The moment the ball drops on New Year’s, I rush to my reading app and set an impossibly high goal for the year: how many books I’ll read. A number I will later regret once December hits, and I’m 50 books away from completing the challenge. However, in 2025, I successfully read 127 books! These are the tips and tricks that saved my sanity and boosted my numbers.
Setting That Goal Low
Every new year, you want to beat the last one, do better, and read more. When I set my goal to 150 last year, I was so excited; I was planning my reads, working out schedules, and coming up with ideas to cram reading into every waking moment. When you have to schedule a hobby, that’s the first red flag that it won’t be very fun anymore. I immediately fell behind in the first month and began to panic, feeling like a failure.
Then, I logged back into the Goodreads app and set the goal to 50 books, a much more manageable number for me. I lost the reading schedule and all the late-night cramming. I got back to reading as a pastime instead of another assignment. I read the books I wanted and took my time enjoying them. In 2026, I set my goal to reach the same 50 mark to keep my love for reading stress-free!
Reading On the Go
Now I know I just said not to cram reading into every nook and cranny of your day, but it’s not cramming when it’s enjoyable. When you’re waiting in the doctor’s office, or for your Starbucks order, maybe even between classes, there’s time to read.
In 2025, I started utilizing my Apple Books app way more and saw my number of read books shoot up. If I were reading a physical book that I couldn’t put down but was also too clunky to carry around, I’d download the online edition and read that when I was out and about. Sometimes, I’d even be reading completely different novels on there because they’re cheaper and quicker to get through online. Reading while out is so much fun and makes me feel so productive!
Loving What I Read
It might sound obvious to “read what you love,” but I hear from so many people that they’re reading a book they hate, just to say they finished it. I’m a victim of this, too, whether it’s a book for my club or a super popular novel everyone around me has loved.
Still, I know that when I read a book I don’t like, I’ll procrastinate and put myself in the worst slump. My golden rule is if you get to page 100 and still hate it, put it down. You can always try another time or never pick it up again. Picking books you’ll want to read and enjoy is a great motivator to make you read more and faster.
Reviews (Reading Them and Writing Them)
Whether you write them in a reading journal or publicly post them, writing down your thoughts about a book you’ve finished can help you identify what you specifically liked and didn’t like. These thoughts can help you pick your next read, as they give you a better idea of what you want. I love writing silly entries in my journal and trying to sum up the whole novel in one sentence.
Reading reviews is also just as fun as writing them. Comparing your thoughts on a book with someone who has a different opinion is so interesting and can make you rethink the whole novel. Reviews can also help you pick other books that you may want to read, encouraging you to give a new author or entire genre a try.
Visiting Used Bookstores
My dream day is a large tea in my hand while I peruse the shelves of a used bookstore, no budget in sight. I often do a monthly stock-up, raiding the closest store and filling my shelves with new reads. Donating or selling your books to these same shops keeps the reading cycle going and makes you feel so productive. I love the feeling of leaving my favorite books somewhere, knowing they’ll find a new life and be loved so much more.
Visiting a used bookstore makes me so excited to run home and read every book I purchased in one sitting. When buying a used book, you also feel less pressure to push through it and like it, since you didn’t pay top dollar for it. Overall, shopping second-hand and locally is so much fun. Seeing what your peers have read and loved (or hated) creates a sense of community unlike any other.
This year, I plan to use these tips to reach my goal of 130 books without pulling my hair out by November. Good luck with your reading goals this year, and I hope you reach them!
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