A few years ago, I discovered Booktube. It was then that I found out some people are able to read more than ten books per month. It helped me get more motivated to read, and it also introduced me to Goodreads, a site where you can read synopses, review books, and track the books you’ve already read or would want to read. The site has a feature called the Reading Challenge where you can set the number of books you want to read for the year and update which books you have read as you go along.
Reading goals may vary. There are goals to read more of a particular genre, a subject, an author, or read a minimum number of books. Some people make it a goal to read more books that illustrate character diversity. Others may want to read more classics. For the purposes of this article, however, let us narrow down “reading goals” to mean the number of books you read.
I used this method for two years, and it has dramatically increased my reading number. I used to be a really slow reader. I did this on purpose especially when I was still in high school because there were no bookstores in my area that sold latest releases. There were a few secondhand bookstores and a few that sold academic books, but that was about it. I got new books only when my father had business meetings in other cities. I had to read them slowly so they would last me longer. I remember being so excited to read Draculaand I did not want to put it down, but I willed myself to do so because once I finish it, I wouldn’t have anything exciting to read for a few more weeks. Sure I could reread, but then the surprises are no longer there.
That was how I read for many years. I did not care about the number as long as I enjoyed them. When I was introduced to tracking and reading goals, I became so hooked that I would purchase as many as ten books in one go so I could have options. I had to get new glasses because of too much eye strain. I pushed myself to read more than I was used to just to reach my desired number. This exercise allowed me to explore more genres and authors. It instilled the in me the habit of reading consistently.
However, I have found some disadvantages in applying this method. Even though I was reading a lot, I have little to no time to really appreciate and absorb the information from what I’m reading. There were even times when I would go out to look for a really short book just to meet my weekly goals. It didn’t matter much if I was getting anything out of the experience as long as I got the numbers. I would avoid thick books as much as I can although I knew some of those books are highly acclaimed and I knew I could learn much from them.
For a while, it became more about the quantity than the quality. I did read a lot of good books, but I was not appreciating them as much. What I used to do before was after reading a book, I would go back to my favorite parts, reread them, then search online for discussion groups and articles pertaining to it. I remember learning so much about slavery when I read Uncle Tom’s Cabin because I dug deeper about that period after finishing the book. I was still emotionally affected by the fate of the characters that all those research made me sympathize with them more.
It took me some time to move on from a book because I didn’t only read it for the story. I was also learning a lot from outside sources. When I was setting reading goals, however, I had to jump from one book immediately to another. I did not conduct further research to understand where the author was coming from. I did not take time to appreciate the impact of the books to me. It was as if reading has become a purely mechanical activity, where I just had to run my eyes over the words. There is the concept of speedreading, but I have, unfortunately, not mastered it yet. I still need to stop and think about new ideas that I encounter in books to understand them fully.
Having reading goals is helpful when it comes to establishing a habit of reading consistently. But reading has benefits that the reader may not achieve when going through the materials too fast. Those numbers are meaningless when you’ve learned nothing in the end.
It's a Ping Thing 