It's that time of year again when people are celebrating their reading accomplishments, and the naysayers are out in full force. This discourse happens every single December, with people creating posts, videos, and comments, dragging and degrading those who have read 100+ books. I will never understand this perspective, as reading just one book is winning!
With this discourse comes the return of New Year's language: goals, challenges, numbers, accountability. Even reading, which is one of the quietest, most personal pleasures, gets lumped into productivity culture, which is where I think some of the animosity toward those who have read more than us stems from. We're encouraged to set book counts, maintain reading streaks, and hit monthly targets. To read more. To read better. To read correctly. And in all of this, pressure begins to creep in. If reading has ever felt like another obligation on your to-do list to "keep up with the Jonses," then this post is for you.
When Reading Becomes Performance
Reading is deeply personal, often happening in private silence without witnesses. With the advent of social media, especially that of Bookstagram and BookTok, reading culture has become an increasingly outward performance.
We track our books.
We announce our goals.
We measure our success by volume.
None of these things is inherently bad, however. I love tracking my reading progress, setting goals, and logging my daily reading. However, when you are chronically scrolling through these book tracking apps and websites, such as GoodReads, Fable, and Storygraph, or even on Bookstagram or BookTok, it can subtly shift the way reading feels. Instead of asking yourself What do I want to read?, we start asking, What should I be reading? If you are a slow reader, like me, you begin to feel guilty for not reading faster. Reading becomes a task to complete, not something to inhabit and enjoy.
A lot of this pressure stems from unspoken ideas about what a "good reader" looks like, pressure that is promoted by influencers. A good reader finishes books quickly, reads widely and diversely, keeps up with new releases, always has something constructive to say, and never seems to struggle with posting, reviewing, and generating content.
The reality is, most of us don't look like this. Some of us read slowly. Some of us get stuck in reading slumps where we read little to nothing for long stretches of time. Sometimes we choose to reread the same comfort read over and over again because the world feels like too much. This doesn't make you less of a reader. It just makes you human.
Why Reading Resolutions Often Backfire
Like all resolutions and goals, reading resolutions are usually made with the best of intentions. They promise motivation, consistency, and structure, but for some readers, they end up doing the exact opposite. Instead of encouraging us, they make us feel guilty and unworthy, but why does this happen?
- They prioritize quantity over experience. A book finished isn’t always a book enjoyed. When numbers take center stage, attention shifts away from immersion, reflection, and pleasure.
- They ignore seasonal and emotional shifts. How you read in winter may not resemble how you read in summer. Energy, focus, and capacity fluctuate seasonally, and rigid goals rarely account for that. When I am going through a particularly difficult time, I tend to hide in books, but when I am happy and healthy, reading takes a back seat in favor of activities outside of the home.
- They turn reading into a metric. Once success is measured numerically, falling behind can feel like failure, even when reading is meant to be restorative. It becomes a competition, with ourselves and others. Who has read the most? Who has read the least? A good reader should be reading 50, 100, 200 books a year, right?
- They create guilt around rest. Not reading becomes something that needs to be "fixed," rather than a neutral or even necessary pause. You are not required to read every day. Taking a break or entering into a slump is normal!
Reframing Reading as Rest, Not Achievement
I am not saying you can't continue to set reading goals, but how you treat that goal should change. Reading should be reframed as rest, not output. When you do this, you shift how you interact with books and reading. You give yourself permission to choose books that match your energy, read at your own pace, take breaks when needed, and even DNF books that just aren't working for you.
Reading without rigid resolutions doesn't mean reading without intention. You can still set the goals, track your progress, and celebrate your wins, but you should also include softer, more responsive reading practices that help alleviate the pressure of "success."
Instead of focusing on book count, try noticing your reading patterns. What kinds of stories are holding your attention right now? When do you feel most drawn to reading? What pulls you away from it?
Instead of forcing yourself to complete books, open yourself up to honesty and give yourself permission to engage in "anti-resolution" behaviors. Stop reading a book you are not enjoying. Don't panic when you pause or take a break and return to reading when the interest naturally resurfaces. Allow for reading seasons, choosing heavy books during the quieter periods, and lighter reads when your focus is more scarce. Reread your favorites again and again. Read short, "easy" books and read long, difficult books "badly."
Reading should bring you pleasure and enjoyment. If at any point you feel pressure to read more, I strongly encourage you to take a step back and reassess what you really want to get out of reading.
Remember, there’s no universal pace you’re supposed to maintain, and, just like the rest of life, your reading doesn’t move forward in a straight line. It expands and contracts in relation to everything else you’re carrying. Some years are full of books. Some years are quiet. Both still belong to you as a reader.
You don’t need a reading goal to begin a new year. Reading doesn’t ask to be improved. It asks to be returned to. So, whether you set a goal or not next year, I hope that reading brings you peace, joy, and well-deserved rest in the coming new year.
