treat!
I have never set a reading goal but I do like to start another book after I have finished one, to always have a book on the go to escape into.
Just yesterday I took with me in my handbag the beautiful Macmillan collector's edition of Alice in Wonderland to a meeting which I feared might be trying for me. To be able to just read the first few pages put me straight at ease because the story is so far from reality. When, at times, I find reality hard and painful, being able to escape it into the world an author has made for me as the reader is an absolute godsend.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. I really appreciate it. X
thank you for the reflection on what literature is. I "read" barely nothing last year in terms of popularly loggable books, but I've been reading chapters from class literature as well as 1-2 research papers each week. not saying these are superior to a fiction story, but they are so much more demanding and I wish there was a way to count them towards a goal that's not just in an individual tracker or speadsheet. this really made me realise hoch much I've actually been reading, though it's not something seen as reading in the popcultural way.
I think a book challenge can be helpful to help get people in the haaaaabit of reading. If you want to do it, but have trouble setting aside time, that extrinsic motivation can remind you to make time. Worked for me!
Thanks for this video Ruby! I set my reading goal quite low so as not to feel pressured but still feel accomplished. It has been working for me for the past few years.
Nice one Ruby. I once stumbled across an internet site (circa 2003) where the number of book pages read and the number of words read appeared to be the sole focus of the content creator. Assuming that he (and it was a bloke) read, say, 100 books annually the site was a blizzard of numerical data. Most peculiar.
During covid I read 50 books which was so many more than I had ever read before but I felt like it was a bit of a manic challenge I gave myself cuz the read was so stressful and I wanted something to escape into but still challenge myself. Now I'm a new mom and reading about 15 books a year and I enjoy reading much more without the pressure.
Reading should never feel pressurising, you're so right!
I really look forward to listening to your posts - for me an ideal reading challenge is reading is anthologies or a long book which you can pick up and put down over the course of a year...
Happy new year MMXXV
i agree with you a lot on this, ruby! i stopped setting numerical goals a couple years back too, and felt my reading became so much more intentional from it 🥰
I love his content. I’m also happy he has a podcast now I can listen while driving places.
I love your content so much ❤ also really appreciate the idea of including articles or other content in a reading journal
I had the same thing happen to me when I was tracking my studying, it started being about that dopamine high and external validation rather than because I actually enjoyed it. And when I didn’t track other aspects of learning (I only tracked formal studying), I felt as if they had less value. I stopped tracking a year ago and it’s so much better now because my motivation is no longer a dopamine high but the actual enjoyment of the thing. Very inspiring.
It's fascinating how we can stress ourselves out by being behind a schedule that we arbitrarily set for ourselves. No numbers doesn't necessarily have to mean no goals. We can also direct our reading by giving us some other fun tasks, such as learn more about a certain topic, or be a "tourist" and read books from different countries. But we don't have to! The reading-related project I'm most excited about this year: Transcribe my grandma's handwritten recipe book (which she wrote as a schoolgirl in her cooking class) and try out some of the recipes. 🤗
I'm with you where I ultimately came to the conclusion that I could set a lower book total goal and then not shy away from the longer books or different literature. I have my book count goal, but ultimately my true goal is page count. This allows you to count everything that you are reading, regardless of the form that it is in. Happy New Year!!
I did end up doing this as well last year because I don’t have a lot of readers in my life and so I started feeling like I was a weirdo and read too fast and too much. And well it allowed me to consume without more fear. And to expand what I read without the fear. So I dove into books and topics I wouldn’t normally post about on goodreads. I have been enjoying fable over goodreads lately. And well I read with a lot of confidence. This year I’m challenging myself to a reading goal and to read as I would if I didn’t have one. Because it’s important to me to be a little more authentic in who I am. Especially online.
Interesting topic. Neither is right or wrong, all about how you use numbers/no numbers and why. Reading is a good habit for some, for others it is research, for many it is pleasure and can be a necessity. You read more one month and less the other. Some years you might not read at all. It is ALL about why you read and how you read. What’s in it for you. Essentially not about some numbers on some platform, but then again it can be useful to read a book and then reflect on it by writing a review. It is, however, not about at what speed you plough through them ❤ oh and, indeed, don’t need to finish or continue with a book if it just doesn’t work for you. I had to learn that one over the years. Now I not only allow myself not to finish, I also donate that book and take it out of my library as I know I won’t read it again. Reading comments on your videos is also interesting I love how your explorations provoke thinking about things differently.
I feel that when I no set a reading challenge I am not have purpose read but keeping the goal makes me very stressed. I loved the video!! 💜
It’s such a hard one… I think it’s useful to use a reading challenge as a springboard, but the danger is then any obsessing over it!
Yt recommended me a Robin Waldun video, it was incredibly helpful and hits me personally, in realistic manner.
SUCH a good video! I've never vibed with reading goals, they always made me feel rushed and a bit anxious. You articulated why so well. 💜💜💜
This was a very informative video, Ruby! I wish you luck on your reading journey in this new year! 🙏
Agreed. Having a numerical number feels like I’m grinding just to reach an arbitrary number. Same thing when I play games to increase the hours I played for a character, so I agree with this attitude for reading and other hobbies in general
Ruby, this video was very inspiring, thank you! Looking forward to your upcoming book content!
Since you are rethinking how you track your reading, I want to tell you about my reading journal in Notion!
I am a very slow reader, and like reading long books, or bits of poetry, or essays in a collection, etc - so I find it discouraging to track my reading by number of books read. I started a table in Notion in 2022 that tracks my reading by pages read. At the end of each month and year, I write in the table description the total pages read, and do the math to isolate that month’s reading. In 2022, I read 3,000 pages; 2023 I read 8,200 pages; and last year I read 5,050!
Within the table, each item is a piece of literature, typically a book. I enter every book I buy into the table which allows me to keep track of my reading lists. The properties (columns) I track for each book are the page goal for the week, book page length, pages I’ve read, the genre, reading list (currently reading, reading soon, 2025 reading list, read, etc), last time I updated the book (so I know if I haven’t picked it up in over a month), and what year I read it in. I also created a property that tells me how many pages I have left in the book (book length minus pages read), but some books I’ve read multiple times so the pages read is hundreds of pages longer than the book length. Since it’s in Notion, I can also write notes about each book. I intend to write in quotes, summaries, or thoughts on a book, but I often forget. (Common placing has taken the place of this quite nicely, though!)
I also find that tracking page read vs books read encourages me to reread sections or chapters rather than powering through to finish the book and check it off. For example, I reread a story in a Sylvia Plath collection I’m reading three times, and so my pages read for that book is 40 pages higher than the page number I’m on in the book.
I love how much Notion can be personalized and I’m often adjusting my table or making new pages depending on how I want to track or plan my reading at present.
Of course tracking pages isn’t perfect, like I’m currently reading a very dense history book and it will take me an hour to get through four pages. So I also have a chart on my wall above my habit tracker where I try my best to track hours read every day to motivate myself when I feel like my page count is too low. So nerdy but I think you will understand.
This is such a long comment, sorry 😂😂
Me too I did a reading plan set up manually and I am working on it to be sold because it helps a lot tracking my reading, and because I am launching my small tiny planner business, it will be a great idea to start with.
I always think there’s sometime beautiful about your own time passing as time passes for the characters in a book, thats what I remind myself when I am reading slower than I want to or feel I should :)
I also did not set a reading goal this year. I'm an English education grad student right now and a slow/deep reader. I found that making a reading challenge stressed me out/made me sad when I wasn't able to read as much as I liked. When so much of my coursework is based around English Literature and Education Theory (which I love) I often don't have the time or energy to read for myself at the end of the day. Also, when did it become a subtle competition to read the most books on social media? I always feel bad about my 20 books a year opposed to others' 100. But theres no reason to feel bad for that!
Thank you for this video, Ruby
I personally have my reading goal for 10 books so then, I can only focus on what I’m reading instead how much I read. I also love the graphs on StoryGraph and the tracker on goodreads, but it’s like I use it as an achievement when I hit 50 books. I want to break that mindset too and I’ll also be doing the journal idea too!
Such a thought-provoking video!
I’m also changing my approach to my reading challenge this year. I didn’t reach my goal last year and rather than feeling disappointed, I was actually just like… ok… what was the purpose of this again? I’m very busy at the moment with my masters and so I really want to make reading as relaxing, enjoyable, and as possible.
I’m challenging myself to pick up the longer books that have been on my shelf for years - the ones I was avoiding for fear they would make me ‘behind’ in my reading challenge (currently The Goldfinch, which I’m loving taking my time to read!) I’ve also chosen to really reduce the number of books I’d like to read so that inevitably I’ll have some sort of sense of achievement, which I think links in with what you were saying about the importance of motivation haha! I’ve also found that working from a handwritten TBR list in my journal, the kind I would have had as a child, has really alleviated the self-imposed pressure to be updating my progress on Goodreads and to sort of just feel more like this is ‘my’ challenge, a curated list just for me, made by me :)
Edit: I’m so sorry this is so long!
Looking forward to the book related videos! I have done a master's in linguistics, so I've always been more about the scientific side of language, but I'm finding I want to start getting into literature. I would love to read German and English/American classics, but it's quite difficult to decide where and how to start 😅
Last year , I set the goal of one book and was so relieved when I finished it on January 1st 🎉😂
Reads 98 books, but "had far more reading slumps". Clearly, I need to up my game. My 2024 slump added up to a shameful 7! But I'm currently reading book 3 of 2025 - so I'm on the up. Thank you Ruby 🙏
I read 19 books last year and my goal is 12 this year (a book a month) because I want to get through some of the longer books on my shelf (~600+ pages). And don’t forget you can always adjust your goal if you pass it during the year!
I once heard an interview on CBC Radio in Canada. The person was a judge for the Charles Taylor Prize in non-fiction. He was required to read something like just over 200 books in a year, and do an assessment on each one before he could submit a short list. That is almost four books per week. Just imagine the reading schedule to accomplish that task.
Jeez. Thanks for sharing this. That sounds incredibly stressful.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on reading goals! I would love to hear about your research (and musings!) on re-reading. Since I do a lot of reading on my iPad, I’ve been tracking it there and one of my frustrations is that it doesn’t count books you’ve read before! I don’t let it stop me. My goal of 100 books a year is low enough that I have flexibility to read books that aren’t counted like books on paper and rereads.
It just annoys me because I think we can gain so much with rereading whether it’s just the cozy feel good vibes of some books or being able to focus on different nuances of a book. Jane Eyre was a very different book as a young teen than it was when I read it at 40.
I’ve found my goal of minutes of reading per day is more meaningful for me. It’s a gift I give myself, and I like to see how long I can keep up a reading streak of at least 45 minutes a day. So far it’s stuck at 89 days.
Don't have any words of to say
Love ❤ this one so much
What a book mean to me is almost like part of the unknown. When I look at a book, its like there is that weird strike of curiousity because I don't know what is in the book. Could be knowledge, could be a folktale, could be a poem, better yet, someone's voice. I always go by the famous quote "don't judge a book by its cover". I don't even read the summary of what the book is about. I rather learn that for myself. Books are so important and beautiful.
That’s what I’ve been doing too for the last months!
I’m a new reader and it helped me started right away:>
i used to think being magnetic was just about looks or confidence, but i couldn’t have been more wrong. i read this book called Magnetic Aura by Takeshi Mizuki, and it totally changed my perspective. it breaks down the energy and mindset behind true attraction in a way that just makes sense. once i started applying what it taught, i noticed people reacting to me differently almost instantly. it’s seriously worth a read.
I can't find this book online.
Scam
@@wisdomseeker405 yup
This must be an AI generated account.
I have had exactly the same conversations in my own head this year about reading goals. I have previously not counted audiobooks as "books read" in my reading goals and now I wonder why. Did I really think listening to a book was not "reading" that book? Really?!? This year I will be counting ALL books I consume. I do wish though that Goodreads/Storygraph would allow a number of pages goal rather than number of books - feeling like I "can't" read a long book because it takes too long is not productive.
Your videos about books help me with my reading slumps! Motivating thank you!🙏🏼✨
This is the first year I have made a goal because i haven't been reading at all recently. As long as I read 5 this year, I'm happy. I think a lot of people become competitive, either with others or themselves. My goal every year will be a minimum of 5. Anything else is purely for the extra fun.
I also enjoy Robin's videos. Learn so much with videos like those.
Miss Granger, given your enthusiasm and erudition of the written word, I cannot help but think it is only a matter of time before you are asked to do 'voice-over' work? In any event, please keep up the good work!
For the last few years I’ve set a goal number of books that I know I’ll hit somewhere between August to October. I find I do need the motivation to finish the books I start, but I know I’ll have a few months at the end of the year where I’ll be over my goal and I can relax in my reading habits. For example in 2024 my goal was 40 books and I ended up reading 76. For the latter half of the year I was ahead so it gave me a boost each time I extended the lead.
I've set a goal of 100 for rhe past few years and only read 34 books last year. I've decided to not set a goal at all but keep track in bullet journal to hopefully get out of a reading slump I've been in for a while
I set a reading goal each year, as a form of motivation and for the graphs. I didn’t reach my reading goal last year, but I don’t mind. I have set another reading goal this year, but I would like to be more mindful of my reading, and slow down and enjoy it more.
have always enjoyed setting reading goals... it's fun :) luv ur room! soooo cozy
Such a great video, I set my first ever numerical goal in 2024 and went above it. However, I think what reading targets push us to do is read shorter and lighter books so we can read them more quickly and therefore tick them off and get closer to our goal. This means we pull away from reading classics and longer books which is such a shame!x
Ruby, I think you would absolutely love 'Michael Rosen's Book of Play'! It was one of my favourite books from 2024, even though I usually don't read much non-fiction. I cannot stop telling people about it! It's SO good if you are interested in childhood, the psychology of creativity, language and the education system.
Between my job, family, and other commitments I never read as much as I would like. I finished 45 books in 2024. I am always tempted to set a number for myself and then I feel stressed and anxious to keep up, however if I don't have any goal, I don't prioritize reading enough.
Reading goals are très sportif. Enjoy, Ruby!. ❤😊
hi ruby! love your videos! they really help me at uni 🌸💗
Storygraph has the option of manually import a book, or even something that's not a book! As I'm usually reading in italian I import lots of books that aren't in the database yet, and I like to track some long fanfiction as well. I too struggle with titles and can't remember all the reading I do, and the app is my reading journal
“Prescriptive” - a new and useful word for me!
You can also add those other forms of literature to Storygraph. If you add a book, there is a ticky-box at the end of the form for 'this is not a book' which is described as 'Not a book' status is for records that do not represent what is typically considered to be a 'book'.
Wait that’s so clever! I had no idea! Thank you so much!
in 2023, i read 80 books. in 2024, i read 11. MASSIVE drop. life got in the way, health issues got in the way and my brain couldn’t cooperate. now, i’m recuperating slowly, but it’s really hard.
i also like feeling like i’m achieving things, so i did set a goal this year: to read 365 hours. not one everyday, but in total 365 hours. so when life is harder, i just won’t read. and i know some days i will marathon 10+ hours of reading, on good days when i’m too immersed in a book (i AM a long book girlie, like reeaaaally long books), so it all works out in the end. i won’t feel pressured if i’m reading one book that takes me a whole month, or if i’m reading unpublished books by friends i’m beta reading for. i won’t feel demoralized if i end up having to reread one page a thousand times because my brain is foggy that day, at the end of the day it all counts toward the goal! i can also take my time reading slowly, tasting the words, enjoying the ride without caring about how much i’m reading. this year, i’m taking my time to smell the roses.
i’ll keep track on goodreads and storygraph like i’ve been doing so far, but i won’t care about numbers other than the hours i spend reading. also, i’ll keep track of everything (including non-books!) in my reading journal. let’s hope it works and this year is heaps better than last.
i love this idea so much! i also tend to enjoy long books, but i don't reach for them that often; they take a long time to finish and hardly contribute to my goodreads challenge 😅 but the idea of setting a time-based goal is perfect, because i would like to prioritise reading over other forms of entertainment this year, whether that means reading 10 really long books or 40 short ones.
if i may ask, how are you tracking the time you spend reading?
@@katarinka_jpg yesss! i’m trying to stay away from my phone as much as humanly possible, and I find that a time-based goal is helping me a lot. reading feels more enjoyable, and i’m not like “why don’t i have already three books under my belt?”. nonono, just calm all around. i like that better. and i’m super excited to read my BIG books 😁😁 goodreads’ goal can be cool for others, but i think for bigger books people it’s so much harder, much more pressure.
yes, of course! at first i wanted to just start a stopwatch when i began and when i finished and just write that down the time spent in my writing journal or notes or something. that could work, but i’m currently experimenting with two apps: one is Toggl and the other is Clockify. you can enter data either manually (selecting the time you started and finished), or with a stopwatch (you press start, read and then stop it). i find that i prefer the stopwatch, because if for whatever reason i pick up my phone while reading, the timer stares at me like: “whatcha doin’ here?” and i get back to my book.
i haven’t decided yet which one i’ll keep using. Toggl is the one i’m liking most so far, it has more bells and whistles (a feature to set time-based goals daily or weekly, better filters to see your stats, a Pomodoro Timer, on iPhone you can see the timer from your lock screen, it has an apple watch app…) but since Clockify is simpler, it may be better (also, i like the way you can save Tasks -that i’m using for each specific book i’m reading). I don’t know yet hehe, so i’ll keep using them for a while.
i’m also tracking other stuff i like doing this way, like writing. this is helping me to be more mindful of where my time is going and not use my phone so goddamn much lmao. but if you only need to track your time reading and you don’t want to involve even more technology, then using a stopwatch/a clock and a notebook/your notes app is more than enough.
i love that you like this idea! i think it helps us in more areas than just reading more books ☺️
@@A.H._ Thanks for the suggestions! I have already been using the app Forest to track my focus time (you plant a tree for an amount of time, and if you exit the app before the timer ends, the tree dies). I found out they also have a stopwatch function, which is perfect for me 😄
Also, I am always looking for more goodreads friends if you'd like to add me! :)
My reading goal is simply a method of encouragement and a fun reflection for the end of the year.
I DNF books, I let my mood dictate what I read, I don’t stress about it. If I was making content or getting paid to read books then I probably would be more strict about it or feel pressure.
Wow this was super interesting! I love hearing about your reading; I like how tapped in you are to your specific interests! This is only second year really tracking my reading and I did find myself becoming obsessed with the numerical feedback on Goodreads a lot (especially the percentages, which made me update constantly!). But I did find myself reading more, as you found as well. This year my goals are going to be centered more around reading more widely (not just fantasy :D), especially nonfiction, literary fiction and historical fiction are fairly new to me and I'm really excited. I also want to read at last half of my books from the library or re-reads from my own :) Do you ever have goals outside of the numbers?
As an anxious ball of panic, keeping up with a reading goal would really make me spiral lol.
I didn’t set a reading goal this past year either. It felt so nice to just read what I wanted when I wanted. I truly enjoyed it📚❤️ Happy 2025 to everyone😊
love you ❤️ you are the best part of this awful day. thank you
Me too I didn't sell also my Goodreads challenge this year because I am totally burned from my work and committments, I am giving myself a time of relax to recharge myself again and going refresh.
My goal for 2024 was simply "read more" and actually I did really well. I think it was about reminding myself how much I love reading. I used to track how long I spent reading, initially to see how long it took to read X book, but seeing it in numbers that I was spending 10+ hours a week was pretty motivating for a while. I stopped when I realised the tracking had become an extra step that was putting me off reading. In 2015 I set myself the goal of 50 books, which I just about managed. But a few of those books I only chose because they were short. And I also gave up on a book I was enjoying because it was too long and it would've put me behind schedule. I've just recently picked it up again and am almost halfway through.
I set a reading goal the last handful of years, usually 100 books. I didn’t reach it by a long shot this year (only got 40), but thought I set a goal, I make sure I just read what there is to read. I also have a re reading all my books challenge, which means I have to read the big slow ones at some point. This last year, that was reading Game of Thrones. I set a goal to get me to prioritize reading, but I try not to pay too much attention to it. Most I’ll go “hmm I haven’t read my ten ish books this month, what in my schedule do I need to change to make that happen next month?”
Hey, since you've mentioned that you cannot track a lot of the things you are reading on Storygraph (like manuscripts, etc.), maybe you could use Notion to track these? I've already used Notion a few times to make my own templates and it's great! The most recent one was me going through free or partly free writing organisation apps like campfire, etc. and using them as inspiration to make my own template for writing a (fantasy) book, the perfect mix between all the free stuff out there and what I actually need/want. And obvioulsy without any limit to how many characters, etc. I can create :) And so far it worked amazing and I can only recommend to do this! Especially tracking is really easy to implement in a Notion page, as the recently added charts work just as well as any tracking-app to visualize different parts of your database. I'm also going to build myself such a tracking page as I'm not sure if I want to use storygraph, as it's another app I'd have to use each time I read something whereas I already use Notion for a bunch of things.
Ah that's a really good idea! Thank you for that :)
Sometimes you just have to set aside the numbers, the statistics and let yourself flow with the moment. It's not about keeping up with the Joneses
Can you put up again your Spring try-on clothing haul from first year of university? It was my favourite, it doesn't matter if your style has changed now. But it was really big inspiration for me
the fact that everyone falls in love with Ruby‘s speaking immediately 🌸😻
You know what? I'm just going to say it. Matching cup and curtains!!!!! ❤💚❤💚
I enjoy Robin Waldrun too, but have watched Jared Henderson's channel? He's similar to Waldrun.
True. I also watch his videos
Loved this video 😊
I have the goal to read at least 12 books this year, just so I have a count in Goodreads. This is far lower than my usual 52.
This year I want to do other things during the time I would normally read. Like meet up with people and don’t feel pressure to go home to read. Maybe finally learn to knit probably. I also joined a group to read Das Kapital by Karl Marx.
So I am shifting my priorities but still want to read, however with less pressure
I just set a minimum goal that I'm sure I'll beat, and then I just go on to exceed the plan. The main point is to read every day without interruption, and how much is not so important. But in your head should always be a specific figure in pieces, and then just the interest of how much you can surpass this figure. And if you don't set a goal and thus don't establish a mental importance and priority, you can stop reading altogether.
I feel quite different I think about reading, and I'd be really interested in hearing you talk about why "reading streaks" are important? I've always read a lot, but have recently have years where I've read a lot less. Like you I finished doing my masters summer 2024 and that definitely correlated with me reading less (mine was a science, didn't require reading books- just academic journals and medical research), but if I don't feel motivated to read a book then I don't try to make myself motivated. I read because I like reading so I'm intrigued about your thoughts and would be really interested in hearing your thoughts on why it feels important to be forcing motivation to read and the importance of reading streaks for you?
This is actually such an interesting question, and it's really got me thinking because why IS the reading streak important to me?? It feels so arbitrary when you put it like that. I think, in essence, it comes down to the fact that I feel happiest and most myself when I am reading regularly, which is why I dislike reading slumps so much. It's funny how we can deprioritise the things that mean the most to us & and are the best for us - and a good reading streak just means I keep consistent with reading, and never let it slack as a habit.
Loved this video! Are you planning on going to Hay Festival this year?
you can turn off the feature on storygraph that tells you if you are on track with your reading goal :)
Can you! Oh I didn't realise! I'm going to do that :)
If you read a book at exactly the right frequency and exactly the right intensity of concentration, time comes to a dead stop and you can read infinite books. That was Kim Peek's genius.
I read a fair amount of books a year but I never want to create a goal that forces me to read so fast that the info doesn’t stick with me. I know lots of people who read 100+ a year but can’t have any in-depth discussions about the books because they can’t remember enough details. If you can’t remember much about a book a few months later I don’t know what the point is.
I did create my own reading challenge for the first time ever😂 I am trying to "regrow" my reading voice as adulthood has completely diminished it😭 and also build up my attention span&endurance for reading things when I do not want to for school.
That's so wonderful to hear!
I stayed because I caught 'watched migrating thrushes' and wanted to know more! Great vid edit and production. Also, some good companies linked-advertising to your vid.
Anyway...who thinks speed reading dilutes the sinking in time of the words and meaning? Conveyance. Maybe try reading Laurie Lee fast and then slow? Does it make a difference? Is that difference of any importance?
The reading project is tricky, isn't it. When I was at university, I developed a style of reading -- quick, analytical, dismissing parts in favor of gleaning ideas that could support my argument. It has taken me years to be able to slow down my reading, to read more deeply and more enjoyably. Now I have both reading styles at hand and can use either as needed. I'm always interested in how many books I've read in a year. But I don't care what that number is.
One book I recommend everyone to read in 2025 is Your Life Your Game by Keezano...It beautifully shows how connecting with God and building meaningful relationships can lead to spiritual growth and success in both your personal and professional life. This book truly changed my life-a must-read. Thank you
hey ruby!
Hello!
This motivated me to remove my GR reading challenge for 2025. I tend to read a lot of books (150-200 range) because it's my primary source of entertainment, so as a result the quality of the books I read vary dramatically. Late last year I started being more critical of the types of books I read and didn't want to bloat the challenge tally with brain candy books, so I was categorizing books as worthy or not worthy of being included in the challenge tally. Now I've decided to be more intentional about books as a personal goal and vow not to do a reading challenge at all. If I'm curious about my reading statistics, I'll remind myself to set a GR challenge on Dec 31.
i have failed my 15 books challenge in the last 2 years😅 but i'll try again this year, i think it's fun to keep track, i have done this since i was 14! i am 25 now
Robin recently announced that he is going on a trip to Oxford. You two should meet up and blog together!
I started my Common Place book.
I always set a reasonable number of books that I know I will read without stressing and it works for me. 😊