Hey friends! And welcome to my blog, or welcome back if you’re a regular visitor. I posted on my twitter a while ago that I wasn’t going to be setting myself a numbered reading goal for 2022 and asked my followers if I should write a thread on it or a blog post. The overwhelming response was blog post, so here we are!
For 2019, 2020 and 2021 I have set myself a Goodreads goal, and for those three years I completed said goal. This year I actually smashed my goal by nearly 200% – I originally set a goal of 40 books and so far I’m on 74 (as of 23.10.21 when I wrote this post).
Last year, I upped my reading goal 3 times because I kept overtaking myself, which I do believe lockdown had some helping hand in, I will admit… There was nothing to do but read, it was like a bookworms dream.
Anyway, back to the topic at hand (sorry I ramble A LOT!)
My reasons for not setting a numbered reading goal next year are:
1 – I’ve recently been informed I’m being promoted at work, which comes with new responsibilities and a new job role. The new job role also requires that I undertake some training, which is a year long and will have an exam at the end. While I will still be putting aside time to read and undertake my other hobbies, I feel the added pressure of a numbered goal for reading would just be too much, even if I set that goal really low.
2 – I’m trying to get my TBR down… I know that’s what everyone is doing, but during lockdown especially, I was rewarding myself for every book I read by buying another 2 or 3, and that was just increasing my TBR by 2 or 3 times every time I finished something, and when I read 101 books in 2020 it’s getting dangerous😬
3 – I want to focus on my NetGalley ratio. I’m incredibly lucky that I have been approved for many ARCs over the last year or so that I’ve had access to NetGalley and I am so grateful for every single publisher that grants my request and I love reading these new books that are being published. But when I have a reading goal, I seem to forget my ratio even exists.
4 – On the same theme, I want to be able to spend time shouting about these new books that I’m getting to access through NetGalley and really bring some attention to them before I just move onto the next one because I’m trying to achieve a goal.
5 – No one is making me set a goal for myself, I don’t have to do it, and I don’t have to put pressure on myself to achieve a numbered goal, for something that is a hobby. I don’t have to take part in a reading goal, it doesn’t make me any less of a reader or make me feel any less involved… I just want to take a step back from the pressure that seeing the number and percentage on Goodreads or Storygraph would force onto me.
And there you have it, my reasoning for not setting myself a numbered reading goal next year! I will still be tracking my reading, sharing reviews and keeping a total of how many books I’ve read but I won’t be comparing that against some random number that I’ve picked for myself.
Of course though if you’re taking part in a reading goal next year, let me know so I can cheer you on from the sidelines!
Until next time, Em xxx
What Em's Reading 