the problem with booktube, booktok, and book culture: toxic reading goals | I'M BACK + rant

[@amberlimbaugh]

I think some people have lost the plot when it comes to booktube. I come on here for great recommendations, books I know I'll look forward to, and really savoring the book. What is the point of reading if not to enjoy it? I feel like consumerism plays a big part of it, but also the desire to meet some sort of goal that literally no one else really cares about aside from the reader. I'm not more or less impressed with someone who reads 20 books a year or 150 books a year. I just care about what I'm enjoying and hearing about what others are enjoying to see if their recommendations are something I might be interested in.

[@theblushingbookworm]

I agree!

[@Victoria-_]

Exactly!!

[@karentulloss9741]

💯💯💯

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

And it’s the way we GUILT ourselves as if it’s a moral failing if we don’t meet our own completely arbitrary goals

[@abookishlesbian]

Thank you for this! We definitely need to have a discussion on this. I really think capitalism has warped our brains so much to the point where we feel like that if we're not being productive 100% of the time that we're somehow doing something wrong and we need to remember the reasons why we love reading books in the first place and put our mental health and joy first!

[@Menia220]

@@abookishlesbian what does capitalism have to do with needing to feel productive all the time?

[@asobimo5532]

​@@Menia220because capitalisam thrives on hustle culture on living to work and not working to live. Nowadays you can't have a hobbies you like doing just to de stress without someone chiming in that you should sell this or take orders for that. And then your hobby to de-stress becomes another stressor

[@Menia220]

@@asobimo5532 that’s not capitalism. That’s peoples’ opinions… which they will always have. You can participate in capitalism and still have hobbies and a healthy work-life balance. Plenty of people do. Hustle culture does not equate to capitalism nor does “capitalism thrive of hustle culture”. if anything it’s the other way around. They’re two completely different things so I’m not sure why capitalism got thrown in to the mix.

[@justwonder1404]

@@asobimo5532 because working to the bone with no regards to your safety absolutely wasn't promoted in the USSR during the Stakhanov movement era and you couldn't get punished for being unemployed. It's like you guys can't have a normal discussion about anything without blaming every woe on having a free market.

[@emilys3757]

@@justwonder1404 We have a record wealth disparity here in the US. It’s not a level playing field. You can’t just throw out the “USSR” whataboutism to avoid the glaring issues of what capitalism has become here.

[@TangibleReads]

Read what you enjoy. People be doing too much.

[@theblushingbookworm]

🤣Facts!

[@karentulloss9741]

I agree

[@cherrynoodles5516]

ok as an adhd girlie not only did the topic of this video really resonate with me but i love your style of editing with the text and emojis at the bottom! it’s really engaging

[@RachelB.BookReferences]

Interesting. I found it super distracting and overstimulating and had to cover it up with my hand while watching, lol.

[@JamaicanGirl461]

I don't set reading goals. My only goal is to have fun and enjoy what I'm reading

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

My reading goals: Read a book. Then read another one.

[@KeyshaeRobinson]

I love this

[@crazyladywhodrownedinthelake]

I'm a high school student with no job whose known for reading a lot. I read 64 books last year. I don't understand how people are reading 200, even if BookTube or book-reviewing is their job. Surely, you'd get fatigued. I don't even set an actual reading goal because I'm far too prone to stress for that. There's no way people enjoy this.

[@KittyxKult]

I read several hundred books a year (I set my yearly goal around 100 just for fun). I don’t expect people to compare themselves to me but I get very annoyed at people who call me a liar or say I just don’t do anything other than reading. Yes, I do other things. Yes, I do get fatigued. But it’s my favorite hobby so I read several books at a time, and spend entire days reading on my days off. I recently worked 2 full time jobs at the same time, and it was the first time I read about ten books in the month rather than 20-30. And I was miserable. I listen to audiobooks while I clean, while I do puzzles, and while I drive. You could absolutely quiz me on the books I have read and the majority of them I can still relay plot, my thoughts, etc. I don’t think there should be any judgement on any side for how much people like to read or how many books they read a year. Doubting how much people read is just as toxic as judging someone who only reads 1-2 books a year.

[@SarasBooksAndThings]

1) high school is the equivalent of a full time job. You're in class a minimum of 40 hours a week plus homework. 2) people have different reading speeds. Personally I read 243 books last year. It is a mix of manga, graphic novels and manga but all of them count!

[@crazyladywhodrownedinthelake]

@@KittyxKult good points

[@crazyladywhodrownedinthelake]

@@SarasBooksAndThings damn. also I should go live in the woods.

[@SarasBooksAndThings]

@crazyladywhodrownedinthelake or have a job where you can listen to audiobooks most of the day and few other hobbies. Married with a toddler it can be done

[@ItsCatrissa]

My goal this year was just to get back into reading period, and it has been so successful. I have read 16 books, and 7 manga. I don't have a structured goal, but I am being mindful of the my choices to read whenever I have free time, and that was my goal.

[@theblushingbookworm]

I like this response, because it is all about reading and being mindful of what we are reading. I think last year I included manga in my reading(and those were super good!) Other books were novels and novellas, but i rejoiced for continuing my reading hobby, which is important to me.

[@dennesesandy786]

I love reading books. I set no goals. When I'm done with a book, I always take a day or two to just rest and think about the book, then I start another. We run into trouble trying to impress others. Also, I find that listening to people's choice pics seldom bare fruit. So I pick what jumps out at me and even though I hate the book, I appreciate reading it.

[@elliestrange5285]

I really recommend this because it adds a nice element to the reading experience, but once I've finished a book I take some time before starting the next one to write a little review in my notebook so I can reflect on what I read and think back on the book and see different perspectives that I hadn't thought of when I read it!

[@cinycaybudgets]

I had a goal of reading 24 books this year, but literally read one book the first 6 months of the year lmao. I work full time and have 3 kids, just having one in January. so it is what it is. But beginning July I got a spark again and read 4 books this month. I'm aiming for 12 by the end of the year. When I hear anything over 50 books, I just can no longer comprehend lmao

[@brooke5258]

Good for you! Keep it manageable! Reading anything while being a parent is remarkable.

[@Diana-mu7pc]

I feel like we need to start congratulating people for NOT meeting their reading goals too, sometimes, LOL. I mean this sincerely: good for you on that one book in the first six months. And I hope it was a book you enjoyed, but even if not, congrats on finding the spark again recently-and of course major congrats on your baby! I am also a slow reader, but my love of literature is no less genuine for that. I get burnt out very easily and I try to prioritize the reading I enjoy, not the amount that I read. Some of us just have to accept that reading is a harder task for us, and especially that some works/genres take more mental exertion depending on our reading history/style. But you can't quantify the satisfaction of time well spent with a good book.

[@cinycaybudgets]

@Diana-mu7pc that part! I feel like in real life, people do not read at all! So I am happy to get a few books in, in a year. I try to stop comparing my reading amount to others because we surely are living different lives! I try my best to squeeze it in, and sometimes I read one page and next thing I know, it's the next day 😭 sleep gets the best of me sometimes, but I try!

[@Diana-mu7pc]

@@cinycaybudgets YES lol, more power to those of us who are bookish but oftentimes "bad" readers (or so we think of ourselves) 😭😭 We are out here!!!

[@JAM1LA]

Girl this was soo well said. This is my first year back into reading since I was a child, I’ve read 24 books this year & I set my goal to 40. I think for me 100 books+ is so overwhelming for me. I don’t think I would ever want to read that much in a year. lol I think the 60ish range is perfect for me & i hope to achieve that in the next couple years.

[@cmgoodell]

I've only ever engaged with other people's book goals as "hey, great job on hitting that goal friend" if someone in my feed hits theirs but never viewed it as anything other than that. I set mine low based on what I think I can average in a week and adjust it up later in the year if I hit it. Sounds like some people need blocked if someone is trying to shame you or others. The older I get, the less time I have for other people's bad behavior toward hobbies. I don't see book length as a measure of quality. You can say a heck of a lot in a novella or even a single poem. Sometimes more is just more. I've stopped reading series because the author just won't get to the point. They are just meandering in some plot cul-de-sac they find interesting, but I just don't care, and 500 pages later, essentially nothing in the overall arc has changed. Also, sometimes I can't find anything I want to read because I'm depressed. So if you are having troubles finding that focus, consider that it might be part of a larger issue.

[@sagekay]

I think I’ve found my sweet spot which is 60-ish books. I’d love to challenge myself one year to 100 but since reading is my hobby, I definitely look more at it like a fun thing I can challenge myself to do, rather than a harsh goal a HAVE to achieve. But I also think it’s important to be self aware about your life circumstances. I’m disabled, so I don’t get to “go out” very often and do physical things, and so my life is filled with the media I consume and the people I talk to. But once upon a time when I wasn’t disabled, I didn’t have the time or the luxury to read as much as I do. I also think that people need to realize that a lot of the people who read 100+ books a year do it as part of their job, whether because they’re a content creator, a librarian, a publisher or otherwise. they have the time and the energy to complete that goal, whereas the average person might not be able to read that much without stressing themselves out. Reading is a hobby. However you engage in your hobby is valid as long as it’s not harming anyone (including yourself).

[@books-on-a-wire]

Variety is my key to success. I'll have 3 different genres going at the same time, different formats, and different age groups that allow me to read quickly. My book of the year (so far) is a children's book that I did not see happening. 😂 My book journal also helps keep my organized and where to focus on any given month. All of my goals are to challenge ME, not anyone else, to push myself to read from my shelves. Great discussion video, so many good points!

[@jayjayjenni]

I’m a very aesthetic girlie. I store the books I’ve already read backwards on my shelf. My self-inflicted challenge right now is to read the books I already own. I’ve been accomplishing this by annotating all of my books. Book flag match the cover. It’s so satisfying to watch my backwards book collection grow with all the pretty book flags. Annotating keeps me more engaged as I go. And if I throw an extra flag in here and there for the aesthetic, that’s between me and the book. 😉

[@brooke5258]

I'm having a "terrible" reading year... compared to last year. I've "only read 30 books." Which is ridiculous to say bc it's 30 books! But you're right, the quality of books has gone down. Most of the releases I anticipated this year turned out to be duds. But I've been re-reading some from last year that I enjoyed. And I've found a new, dense fantasy series to get into. So the quality I'm reading is still up!

[@MADKC4Ever]

@@brooke5258 That was me last year when I “only” read 44 books. I saw so many people reading 100, 150, 200, etc. and I felt like such a failure. That isn’t supposed to be what reading is about!!

[@brooke5258]

@@MADKC4Ever last year I read over 70, but I'm not putting pressure on myself to reach it. If I'm not enjoying a book, it's out.

[@christinec2625]

@@brooke5258 exactly. I do the same thing when watching tv. If a show or movie isn’t catching my interest within 15 minutes then I change it. It’s the same with a book. I give it a couple chapters and if I’m not interested then I don’t finish it.

[@RamonaGelosi]

I get you about that weird massive reading slump (I tried EVERYTHING). In my case tho I'm going through a lot of stress bc of health issues and that is affecting also my hobbies (I also had a TV show slump + movie slump EVEN A LISTENING TO MUSIC SLUMP). For those who care I'm watching series again and a few movies now, I could read the other day like one chapter of a book that I'm really liking so I feel like I'm getting out of it BUT MY POINT OF THIS COMMENT IS TO TELL EVERYBODY WHO RELATES THAT IT'S OK AND TAKE IT STEP BY STEP❤

[@RachelB.BookReferences]

I have a chronic illness and have struggled with depression, so I understand this. If you're going through a lot of slumps and haven't yet been checked for depression, I highly recommend it. I resisted going on meds for years, but they have seriously helped so much.

[@rebekkahmobley4977]

I don’t set reading goals. Never have, never will, but I have been falling into the trap of quantity of quality, though not on purpose. I read 22 books in May (they were shorter romances, and I was off school), but most of them were mediocre at best. It has made me pivot a little, focusing these past few months on rereads and quality fantasy. Plus, it was a nightmare keeping track. I have a book journal, but i would always forget to write about the books

[@Montana677]

I used to have a bookstagram and I'd be lucky to read 6 books month, let alone the 15+ others were showing during their monthly wrap ups. That always made me feel like I wasn't reading enough. Then there's the Goodreads goal pressure letting you know if you're falling behind. I found myself doing the 'read a short/easy book' to get ahead or keep up. And looking back I'm like wow that was so pointless! Since changing my reading goals from just a quantity goal to things like 'read 2 poetry books' 'continue 2 series' I've found I enjoy reading a lot more again.

[@rachelh4062]

I believe reading challenges kind of play on our dopamine system. Which is what makes them so addicting! When you finish a book and mark it as finished you get a hit of dopamine and want to do it again. And finishing the challenge is the ultimate dopamine hit. Plus like you said you get other benefits. Maybe with this I mind you can be more lenient with yourself and take your time reading what you enjoy

[@julieannefowler5768]

I don't set a goal of books to read by numbers per year. I just make a list of books I want to read and check them off as I get to them. My reading log is simple: title, author, date started, date finished. That was how we did our reading logs when I was in elementary school. A big part of the pressure I think, is that booktube and booktok want to stay 'relevant' and thus they always talk about the same books, make their reading challenges, or make their reading logs too pretty. All you need to track your books read is a notebook, pen, and maybe some crayons for adding fun color to the lines. This was a much needed video I think. Thank you for sharing it and apologies for the rambling comment.

[@JellieGHope]

Every year, I set my goal to 50 books. That's less than one a week. It's been many years since I've ready only 50. I have ADHD and I find physical copies hard. I prefer to listen to audio books at 2x speed. I only work 20-25 hours a week. All that is to say, I'm at 114 books this year. Storygraph says I like books to be 300-500 pages. It's rare for me to read short books. My second goal is to diversify my reading experience. I've recently fallen in love with African fantasy. (Namina Forna, Roseanne A Brown)

[@amyschmelzer6445]

Last year I reached my book goal early and then bumped it up. It ended up being a crazy high number of books. I participated in a monthlong readathon that shot my books up but put me in a slump afterwards. I didn’t like that feeling so I tweaked my goals for 2024. Instead of a number of books I made it a number of pages. I decided that an average of 100 pages a day was realistic. I have done well with that most weeks except for when I was on vacation earlier this month. I only averaged 44 pages a day while traveling but I knew to expect that from myself, so it’s not bothering me.

[@PaytonRenee-wz8bt]

I myself usually set a pretty achievable goal about how many books I read a month. However, I also have an illness and will need two transplants this year and I have been septic about 4 times this year alone, on top of raising my son. I don’t beat myself up about not getting to that goal because sometimes I get depressed or only have enough energy to take care of my baby. Learn to give yourself grace. It’s a hobby not a competition people are taking it way too seriously. Nobody is gonna say on their death bed “I wish I would have read more books”

[@SarasBooksAndThings]

I love doing challenges! Its a fun way to vary up my reading. I read books quickly and I also read a lot of manga and graphic novels which help the numbers. For example, I recently went on a binge where I read a 19 volume manga series in 2 days. Some books also just read a lot quicker depending age category and genere.

[@badbettybooks4001]

Agreed - I love manga and on a rainy weekend I can read like 10 volumes in only a few hours. I have a high reading goal, I never pressure myself to hit it, but I usually get close due to manga.

[@SarasBooksAndThings]

@@badbettybooks4001 manga is definitely why I keep mine so high. It's so easy to read the numbers get up there quickly.

[@xx-ow7nd]

I’ve found reading goals to be fun and encouraging, but I am a writer. So, if I set a goal to read 10 romantasy books some month, it’s because I’m working on a romantasy project and need to familiarize myself with new stuff that’s happening in the genre. I also read a lot of critical theory and philosophy that isn’t for relaxation, so it’s nice to have a built-in dopamine kick when I get to add something that gave me an existential crisis (but broadened my perspectives and probably made me a better writer) to my silly little goodreads list. (This is all my way of excusing the fact that earlier this summer, I read all 5 ASOIAF books and then proceeded to re-read The Stranger by Camus and multiple plays and books of poetry to even out the fact that I had just read 1 million words that only counted for 5 books toward my yearly goal lmao.) That said, I don’t see any reason for people who read solely for pleasure to have reading goals if it stresses them out or sucks away the enjoyment. My reasons for doing it are all career-oriented. For me, reading is a huge part of my writing, and the weird constraint of a goodreads goal can set me in surprising and helpful directions. Revisiting The Stranger randomly during the course of the very-much-not-absurdist novel I’m working on totally changed my direction in a way that was productive and exactly what I needed-the external structure of the reading list actually led me to read something that made me make surprising connections that I wouldn’t have otherwise, almost like how constraint of form in poetry can work to make surprising connections or combinations of language we wouldn’t usually, etc etc etc. Anything that causes me to pick up a book for random or even arbitrary (like, for example, I saw it on sale for a quarter) reasons unrelated to my preconceptions about its content is a good way to end a funk. But again, these are all writer reasons, not reader reasons. I also don’t let it stop me from reading anything-I’m sure I’ve spent hours and hours reading academic articles or a few poems and a story out of a lit mag, etc, that I don’t track bc they’re not full books. I also read whatever long books I want to (I just sometimes like to make up for it later lol).

[@theoctopusesgardener]

this video is so so welcome, i’ve got adhd and i got BAD skill regression over the pandemic. i’ve felt so guilty about it but i had to accept recently that this is just where i’m at, and i don’t owe anyone anything but myself :]]

[@sablestar1956]

Yes! I agree. Making a sport out of reading has takin away from the experience. Now people aren’t really reading anymore they do audiobooks in order to reach those high “reading” metrics to stay competitive in the reading sports.

[@Nagchampa765]

Thank you so much for putting the time you must be putting into having such great captions it’s so helpful!!

[@varshinikumar9360]

Love the closed captions!! ❤

[@saraangel6696]

Last year i decided to rebel and go against what everyone was putting as their goals, including my best friend who turned it into a competition of who could read more. I set my goal for 1 book. Removing the pressure made me enjoy reading a lot more, i ended up reading 35 books. This year i set my goal for 1 again, and have read like 12 books so far (i’m a lot busier this year, so less time to read). Go against the system, set your goals for one book!

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

My reading goals: Read a book Read another book Repeat

[@taigaaj]

The problem is majority of booktubers talk about same books and ya genre.

[@Mister_Sosotris]

You do have to dig to find the creators who are talking about other authors and genres, for sure!

[@booga324]

@@taigaaj and they are allowed to

[@lucasluckproductions]

It’s all about what’s trending sadly

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

What booktubers are you watching that just talk about YA genre? 👀

[@jodydiou]

I never get behind on my reading goals... because I always start with a small obtainable goal like 20, then when I reach it I go to 40. I've been faithfully using that method for 2+ years and it takes the pressure off

[@Mostirrelevant]

I do think the goals have point for college students, people who work long hours and never find time to read and they would love to, or people whose job is related and depends on reading books (writers, directors, actors etc.), so setting a goal to finish more books in a month makes complete sense. I do think reading 50 books sound appealing to younger readers, but for them, less is more sounds like a perfect advice.

[@addicted2myxbox]

I don’t have a lot of time, so I set my goal to 1 book a month. I’m proud of that cuz so many adults don’t read at all. I usually read 4-5 books a month. This month is hard. I’m in a slump for sure.

[@Beanjast]

I always set my goal so that it's achievable because that makes it a fun little push for me. I'm currently well on track and will probably increase the goal when I meet it (likely this month) because that'll keep the fun push for the rest of the year. I don't compare my goal to other peoples because everyone has such different lives with different responsibilities, tastes, and needs. I have no doubt that my original goal of 50 this year is much higher than some and much lower than some. I would never consider myself 'more' of a reader than someone who aimed for 20 and read 15. I also wouldn't consider myself 'less' than someone who read 200, a little envious (of time) maybe, but not lesser.

[@Maeve_Ever_Books]

Loved this! Such great insights!! I set a low reading goal at the beginning of the year(usually half the amount I read the previous year) and if I reach that goal before the end of the year, I adjust it little by little.

[@Atrulion]

Absolutely. I mean ... I struggle reading a book a month, even this month I couldn't finish a book. And I AM trying. Though one thing I'm doing is to only read what I think I'll like, not just trending stuff. That does make it more fun to read. 100 books in a year is extraordinary! Edit: What you say about Quality vs Quantity is something I absolutely agree with and have been thinking for ages! People just read to read. That's it 😅

[@agathachristie9467]

I agree with all you've highlighted. And it was either last year or the year before where I got obsessive over achieving my reading goal. It was fun and I really did enjoy the challenge itself to see how far I could go but by the end of it, I not only hit a slump in the new year but I couldn't recall what I read which saddened me cause I loved my list & now can barely remember the content. The high from it was great but I still missed out on the amazing tales in those very books. So this year, I'm going slow, setting the same target (achievable) as before and like you said, reading for fun. Entering portals to other worlds 😊.

[@angela-thebooknerdess2110]

The only goal we as readers should have is to enjoy what we are reading. I honestly wonder if having these numerical challenges sucks some of the fun out of it.

[@Saar449]

Yeah I also had a little bit of burnout from last year because of my reading goal, so this year i set it to 20 and it was so nice to just see it go up and reach it quite easily when last year was a bit of a struggle in the end. Also to more just focus on which books i want to read this year has helped instead of just being like this amount of books.

[@deskara6592]

For me personally the purpose of setting a goal is to motivate myself- I love reading, have loved reading my whole life, but as a burned out neurodivergent person sometimes I can't even find it in myself to do the things that I genuinely enjoy. Having a goal to complete by the end of each year gives me just the sense of urgency I need to read books I was looking forward to reading anyway ^_^

[@shelleys.corner]

That's how I usually see goals but I think becoming more involved in social media twisted it a bit to where pressure was added 🤔 but hopefully I can go back to it just being motivating

[@Mister_Sosotris]

Thank you for this! I noticed it when I was watching videos and my first reaction was guilt because I am not reading ENOUGH (and I’m usually reading three books at once!) I also stopped setting reading goals, and am just reading what I want when I want, and it’s been so good!

[@frostkiss2]

Maybe it's just me but I like spending my free time reading 1 long book (700+ pages), thinking about it, qriting about it in my diary, talking about it with people for half a year than reading 40 books in a month and forgetting every plot because I read them so fast. Because my brain will forget things (adult brain needs to sort out things for new ones).

[@crimsonwhispersva2498]

At the beginning of the year, I set my goal of 80 books but due to being unemployed at the moment due to health issues, I have been able to read more. I have read 172 books this year so far and I have never read that much but I have been reading a lot more due to being at home more. I must admit tho I have read a lot more non-fiction than I usually do and have been doing self-help books as well... I know once I start working again when my health's more stable I will not have another year like this haha 😂. Normally 80 to 90 is my max each year and I am happy with that

[@KaylasBestie]

Excellent points made!! For a while I took a break from it all cause I felt as though I wasn't meeting up with others. I don't do TBR's cause I'm a mood reader. It's normal foe me 2 read more than one book at at time. Also, I stopped following a bunch of creators. I found them not to be welcoming and SOMETIMES the community very high schoolish and clickish. I now follow a small group of creators and not only enjoy their content but the community they've created. Thanks again for this video!!

[@kedeeky]

This is a very important conversation. I think folks have lost the plot (no pun intended? ) and are robbing themselves of the joy of reading with these added pressures. I set a goal of 12 as part of my getting back into reading. I thought this was a stretch since I had a late start. I’m on #17 now. I like seeing my read list and having some reminder of my reading experience. I don’t care to set any numerical goals going forward. My greater goal of reigniting my reading flame has been achieved.

[@Pink_Artist]

So, my reading challenge this year is 35 books by the end of the year As of last night, I've finished 22 The reason behind my reading challenge is because this is the first time in years I've felt the motivation to get back into reading, something I did regularly as a kid, but the love for reading was kinda pushed out of me by school Despite me not reading in a while, my shelves have progressively gotten more and more filled with books I was interested in, but didn't have the motivation to read At the beginning of this year, not only did I set a quantity goal, but I also made myself a reading schedule that included only the books on my shelves I formatted it like this: Book I'm not that excited to read Book I'm REALLY excited to read Book I'm not that excited to read Book I'm REALLY excited to read And so on I find it a good way to motivate me because, now in order to get to a book I really want to read, I have to finish another that probably would've just collected dust I've allowed myself to be flexible (for example, I read A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and became obsessed, so I bought the prequel and borrowed the other 2 books off my cousin and changed the schedule to fit this) I also write reviews of the books I've read because that requires me to really think about the book before going to the next one on my list So far, I've read stuff like Phantom of the Opera, Animal Farm, the entire GGGTM series Honestly, I understand the stress of reaching your goal, I know I've stressed about whether I'll be able to reach my goal of 35 by the end of the year BUT I do try and remember that, whether or not I reach it, I've still read more books in these past seven, almost eight, months than I have in years, and that's something to be proud of Great video BTW

[@tahlia__nerds_out]

It doesn’t look like we read the same kind of books, but I enjoyed this video. ❤

[@khushbooprasad6519]

Going to lower my reading challenge from 50 to 10 because I’m in the groove and I’ve already read 10 books I’m happy to have read and I feel quite accomplished. You helped me lower my anxiety towards reading goals. Because I set up the goal to increase the books I read, to not spend as much time scrolling insta, but I ended up adding perfectionism to the mix and stressing myself out. Thank you.

[@slimjimmynewtron]

wait wait WAIT LINK THE STORY GRAPH!! love using it and I wish more of my fav creators were on it

[@gabbylikestoread]

I 100% agree. I started the year with 60 books but I went whole months without picking up a book so I decreased the goal to 52. I want to read at least once book a week because I love reading and it's good for my personal health so I want to include my reading habit. I was WAY to ambitious about reading challenges. I think I will only do one challenge each year and only one that works with my other goals, like reading more book by Indigenous authors, authors from the Caribbean and reading author's backlists.

[@shelleys.corner]

This is a great way to move forward! I also have a playlist of 31 books in 31 days and it has lots of diverse recs 💓

[@devlyn873]

I keep track of my reading (on Storygraph) but I don't have a goal with regards to some number I'm trying to reach. I do join reading challenges on there but those are more of the read a "modern gothic" or a "queer coming of age" or "indigenous horror"...along those lines which I think helps me seek out a greater variety of books and maybe even helps prevent slumps since it forces me out of ruts in my reading choices.

[@shadowmatrx]

Now that sounds fun!

[@Maddie-xw2df]

my reading goal was 50 last year but only made it to 11 as i was rushed to hospital and was ill for the remainder of the year, and i still felt this overwhelming guilt that i didn’t finish my goal; when actually i achieved so much more. i’ve also realised that listening skills are equal to reading skills so i’m counting audio books and podcasts as reading 🥰

[@bluegazella5875]

i got into the world of reading books around 2020 (yes tiktok made me a reader lol). I was 20 at that time. I said "world" because I genuinely didn't know it existed before. I don't know anyone in my life who is a reader. I didn't know about the book side of social media. and I didn't know that fun books exited. so when I got into reading. the only readers I knew of are booktokers/tubers/stgramers ext. and evry single one of them was reading more than ten books a month. more than 100 books a year. sometimes multiple books a day. and to me who had no basis on what's normal thought that that's just what an average reader is like. so I set the habit of reading evry single day. sometimes all day. well long story short it was fun at times but mosly it was not. then i realized that what i was seeing was not what average readers do. it was people who made it their job. they're literally reviewers. it was what they do for a living. average people don't read THAT much. this made me understand how toxic my approach to reading was. I was reading big books in a week. forcing myself. wich is a shame since most of them were really good books and I loved them but the way I was reading them was not suitable for me. I'm not a reviewer nor an influencer and I'm not planning to be one. why was I putting myself thru that? so now after a heavy slump caused by all of the above. I decided to set a reasonable pace for myself. that will let me savour and enjoy what I read and actually have fun while reading. maybe I'll not read even 25 books a year but to me one book that I enjoyed the correct way that is compatible with myself as a person is far better than 10 that i forced myself thru.

[@TheRonnieaj]

I used to write a a hobby. Something fun to play with and pass time and dig into my creativity. Then I got published and got an agent, and now it’s a job. Giving myself a book goal would make it feel like a job, so there’s just absolutely no way I’m doing that to myself. 😂😂 I don’t keep track of what I read or do reviews or anything like that, and I truly feel it’s the best decision I ever made. Also, novellas are hard as hell to write. Dear god I admire the authors that can write short.

[@antonianogueira9134]

i understand you , i felt overwhelmed i putted a goal last year and i ended up feeling upset of myself bc i did not reach it. however , i learned nowdays thats ok to feel sad about that . also now, i did not put a goal of quantity of books. I just try to read al least one hour a day in any book that i want to read. and thats work great to me. i feel happy to at least read some book. for me its not about the quatity and its about the experience of reading should be chill and relaxing not a obligation of complete goals

[@pixelsandmuse]

I started doing reading habit goals last year so I have a goal to read at least 1 hour a day 6 days a week so that comes out to reading about 313 hrs of reading a year, which is a modest goal for me. I generally read much more, but I found myself taking the time to enjoy the book, and explore books I probably wouldn’t have read because it didn’t fit into my schedule where I could still read x amount of books per month

[@niyaakbar1098]

I think encouraging people to read small or easy books to meet some of their book goals isn’t actually a bad thing. Those are the books I typically never got around to reading growing up and probably wouldn’t think of to read if people didn’t suggest something small and easy. Percy Jackson series is middle grade but there are thousands of adults still obsessed with it from childhood or just now getting into it. Coraline and Bridge to Terabithia are children’s books but they’re some of my favorite movies so I plan on reading them. Sometimes you need something quick and easy. It’s relaxing and not as taxing.

[@shelleys.corner]

There's nothing wrong with reading books that are quick and easy just for fun. But my point was the issue of making reading into a quality over quantity game. That defeats the purpose of actually reading to enjoy books.

[@AlwaysSadé]

STORYGRAPH is soooo much better than goodreads, i love it❤❤❤ people are loosing the plot about reading. Its a trend now, it wven makes looking for recs annoying because its all the same popular books, that are usually not good.

[@tahlia__nerds_out]

@@AlwaysSadé I love StoryGraph… I have a love of diagrams and I like seeing what kind of books I’m reading in pretty, colorful pieces charts and other diagrams. I also like the way StorGraph sets up their challenges. And the option to dnf a read is pretty awesome too. As someone who enjoys reading journal articles, I like that StoryGraph has an option to add non-book reads. I’m on Goodreads still, but I definitely enjoy StoryGraph more.

[@AlwaysSadé]

@tahlia__nerds_out I especially love the dnf feature and the graphs lol. I also appreciate the different formats you can put your books in. I also have a goodreads still but definitely on storygraph more

[@rubeuspotter719]

I’m on track to finish my reading goal, but I’ve been in and out of reading slumps too!! I’m getting into the grove of things, but I’ve went the whole month of June without finishing all but one book.

[@jessicaredondo3031]

Awesome video! This year I made the same decision, not stressing out about my reading goal. Last I year it was 70 and I couldn’t make for 2 books but I was burn out, this year I set back to 50 that I already achieved before and I’m happy about, also! This year im counting my DNFs, if I put time and time and energy in that book is counting on my final numbers of the year.

[@JA-xe5tl]

I love the way you add the subtitles!!

[@jaginaiaelectrizs6341]

I like reading books that I don't like just as much as I like reading books that I do like, personally, because exploring what I don't like or don't agree with also helps me explore what I do like or do agree by indirect extension. For example, I can still have a lot of enjoyment thinking about why I didn't like it and what I might have actually liked instead or how the book maybe could've gone differently in some way that I possibly would have actually enjoyed instead, or such. 😊

[@evesdays4211]

Yesss I just started to get back into reading and writing again my goal was 5 books of my own personal time was what I really needed because I never really guaged how much I could do and I'm at 13 now and have a word count 20,000 on my own story! I'm really proud of myself for it

[@VariPyre]

my reading goal for this year was 30, since this is the first year that I've really gotten into reading, and I wanted to make it something I knew i could attain. I'm currently sitting at 28 Finished books, and 44 pages left of my 29th! (I count Graphic Novels and Manga into the list of books i read, since they do still take roughly 2 hours or more of my time to read through).

[@michiyaslana5974]

I set REALISTIC reading goals to make sure I remember to read. It may sound silly, I know. But if I open my goodreads account and the tracker says I’m a book behind, I think to myself „oh hey, it’s been a while since I read anything, let’s take the kindle to bed tonight before sleep”. And if I finish a couple of books beyond my goal, it brings endorphins! I like endorphins!

[@shelleys.corner]

See this is what I'm trying to emphasise: realistic goals that don't put pressure on people. Motivation is great, pressure is suffocating.

[@chocolateoreo6489]

Thank you❤ such an important topic to address (:

[@readaholicgirl_5]

I have stressed myself with reading goals so over the years I have lowered it, I finally lowered it to it's lowest, 10 books. Even if I don't read a book in a month, I'm still good. I think taking the stress out of it has helped me cuz I'm 62 books in, sure my ultimate goal is maybe one day reading 100 books in a year but I'm gonna go for it organically since forcing it never worked for me and I just want to read for fun. Whether its a new book or a reread.

[@thevanimaduray2235]

This was brilliant from beginning to end. You hit the nail on the head and have a new subscriber ❤😊 looking forward to more from you!

[@theblushingbookworm]

When you said, "Challenges were like vampires". I felt that deeply in my reader soul, because I did a podcast two years back about the reading slump I was in because I was trying to beat my previous reader scores on Goodreads, and so I was just reading to read. I lamented that I missed reading for fun and not for logging in my books on social media. Recently, an even more bizarre emotion came over me. I realized that creating a BookTube or BookTok, etc may not be practical for me as I miss reading for enjoyment. Not to say that social media reading is a bad thing or anything, but twenty or so years back, I would read a book, journal about it or write a review and I kept it pushing. I find that it is hard to create posts and share them online all the time--and then sometimes or often times, the authors do not even notice or the audience do not notice anyway, so I stopped that....Well, I cut back a bit. I think paying for the book and simply enjoying it,is enough. I am however, grateful for those who go on social media to recommend awesome books. I have found some great books that way. Also, just like you, I love fat books. I love diving deep into a new world and staying there, although some shorter reads have also been just as phenomenal. Great video! I subbed! 😉

[@himazima]

She has the prettiest bookshelves I’ve ever seen 😍

[@Tea962]

I used to be a super fast reader but since giving birth its like my brain cant focus on reading. I suspect it's the new meds Im taking but we'll see

[@mermaidmorgana9505]

Not to mention that reading rates can fluctuate year to year due to so many factors- I usually set a “goal” to read about 25 books a year just because of the size of my TBR list and I have so many that I truly want to read. Last year I barely hit 25. This year, I hit 25 in July without even noticing 🤷🏻‍♀️ I guess I just have had more space in my life for reading so far this year. I also think that a lot of people hit their goals through listening to audiobooks really sped up while doing other things. Personally, I find that I don’t engage with books with the same focus and interpretation when I listen while distracted by doing other things, especially if it’s sped up. So I personally choose to not use audiobooks unless I’m driving and able to focus on digesting the story. So I choose to not read unless I can fully devote the time and attention I personally think the book and act of reading deserves 🤷🏻‍♀️ So I just had to learn that I can’t fall into the trap of comparing my reading to other’s that have different philosophies about reading than me! That’s taken me a while to learn

[@evesdays4211]

One thing that did bring me back on reading was in middle school they had us read atleast a 50,000 word book in one week and had you take a test over what you read each week and I'd have to catch up over the weekend because I never had time to finish them and then I'd have to hope I did well and choose another book instead of being able to read it which always upset me

[@jmariel6843]

Storygraph is awesome! I love looking at my stats and comparing them to previous years to see the changes.

[@manonvo8615]

Last year I read 20 books, so this year I put it on 18. But just for fun and to take any pressure off and make room for bigger books if I feel like it.

[@draganascrafts]

I agree that booktube and the book community can be toxic for several reasons. First, goals should be personal and just for yourself and nobody else. If you read 100 that’s great, if you read 50 that’s also cool. You should read because you enjoy and that’s it! Second, I have been reading book reviews of different types of books on GoodReads and the toxicity is overwhelming. I have a feeling that people don’t allow others to have their own opinion on books and there’s a lot of disrespect. For example I don’t like Fourth Wing but there’s a lot of people who do and that’s totally fine! We don’t need to like the same books but I have a feeling that if you’re a part of a book community, people comment negatively if you don’t like the popular books. And lastly, just enjoy reading regardless of the number. Read what you want, when you want and ignore everything else. Sorry for the long comment. I just bumped into your video and something prompted me to speak of things I encountered 😅

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

It’s so weird to me… I have read my whole life because I love it… like reading being my main thing. I never tracked it or made a tbr or thought of it as a competitive thing lol. Even in school when I should have won every reading challenge, I was too lazy to fill out the little circles or whatever to “count” the books I read- I’d just throw them to the side and get a new book.

[@jenniferjones7998]

I’m not against having a reading goal but let’s be realistic, quality matters too. Zipping through 100 cookie cutter novels in a year for the soul purpose of meeting a goal is silly and takes the joy out of reading. I’d rather read a dozen excellent and intelligent books that will change me, or really entertain me.

[@Shamazya]

Yeah, it's definitely important to keep the reason for the goal in mind. I also think that related to that, it's totally possible a goal isn't serving you and needs an adjustment.

[@Shamazya]

Ended up being said in the video too xD

[@ashleyashleym2969]

100 books is a pretty insane goal imo though, especially if youre new to reading consistently. Thats practically 2 books every week. Which turns out to be about 1 book every 3-4 days. Im currently reading at the fastest rate Ive ever read in my life purely because Ive just been in the mood to, its just been what Ive been wanting to do and me going at my top speed I read 1-2 books every week for the past 2-3 months. I couldnt do this if I didnt want to.

[@hornbeam7131]

It is the same with many things in life, these things should serve you, inspire you, encourage you. Do not serve them. they are not duties or responsibilities. Never let reading feel like a chore. As to reading short books, well I don't think reading 100 long deep books in a year would be the best way to enjoy them. A good deep book needs time to settle in your brain, so reading a shorter one as a palette cleanser in between is often a good strategy.

[@xoSilverSurfer]

quality > quantity

[@stacybrewer7464]

Hi Shelley new subscriber here. Really enjoyed your talk surrounding reading goals. I have set goals the last three years but don't really stress about making it by year end. I tend to focus on enjoyment from fiction and learning from non-fiction. My go to genres are mysteries and psychological thrillers but I do want to branch out into YA Fantasy and Romance. Your vlog has encouraged me to challenge myself to read other genres. Also what you said about basking in a story when you finish it rather than moving without pause to the next really resonated with me. How spot on you are about taking time to reflect on what you just read. A book recommendation: if you haven't read Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng, I highly suggest picking it up. This book still sits with me three years after reading it. Best regards and looking forward to your next vlog 🙂

[@T-Law.]

As a si-fantasy reader I stopped bothering with booktok altogether. A buddy of mine is a novella, short story and manga girlie and I love that for her, when it comes down to numbers (which is what a lot of booktok focuses on these days) she has me beat. She’s read about 60 books while I’m sitting at 14. Except I read books that are thiccc. I mean books in the 600 to 800+ page category. As a result I read maybe 20 books a year if I’m lucky (I’m a full time vet student). Whenever I watch people who read 100 or 200 books a year I feel like they couldn’t tell you the plot of a single one. Reading should be about enjoying the journey with the characters and not bragging rights.

[@Tea962]

Yeah I believe it's the content of what you're reading not the number of books you're reading. You're reading much more complex literature than they are. I have a sibling who reads two books a week but it's all young adult content.

[@Fixaidea]

I know myself to be a very slow reader, so setting a yearly quota would just be another thing to fail and feel bad about. :( I did set myself one reading goal though: one book from every country. But that’s a bucket list item, something I just want to accomplish whenever, I’m not putting it on a schedule.

[@thesouthernbookend6093]

I switched to Storygraph too. I realized that GR promotes racism in some of the lists they allow people to post. Also, they promote controversial Authors.

[@shelleys.corner]

Yea GR needs to improve, but i won't give up on it completely. I don't use it, but I'll still hope for better 😅

[@despertando-1]

Excellent video. I have a reading journal as part of my reading activity. The pleasure of depicting a moment of the book read is awesome. I don't read many books, set the goal of 24 a year due to the enjoyment of applying a creative side ✍️🧚🧞‍♂️to the author 's message and purpose in their words. In the end, reading is for growth. Have a lovely day🫶👍👌🇵🇷

[@pauieeepau]

I set a lower reading goal than what I read last year, in case I didn't have access to enough books. Turns out I did, and I ended up including comic books, so I increased the goal. I'm just reading for fun and I set a realistic goal. I'll increase it again if I meet it or if I'm still in the mood to read. I've also luckily chosen books I like, so reading has been a breeze, except for 1 month I was slow. Slumps happen lol.

[@karidru5272]

Hello! First time here. The front page showed your vid to me. I used to set numeric reading goals, but I found it made me avoid reading anything that didn't serve my numbers, and I didn't like that anymore. I didn't allow myself kidlit or genre magazines, for instance, but I WANT to read those things. I think they're both part of understanding the whole literature/genre landscape. And as you point out, if it's not fun anymore what's the point? So this year I decided not to set a number, but I did set a direction: I want to read more nonfiction and I want to read more works in translation. The first is going well. The second isn't, really, but I've lined up my next few reads with a mind to course correction. That's all I'm trying to do, is be intentional about things.

[@dortheaford8083]

I like setting reading goals. But I try to be realistic with my goals so that I don’t stress. There are some years where I have read over 100 books. But I set my goal lower this year because I am having a baby and I know that I will be busy with a newborn.

[@cozyreadinglife]

I agree with you 1000%!! I dislike all of the talk about book numbers because it just takes the joy out of reading and puts pressure on everyone to read more. Another annoying thing people do is talk about what speed they put the audio books on. They say, "I just can't listen to anything under 2.0 because it's just too slow". I don't see how it's enjoyable to listen to a book on a speed that the person reading the book sounds like a chipmunk. You can't even hear the emotions or inflection of the audio at such fast speeds. But at least you got your 100+ books read. 🙄

[@tahlia__nerds_out]

I don’t even fully absorb books that I listen to at 1.0 speed; I am constantly having to go back and relisten… I can’t even imagine listening to an audiobook at a faster speed! Usually I end up switching over to a kindle book or a physical book eventually. I just absorb books better that way. I know that this isn’t everyone’s experience, though

[@RachelB.BookReferences]

They might sound like chipmunks to you, but a 1.0 speed could spund to someone else like slow-motion underwater... people eho talk fast often want others around them to talk fast. This is also cultural. In certain cultures, talking faster or slower is "normal" or "good."

[@peaceknot]

Totally feel this! The point, after all, is to read. Not to cram in as many books as you can within a year. And how much of that does the average person retain or really even enjoy? I'm back to savoring a book, no matter how long it takes me to read it. Just subbed too! Btw- you have the best most colorful bookshelves. 🥰

[@karlareadstheclassics217]

I agree. Books are to be savored, shared, pondered, & discussed with others. One or two good books a year can be fulfilling in that way. I read Classics on my channel, & offer a brief summary & analysis. I guess that's why I don't really fit in with this "my goal is 100 books a year" community.

[@RachelB.BookReferences]

But there are people who can read and enjoy lots of books. It's just a matter of figuring out what works for you and not worrying about what others are doing.

[@walkingtheline1729]

I set my goal in mind that i read alot of short stories and manga i dont ajust my reading to make my goal. Thats why i have a 100 book goal because i can sit down and reread a manga series over a weekend and that could be 4 to 7 book. Or i could read something online and all the sudden i read 3 volumes with out realizing it.

[@ultravioletpisces3666]

I feel like women especially are so susceptible to feeling guilty about… just everything. Like they are a moral failure. I’ve seen/heard women say they feel guilty for having unread books, for not “completing a journal,” for not filling all the pages in their planner (“wasting pages”)… it’s like… we set standards for ourselves and judge ourselves so harshly based on completely arbitrary criteria.

[@JH-td4uu]

It’s crazy how people read 100+ books in a year. I feel like they read a book then bam onto the next. I like to take a week long break after I read a book to tee on it. I like to think about the characters and the story and really absorb it. Like what are we trying to prove?? We read for ourselves. Period.

[@shadowmatrx]

I have never set a read goal & can't see myself ever doing that. Sometimes I read voraciously & other times not. I only know how much I read because of electronic records. I mentioned my best month on my Goodreads profile bc it's funny how high it is, but what I didn't say was that I was so ill at that time I was bed-bound & in & out of the hospital, so reading was literally all that I did despite being a mother & wife. That is not normal and it lasted ~ 3years. Then I had the recovery/ reintegration to life years where reading was super scant. Life has ebbs and flows so does my reading. And I'm okay with that.

[@shelleys.corner]

This is true. Also, hope you're doing much better health wise💓

[@shadowmatrx]

@@shelleys.corner Thanks! I've survived 12 surgeries and I am in PT 2x a week, therapy ofc, and active in my life again, so, things are pretty great for now.

[@zachreads]

Set a goal you'll hit In about October, I beat mine by 28 books last year and I don't particularly stress bc I'm pbly going to hit mine at the end of september.

[@sardonisms]

Unrelated quick question: how did you do the subtitles like that? That is so cool. On topic, I was getting back into reading at the start of this year so I set my reading goal at 24 books. I figured I could do two a month. When I was almost done with the goal and it was mid-July, I increased it to 48 books. Then I changed my mind and increased it to 52. One book a week. I figure I can do that. And setting that goal put me behind briefly. Then I found a series I absolutely devoured and suddenly I was a little bit ahead. Then I found a series of novellas that I've absolutely devoured and now I'm really ahead. I'm not increasing it again. I found a while ago that I don't really like how book-based reading goals incentivize shorter and shorter books. I'd never have read IT if I was counting how many books I read that year. I'm in this far, I'll finish my goal, but then my goal will be to finally finish reading Way of Kings. Next year maybe I'll only set a pages goal on StoryGraph.

[@talesofnightmares13]

My goal the last year or two has been 1 book a month. If I get more then that's great but I can definitely do 1. I definitely understand the burnout from trying to keep up with the book community, I love reading and it's always been my escape since middle school but at one point it gave me so much anxiety and depression to try to keep up with everyone else when I'm already having a harder time reading because of my MS, I ended up not even wanting to look at, buy or read books. For awhile I didn't even feel like I belong in the book community because of how most people read and post book stuff on Instagram which made me take a huge step back from the book community which actually turned out to be good for me. Recently I ended up changing my Instagram from a bookstagram to posting about books but also other things I love like horror, travel and event. It's been a great choice for me now my Instagram isn't giving me anxiety anymore and I'm having fun with it again.