Any escape might help to smooth the unattractive truth

I had a lofty goal this year to read 100 books. I’ve never hit that number - the highest was 87 a few years ago. But I found when I set a really high goal, I get so focused on the number that it makes reading less fun. I won’t abandon books because I need them for “the number”. If I’m at the end and not close to my goal, I select books that will be “quick and easy” versus finding something I want to read regardless of length or challenge. I shy away from huge books because they count the same as short ones. This tendency steals the joy from my reading habit.

So my “official” goal each year has been 52 books - one a week. I reach this fairly easily, though the years I’ve scrolled social media on my phone too much it was a scramble in November/December to get caught up! For me that’s “good pressure” - books instead of Instagram or Reddit.

I’ve gotten better at abandoning books I hate, or when I think “I don’t care what happens to any of these characters” or “this writer’s voice is realllly not for me”. That’s become second nature and I easily abandon 10+ books a year.

Sometimes I get off-track on my goal because I get “stuck” in certain books for weeks or even a whole month. I rationalized that they were just slower paced or I didn’t feel like reading.

Then I heard this Best of Both Worlds podcast episode and directly connected my speed and amount of reading to my enjoyment of the material. If I’m “meh” about a book or have overly-optimistic thoughts about it improving, I just stay stuck and read slowly but there isn’t that joy of racing through to find out what happens. Again, it’s not me - it’s the book! It’s harder to detect in these cases, because I think “I just need to try a little harder” or “I’m not making enough time to read”. But reading is FUN, you guys. I’m not reading these books for a class. I can and should abandon them if they’re not engaging, even if they are not terrible.

find me on The Storygraph!

This happened with a couple of eagerly-anticipated time management books this year, and realized this is why I’ve only read 6 books by the end of February. I should be at 8 to stay on track for my goal of 52. I marked both ‘did not finish’ on The Storygraph (non-Amazon Goodreads competitor) and felt immediate relief.

Now, I’m racing through Geddy Lee’s memoir (lead singer of Rush) and can’t wait to get into the car to listen to the next installment - he reads the audiobook and it is a delight. I finished another in two days - Farah Naz Rishi’s Sorry for the Inconvenience, though it was really heavy and sad. I realized I’m just not a fan of family trauma and grief memoirs. I read to escape or learn, and I want books that are fun and uplifting.

We have some long flights coming up for Spring Break and I’ve downloaded several highly rated audiobooks and a handful of Kindle books from the library as well. I won’t get to all of them before they’re due, but it gives me a good selection when I don’t have Wi-Fi. I’m really looking forward to a March full of good reading!