It’s the summertime, which means college students have a lot more free time than they usually do — and for many of them, that means they finally have time to read for fun. As a book lover, I’m all for some leisurely summer reading — but one thing I’ve been seeing lately that I just can’t get behind? All those “reading challenges” I’ve been seeing on TikTok.
I’m not going to lie, I used to be a victim of reading challenges. They sound fun on the surface: “Read a whole book in a day!” “Read 100 books before the end of the year!” But after actually trying some of these TikTok reading challenges, I found myself racing to finish books, rather than savoring them and actually taking something meaningful away from my experience with them.
Of course, I understand the satisfaction of reading a book quickly. But for me, the obsession over racing to the finish line — in a day or even a few hours — started taking away the meaning and pleasure of reading. When I would finish reading a book quickly, I’d remember that I was engaged while reading it, but could I remember what I read? Was there something that I learned that I could apply to my daily life? Not really!
After some reflection, I began wondering how something as simple as reading turned into a competition — and how I could feel so much burnout from something that’s supposed to be enjoyable. So, I stopped trying to keep up with TikTok reading challenges altogether.
Once I let go of the unrealistic reading expectations set by social media, I immediately stopped feeling stressed about how much I was reading and began to enjoy my favorite hobby again. (Not to mention, this decision also has saved me a ton of money, considering the average cost of a single book can cost anywhere between $12-35 — I’m saving potentially thousands of dollars by not forcing myself to read a set number of books in a year, phew!)
Because here’s the thing: I study, have a part-time job, and am trying to balance a social life. Unless I threw that all away to become a full-time book influencer, I don’t have time to read 100 books in a year. Heck, I don’t even have a free day to just dedicate solely to reading. And you know what? I don’t want to treat reading like a commitment — I have plenty of other responsibilities that rest on my shoulders. It’s nice to read just for the sake of reading.
I enjoy taking my time reading. I like to highlight new perspectives that I never thought of, or sit with a paragraph that I truly relate to. I like to write down new vocabulary words and re-read a sentence that was written in a compelling way. Most importantly, I like to reflect and engage with the book by taking notes or annotating like I am discussing those ideas with a real-life person.
I also don’t want to pick my next book based on whatever genre is currently considered “respectable” online (another aspect of BookTok that isn’t exactly a challenge, but still a standard set by the reading community on social media). I want to explore based on what I’m feeling; what I’m interested in at any given moment. Fiction helps me with my imagination, social cognition, and empathy. Non-fiction challenges my viewpoints on real life issues and expands my thinking skills. Every genre and sub-genre provides value, and it should be up to me to decide what to read.
Can reading challenges be a great way to get someone more interested in books and promote reading to a seemingly reading-averse generation like ours? Sure. But if keeping up with BookTokers has you feeling like giving up on reading, consider taking a page out of my book and shelving the reading challenge trend altogether.