Let’s Talk: Why I Lowered my Goodreads Goal

On New Year’s Day I posted all of my goals for the year, which included my Goodreads goal, to complete 120 books (same as 2015).  I posted again this week for Top Ten Tuesday, and again, talked about my resolution to read 120 books in 2016.

As this week has gone on, I keep looking at my bookshelves and all the books I want to get to, and thinking about all the things I want to accomplish this year (buying a house, summer travel plans, etc).  I’ve realized that I am putting way too much pressure on myself to read X number of books, rather than just reading for fun. Reading has started to feel like homework.  I’m continuously picking up shorter books because I can read them faster, when I have so many chunkier books I’ve been wanting to get to.  I started Queen of Shadows in September (my most anticipated 2015 release) and I’ve yet to even read 100 pages!

I also want to finally start writing reviews this year, and in order to do that, I have to slow down a little bit and think more critically and deeply about what I’m reading. I have a terrible memory, so this means taking notes on what I read, and sitting down to get my thoughts out on paper as soon as I finish a book. I don’t want to rush through a read and subsequent review because I’m so worried about picking up my next book.

My original goal meant I had to read an average of 10 books every month to read 120 by the end of the year. Some months I just don’t feel like reading that much, or I want to read a book that’s 800 pages without feeling guilty because it takes me an entire week (or longer). or to be honest, sometimes I just feel like reading fan fiction!

So I’m saying goodbye to the pressure of a big reading goal…

 

And hello to a goal that is more comfortable and manageable for me.

I’ve set a new goal for 80 books, an average of 6 per month.  Last year, some months I read 4 books and others I read over 15, so this is a good, comfortable number for me.  My goal is to get through the year without feeling any pressure to hit that magic Goodreads number.   I imagine that I’ll probably still surpass 80 books by quite a lot, but now I won’t feel pressure to do so. I considered deleting my Goodreads goal completely (gasp!), but it is the easiest way to keep track of what I’ve read and it’s always fun to scroll through the page at the end of the year to see all those pretty covers when I’m reflecting back.

This post is in no means meant to make anyone else feel bad for setting high reading goals!!!! This is just something that I had to do for myself this year.

How are you feeling about your goals so far this year? Do you ever change your GR goals (or other reading goals) after you’ve set them? Do you raise your goals towards the end of the year when you realize you’re going to reach your goal early, or lower them when you realize you’re not going to reach them in time?