I am very excited to let you all know that I met my Goodreads reading challenge for the year around half way through July. For those of you who don’t know, Goodreads allows you to set goals for how many books you want to read in a year. This year, my goal was 40 books. You can follow me on Goodreads here.
You’re probably thinking this wasn’t near challenging enough since I’ve already read over 40 books, but in the four years I’ve had Goodreads, the most I’ve read in one year was 37 books. That was during 2020 when I read a ton during quarantine. I tend to be overly ambitious and only accomplish around half of my Goodreads goal for the year, as shown through this screenshot of my past reading challenges. So, how did I read 40 books in slightly over half of this year? And how can you do the same?
I Started Read Rebelliously in 2023
I do want to start by mentioning that I started my blog this year. It was the first time all of my blog content had been focused on books. This gave me a reason to read more and reading became something productive to do rather than just another hobby. This definitely motivated me to read more, even if I was in a bit of a reading slump, which I definitely was this spring. After all, if I didn’t read, I didn’t have anything to post about.
Falling in Love with Audiobooks
You can argue that audiobooks don’t count as “real reading” as much as you want, you’ll just be wrong. You’re still experiencing the same book you would be if you were looking at the text. It’s just a different format, which I think can be a more accessible form of reading for many people. When I am in a reading slump, audiobooks are my lifeline. I can still enjoy reading without the concentration that traditional reading requires. I first got into audiobooks in the fall of 2022 and they carried over into 2023. 23 of the 43 books I’ve read so far this year have been audiobooks.
What I like most about audiobooks is that you can listen to them while doing other things. You don’t have to be 100% focused on the book. I can crochet, do cross stitch, or design Instagram posts while listening. I really love the convenience of them and if you haven’t tried listening to an audiobook before, you should totally give them a shot.
Participating in Other Reading Challenges
This summer, I participated in Kaley Kriesel’s Wanderlust Summer Reading Contest. It wrapped up earlier in July and you can check out her wrap up post here. I read 20 books for that challenge over a span of about 2 months. I know I would not have pushed myself to read as often if I hadn’t been participating in this challenge. If you’re looking for other reading challenges to push you to read more, I know many public libraries host them, especially during the summer. You could also just host one with your friends and see who can read more over a set period of time. I think that would be really fun.
Become More Active in the Bookish Community
Nothing motivates me more to read than being around others who also love to read. However, this doesn’t happen often as my best friend once asked me how to check out a book at the library. No, I’m not kidding. (Spoiler alert, you go to the large desk at the front and… wait for it… check it out.)
Another great motivation is online bookish communities like BookTok, Bookstagram and BookTube. They can be a great source of book recommendations and be super inspiring to get you to read more. If you’d like, you can check out my Bookstagram here. Also if you’d like me to write a post about my favorite bookish influencers, let me know because I think that would be a lot of fun.
I hope you enjoyed reading this post and got some useful tips out of it. If you’d like some more, make sure check out my post, How to Read More. Also if you have any other tips, comment them down below so we can all use them! As always, I hope this post finds you well and you’re having a great day!
