There’s a sinking feeling I get every time I open my Goodreads account lately. It’s not excitement or pride—it’s frustration, sadness, and even a flicker of anger.
The culprit?
My reading goals. Or rather, the pressure I’ve put on myself to meet them.
I hit my 2024 reading goal with months to spare. At first, I felt a rush of accomplishment. But then, as I scrolled through my list of completed books, a question popped into my head:
Why do I track how many books I read? Is it for me, or is it for some invisible audience I’m trying to impress?
I realized that tracking my reading had become less about celebrating my love for books and more about comparing myself to others. It was a numbers game, and I was playing it without even knowing why.
In a world where Goodreads challenges, Bookstagram posts, and reading sprints dominate the conversation, it’s easy to fall into the trap of comparison. How many books did she read this month? Why is his TBR list so much more impressive than mine? These questions started to overshadow the simple joy of reading.
I remember scrolling through a friend’s Goodreads profile and feeling a pang of envy. They’d read twice as many books as I had. But then I stopped and asked myself: Does that really matter? Did they enjoy those books more than I enjoyed mine? Probably not. So why was I letting their stats dictate how I felt about my own reading journey?
I read because I love getting lost in a story. I read because books have the power to change how I see the world. I read because it’s my escape, my comfort, and my adventure. Somewhere along the way, I forgot that. I got so caught up in hitting a number that I lost sight of why I fell in love with reading in the first place.
When I think about the books that have meant the most to me, it’s not the ones I raced through to meet a goal. It’s the ones I savored, the ones that made me laugh, cry, or stay up late thinking. Those are the books that stay with me—not the ones I checked off a list.
For 2025, I’ve decided to do something radical: I’ve removed my reading goal from Goodreads. I’ll still track the books I read, but I’m not setting a number to reach. Why? Because I don’t need a goal to validate my love of reading. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone—not even myself.
Without a goal hanging over my head, I feel free to read at my own pace. I can pick up a 1,000-page classic without worrying about how long it will take. I can reread an old favorite without feeling guilty about ‘wasting time.’ I can DNF a book that isn’t working for me without stressing about falling behind.
It’s liberating.
I want to be clear: I’m not saying reading goals are bad. For many people, they’re motivating and fun. If setting a goal helps you read more or discover new books, that’s amazing! But for me, it’s become a source of stress rather than joy. And reading should never feel like a chore.
At the end of the day, reading is deeply personal. There’s no right or wrong way to do it. Whether you read 5 books a year or 50, what matters is that you’re enjoying the journey.
In 2025, I’m focusing on quality over quantity. I want to read books that excite me, challenge me, and stay with me long after I’ve turned the last page. I want to savor every word, every sentence, every story. I want to read for the sheer joy of it.
Speaking of joy, I have a beautiful stack of books waiting for me right now. Each one is a new adventure, a new world to explore. And I can’t wait to dive in—not because I have to, but because I want to.
If you’ve ever felt pressured by your reading goals, I encourage you to take a step back and ask yourself why you read. Is it for the numbers, or is it for the love of stories? There’s no wrong answer—but it’s worth thinking about.
Here’s to a year of reading without limits, without pressure, and without comparison. Here’s to rediscovering the magic of books. And here’s to you, fellow reader, wherever you are on your journey. Let’s make 2025 a year of reading for the love of it.
Please feel free to share your comments and let’s talk about setting reading goals.
What are your thoughts on it?
Looking for book recs…
Adventures in Literature 
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