I break my annual goal into two options: 50 books OR 15,000 pages. I found I was ignoring any book over350 pages (give or take) and it was limiting me. So that's when I added the pages. And I will quit a book without looking back. I figure there are so many books to read that I don't want to waste my time on books I don't like. Case in point, I started Educated on Monday and if it doesn't pick up by page 100, I'm out.
I can totally see not liking it! I'm not keen on reading about others' trauma or grief, I realized just recently, and I've read a LOT of those books. Crying in H Mart was another one I realllly didn't like, but finished.
I liked Educated but it was not super well-written. I do the 100-page thing as well, though sometimes I don't even make it that far :D Did you abandon the Puffins book? Also, I like your page goal, that's a nice way to solve that issue.
Gretchen Rubin’s podcast Happier has a yearly challenge. This year’s is reading - it’s tied to the year so it’s “read 25 in ‘25”. It can be 25 minutes per day or pages per week or 2+5 [metric]. I don’t really do it religiously but try to read part of an ebook whenever I’m on the train or in line somewhere. (I can get through audiobooks without issue but I have ebooks stacked up online Libby that I have to be really mindful about getting to.)
yeah, my libby stuff sometimes all comes in at once and then I have to wait again for the holds. It's kind of annoying :D I try to mostly get books "available now" so I don't feel stressed about it :D
I still have my King County Library card (shhhhh) and it allows 25 holds at one time. I also have two other library cards (Raleigh and Berlin) but their catalog and hold allowances aren’t as vast. So, I tend to use the inability to place KCLS items on hold (current status btw) as an impetus to get reading/listening. 😁
haha, same with KCLS ;) I love that library so much. Phoenix often has better availability for popular stuff (I think there are more readers and more e-savvy readers in Seattle) so I'll get it from our local library quicker but KCLS has a bigger selection. But both are great.
Agree! Reading serves a lot of purposes for me - keeps me from mindless scrolling, helps me learn new things, expands creativity, is just plain fun, etc. I wouldn't even need a numeric goal but if I don't set one, I will find myself on my phone ALL THE TIME. I don't know why.
My daughter thinks is hilarious but I have my reader app on my phone. If you see me in line, nine times out of ten I am reading a couple pages on my phone e
We tend to quantify the unquantifiable because that is easy. I don’t think you want to read # books. You enjoy reading and want to spend “enough” free time reading. Honestly you would probably be happier with a measurable goal to identify and stop reading things you don’t enjoy 😂
The exact same thing happens to me if I set an over 100 books goal. And I love long books that I can sink into… so I set a 100 books goal annually so that I can choose reading over scrolling, but so that I can read long books over shorter just for that number #marcialovesgoals
Happy reading ! I’m looking for good non-fiction audiobook recommendations. I have two credits on audible that I need to cash in before I cancel my subscription. There are enough free audiobooks books available on Libby right now and, well, Amazon….
I can't remember if you're American or not (sorry) but if you are, Obama's memoir (the one that came out around 2020?) was amazing. I also LOVED Trevor Noah's book Born a Crime. I actually don't listen to most productivity books on audio because I absorb the info better when I read it so it's mostly memoirs when it comes to nonfiction.
Ditto! I mostly listen to memoirs on audio and love it when they're read by the author. I loved Trevor Noah's memoir .... didn't read Obama's . Michelle Obamas' was also good but my most favorite memoir of all time is Green Lights , Mathew Mc Connaughey .... I've listened to it half a dozen times on my long runs . I also enjoy fiction on audio especially if there are accents involved . I listened to Covenant of Water last year as well as Cutting for Stone and it was really nice . Also Meryl Streep's rendition of Ann Patchett's Tom Lake .
I stopped listening to Non Fiction on audio because I cannot retain any of the stuff I read so I feel like it defeats the whole purpose and hence prefer paper version.
Ditched the kindle a long time ago because I just love paper books and buying so many of them to fill up my shelves . We don't have a good public library system in the UAE and the reading culture is practically non-existent but I grew up reading ALOT and lately this has really helped wean me off Social Media .
WOW, I would not have expected Matthew McConnaughey's memoir to be good, lol. Totally adding it to my list. I did love Cutting for Stone but it was a hard read in places, for sure. But culturally super interesting. I read an Ann Patchett book set in Boston while we were on vacation there and it was *delightful* even though it was 20+ years old. I need to read more of her work!
There are some Audible exclusive books that aren’t available through libraries (not that I’m bitter). The full cast unabridged version of World War Z is one of them and it’s fantastic.
I break my annual goal into two options: 50 books OR 15,000 pages. I found I was ignoring any book over350 pages (give or take) and it was limiting me. So that's when I added the pages. And I will quit a book without looking back. I figure there are so many books to read that I don't want to waste my time on books I don't like. Case in point, I started Educated on Monday and if it doesn't pick up by page 100, I'm out.
I’m the only one I know who didn’t like Educated 🙈
I can totally see not liking it! I'm not keen on reading about others' trauma or grief, I realized just recently, and I've read a LOT of those books. Crying in H Mart was another one I realllly didn't like, but finished.
That and the “science” 🙈 Agree with Crying in H Mart. I abandoned it about 15% through!
I liked Educated but it was not super well-written. I do the 100-page thing as well, though sometimes I don't even make it that far :D Did you abandon the Puffins book? Also, I like your page goal, that's a nice way to solve that issue.
Gretchen Rubin’s podcast Happier has a yearly challenge. This year’s is reading - it’s tied to the year so it’s “read 25 in ‘25”. It can be 25 minutes per day or pages per week or 2+5 [metric]. I don’t really do it religiously but try to read part of an ebook whenever I’m on the train or in line somewhere. (I can get through audiobooks without issue but I have ebooks stacked up online Libby that I have to be really mindful about getting to.)
yeah, my libby stuff sometimes all comes in at once and then I have to wait again for the holds. It's kind of annoying :D I try to mostly get books "available now" so I don't feel stressed about it :D
I still have my King County Library card (shhhhh) and it allows 25 holds at one time. I also have two other library cards (Raleigh and Berlin) but their catalog and hold allowances aren’t as vast. So, I tend to use the inability to place KCLS items on hold (current status btw) as an impetus to get reading/listening. 😁
haha, same with KCLS ;) I love that library so much. Phoenix often has better availability for popular stuff (I think there are more readers and more e-savvy readers in Seattle) so I'll get it from our local library quicker but KCLS has a bigger selection. But both are great.
I agree. Reading is an escape and a darn good one as well. Happy reading.
Envision your happy state. Read daily? Trade reading for x? Goals help us achieve our mission, vision, purpose.
Agree! Reading serves a lot of purposes for me - keeps me from mindless scrolling, helps me learn new things, expands creativity, is just plain fun, etc. I wouldn't even need a numeric goal but if I don't set one, I will find myself on my phone ALL THE TIME. I don't know why.
My daughter thinks is hilarious but I have my reader app on my phone. If you see me in line, nine times out of ten I am reading a couple pages on my phone e
oh yeah, i have the Kindle app on mine on the home screen front and center so I try to read instead of scroll!
We tend to quantify the unquantifiable because that is easy. I don’t think you want to read # books. You enjoy reading and want to spend “enough” free time reading. Honestly you would probably be happier with a measurable goal to identify and stop reading things you don’t enjoy 😂
EXACTLY. I kinda don't care about the number except it gets me off my phone!!
Omg a Rush lyric! Took me a sec!
hah! good catch - their lyrics are complicated so they don't always seem recognizable!
The exact same thing happens to me if I set an over 100 books goal. And I love long books that I can sink into… so I set a 100 books goal annually so that I can choose reading over scrolling, but so that I can read long books over shorter just for that number #marcialovesgoals
Happy reading ! I’m looking for good non-fiction audiobook recommendations. I have two credits on audible that I need to cash in before I cancel my subscription. There are enough free audiobooks books available on Libby right now and, well, Amazon….
I can't remember if you're American or not (sorry) but if you are, Obama's memoir (the one that came out around 2020?) was amazing. I also LOVED Trevor Noah's book Born a Crime. I actually don't listen to most productivity books on audio because I absorb the info better when I read it so it's mostly memoirs when it comes to nonfiction.
Ditto! I mostly listen to memoirs on audio and love it when they're read by the author. I loved Trevor Noah's memoir .... didn't read Obama's . Michelle Obamas' was also good but my most favorite memoir of all time is Green Lights , Mathew Mc Connaughey .... I've listened to it half a dozen times on my long runs . I also enjoy fiction on audio especially if there are accents involved . I listened to Covenant of Water last year as well as Cutting for Stone and it was really nice . Also Meryl Streep's rendition of Ann Patchett's Tom Lake .
I stopped listening to Non Fiction on audio because I cannot retain any of the stuff I read so I feel like it defeats the whole purpose and hence prefer paper version.
Ditched the kindle a long time ago because I just love paper books and buying so many of them to fill up my shelves . We don't have a good public library system in the UAE and the reading culture is practically non-existent but I grew up reading ALOT and lately this has really helped wean me off Social Media .
WOW, I would not have expected Matthew McConnaughey's memoir to be good, lol. Totally adding it to my list. I did love Cutting for Stone but it was a hard read in places, for sure. But culturally super interesting. I read an Ann Patchett book set in Boston while we were on vacation there and it was *delightful* even though it was 20+ years old. I need to read more of her work!
There are some Audible exclusive books that aren’t available through libraries (not that I’m bitter). The full cast unabridged version of World War Z is one of them and it’s fantastic.
Agree with Born a Crime and I also always recommend Stories I only tell my friends!