I have found a 'total number of books' goal helped develop my reading habit, it pushed me to pick up one book after the other, getting that muscle moving. I'm talking about a total number of like 10 to 20, nothing too intense. Now that I've developed a good reading habit I don't use this type of goal anymore. My goals now are tailored to subjects, genres and connection with the books.
I never kept a count of books I read until this. I was more curious how many I read than to brag. What I have been doing over the past couple of years is setting a goal for the number of hours I read in a year. I found it is satisfying to see my progress but I didn't feel guilty when I came up short.
I've always kept track of the number books I've read. Once I saw the 100 books in 1 year I have made it one of my many goals every year. It helps keep me out of a slump. I don't think I'll ever get to 100 in a year. But it would be fun if I did. My other goals are much more about continuing to diversify my reading and keeping track of what I am reading. The guilt and the push to get to a specific number never made sense to me. A book will be consumed and digested at the pace that is meant for each individual. Which is how it should be.
I think reading as a competition needs to stop...there's way too many folks out there with the opinion of "I read 299 books this year, but anyone who reads more than 300 isn't even reading at that point." Like it's so asinine, that's like saying "I ran 100 miles this year, but anyone that ran 101 isn't actually running at that point!" . Reading is like any hobby; people are allowed to engage with it at different skill levels. A big reason I can't bring myself to make a booktube or bookstagram account is because everyone treats it like a competition and I'd rather that trend stay in 2024 more than anything...
100 miles in a year is less than 1/3 of a mile a day. I'd be shocked if most people hadn't done that. Maybe I'm overestimating people, but really, that's not a lot. Sorry, I just run a lot, so that just stuck out to me.
@myself2noone I think you're missing the point of the comment. The idea is you are using your own lived experience and guardrails to dictate someone else's behavior. 100 to you is nothing vs. To someone else might be a big feat.
Overconsumerism! Yes this is becoming a strong point in many areas like knitting, quilting etc.All these huge haul videos crazy! We need to take a long look at what we already have,slow down and enjoy the project we're working, the book we're reading.So glad you brought that up
This year I switched from buying books on Amazon to purchasing them on Thift Books and it's been a great experience. Thanks for the info about Abe Books. I didn't realize they're owned by Amazon.
2024 was the first year I made a “number of books” reading goal. I enjoyed my reading this year, but not as much as I usually do. Wanting to reach that goal meant I was engaging with books less, was focused more on just finishing them. And like you said, the world is already focused on consuming as much as possible; let the reading space be a haven away from that.
I set a goal of 75 books this year I reached it. But I found around October that I didn’t care if I reached it because I had been reading such good books. I was gravitating to huge books 700+ pages consistently. Getting lost in just amazing writing and stories. The only goal I have for next year is to finally read “1984” and “one hundred years of solitude”
random recommendation going your way: "The Machine Stops" by E. M. Forster is a short novella that could be considered the true grandfather of dystopian literature, published in 1909 much before Orwell's (equally fantastic work) I recommend giving it a go! you can finish it in a day
Those both are my favorite. 1984, the beginning is a bit hard to start, but once you get past the first part, it gets so interesting. Hope you'll enjoy both.
Instead of number of books, I have a goal of hours read a day or a week. It can be a bit inconvenient to track, so I tend to track with the heavier books. But it helps with slowing down and also unplugging enough to read, knowing this 30min-1hour is dedicated toward enjoying this one book.
I prefer setting a number of books goal and then changing it up or down - depending on how “life” hit me that year. Much more fluent than tying me down to reading each day. If I did that I would feel guilty if I didn’t read that day - and maybe just sit with the book my eyes gliding over the page without being in the here and now. 🙂
I use Storygraph to track my reading. You can track your reading each day (pages or minutes), or you can maybe update it once a week and you'd also get the number easily. And it also makes nice monthly reading stats (I'm a stats geek so I love that :D ) Just a suggestion.
I use the Forest app to time my reading. This sets a little challenge for me and at the end of the year I can see my reading time as a “forest” rather than a number of pages or books. Purely a vain thing but makes me feel good when my “forest” is larger than last year.
Important video, and articulated well. Thanks for making it. I agree with all of these points, and it's the surface-level book reviews that really get to me the most. I'm here for the dialogue and the debate, and on more than one occasion have turned to the booktube/bookstagram community and have been met with the opposite. When people eschew the thinking and discussion about a book for the pure numbers game of how-many-books-can-i-read-in-a-year mentality, that's a big red flag. I'm convinced short-form video content contributes heavily to this, and I've fallen into that trap myself. This was a nice reminder to be true to myself and my own values. Happy reading :) -R
@StormReads I can't speak to the services offered by every library, but it is possible that even small libraries may be able to request the materials you want from a larger nearby library at no cost to you. I would encourage anyone reading this comment to check if their local library is part of a library network and/or what the library's ILL policy is.
I also recommend being broke as f^ck for this. 😔. That’s a joke but it’s also kind of true. I have to consider and plan which books I really truly want to spend my money on/get books from secondhand sources. It also makes me feel more of a desire to finish working through the stuff already on my bookshelf.
I like all of these. Specifically the number of books. I also would add that I would like people to stop discriminating people who read via audiobook vs physical copies. Awesome video! Thank you for sharing. This is my first time coming across your videos and I'm happy to be a new subscriber 😊
I 100% agree about the audios. I absolutely hated fantasy books before I tried audio but now they're quickly becoming a top pick for me because they're fun to listen to, especially if they do full cast. If I'd have discriminated against them then I'd be missing out on some great books.
You are very, very good at the whole booktube thing. I have subscribed and I'm going to go through all your old content. I appreciate everything you've said in this video.
I have a goal of 20 books a year. But it’s not my main focus. Just to get myself to read more. I’m a slow reader and a full time job. But my goal this year is to be more consistent, play less games.
Before I started a reading journal, I wrote in-depth book reviews on Goodreads. The only people who read the reviews were my friends on Facebook and a handful of other bookish people, and they got almost no engagement. There's this idea that everything you do has to be "content," that you have to have a marketable personal brand and tons of online engagement. But the reality of the situation is that I wrote Goodreads reviews because I liked reading and I liked writing about the things I read.
I LOVE reading goals but above all i LOVE keeping track of the books ive read. I tend to forget what ive read in a year. However i agree with slowing down on the reading and enjoy it
totally resonate with the idea of getting out and engaging with the reading community in a more substantial way. so often reading is thought of as a solitary act, but some of the discussions i've had in the book club and elsewhere online have really enriched my understanding and appreciation for books i already liked/loved, added nuance to books i might have been otherwise lukewarm about, and gave me reason to pause and think and discuss more critically and thoughtfully-engaging with the community at large can only add to that rewarding reading experience!
Great points - I think the only one I’d tweak slightly is the reading more broadly one where I’d add that reading outside your comfort zone can help you find books you love you’d never have normally read.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for this video! Hello from Long Island, New York and I hope that your 2025 is all that you want it to be! I look forward to checking out more content from you.
yes I agree with all this pressure to reach a reading goal - we need to just read for fun and be gentle with ourselves! I love my library to avoid the overbuying!
I'm really glad that I set my goal to 12 books every year as a personal goal. Sometimes I read only 12 books and most times I read more. I do plan on using my local library a lot more this year because I bought too many disappointing books this year and it felt sad spending so much on something I ended up not liking. Happy reading this 2025 everyone 📚
Great video and reading goals. I plan on reading more intentionally in 2025. I think booktok and booktube has caused reading to be a competition instead of reading for pleasure.
I consume most of your content on IG and I’m a huge fan. I agree with everything you said here, especially about book reviews. I’ve been thirsting for meaningful reviews myself and hope to embody that in my own Bookstagram. People like you and Books Are Better Than Food have been such a huge influence on me, so thank you🙌🏼
I am just seeing your channel for the first time. Love this video. I started reading about 6 years ago because of booktube channels. I follow so many amazing channels. However, you bring up points I've often thought about myself. I have wandered if readers are actually enjoying books when they read so many, so quickly. I just finished Greg Isles, Natchez Burning and frankly, I need a few days to digest and reflect on everything. His writing is all encompassing. Definitely one of my favorite books of all time. It's over 700 pages and it felt like 100!!!!! Anyway, thank you for this video. I am now subscribed to ANOTHER book tube channel 😂😂😂 and looking forward to browsing your history videos and future videos.
I’m about to start a UA-cam channel and I plan on doing a book review here and there related to my niche. I love all of these points! Now I gotta go binge some of your content where you do book reviews thanks!
I really enjoyed your video and am glad the algorithm decided to send me this way. I agree with all of your points, specifically the first and fourth. I know when I first got Goodreads and noticed reading goals I enjoyed it but the following year began reading shorter books to increase my number of books read which left me feeling unsatisfied. I decided not to feel beholden to some arbitrary goal in 2024 and while I read fewer books I think what I read was enjoyable and varied.
Great video. This is going to push me to find a way to be more in depth with how i review this year. I've always used my Goodreads as a personal reminder space for what i read. So i kind of verbal diarrhea quick thoughts in my review, give it stars and move on. I'll be adding a goal to be more conscious about how i write my reviews for 2025. Thanks for pointing out something i never thought twice about! As my boss says "Try to be 1% better everyday".
Thank you for expose of reading goals by number of books. This has been bugging me since 4th grade when I watched classmates get reading awards for most books read. Meanwhile, I didn't, because I read books based on my interests instead of how short the volume is.
I am glad this video popped up on my feed. You summarized so many things that I in some shape or form had thought about, but in much less of an articulated manner. The “optimization” of reading (or quantitative competition), the book consumerism, and shallow consumption (likely tied to quantity over depth) are all concepts I have struggled with myself and would love to improve personally for 2025. Thanks for sharing!
I do set a goal but I set it low…so the pressure is off. I also set it low because sometimes I get into other hobbies like crochet and I don’t want to limit myself because I have this crazy book goal that I have to meet. It doesn’t prevent me from reading the books I’m interested in…and I never have to cram in short books at the end. I take my time to watch vids (much like this one) to see what’s out there and keep myself informed on new literary works. I get most of my books on the library app and occasionally from somewhere like ThriftBooks. I like longer books in hand so I don’t have a library time limit. I don’t keep my books because I never read one twice! There’s too many stories out there. I have one big bookshelf of TBR…and otherwise I donate or resell or pass on everything I read. If something really strikes my fancy, I may keep it. Too bad I let someone borrow my 11/22/63. That’s one I wouldn’t mind rereading!
Thank you for a very thoughtful video. I particularly agree with you that surface-level reviews (or reviews that are actually plot summaries) are not helpful. I'm a new subscriber to your channel, and look forward to more of your content. Happy new year!
The thing about the counting of books read is that we're all looking for the ultimate read, the book that blows us wide open, and for me the 'reading goal' number is a way of keeping myself serious about the search; how many books have I tried, how hard have I been searching? How much time/effort have I given to my reading? (That said, I may in fact not set myself a goal this year! You're not wrong, I feel; I just wanted to say that it's not just about the numbers or the ticking of boxes.)
Good recommendations. I found myself agreeing with a lot of what you said. I reading in a private cintext, so my only engagement with the book community is here. My friends look at me funny when I start talking about books.
I like the points you’ve raised here. I do set a number goal for my reading on StoryGraph but I don’t care if I reach that goal or not, as long as I’m reading books, that’s fine by me. I do agree with the well thought out reviews. This year I have hardly done any reviews online but I have been taking a lot of notes on the books I’m reading, especially in the past few months and it has been so helpful in me remembering what I’ve read and understand myself more as a reader and think more critically about the books I choose to read. Great video!
This is the first of your videos I've seen. I agree with your points about setting a numeric goal for your reading every year. I used to do that, but I found myself avoiding more difficult or longer books. I also agree that reviews need to be more substantive. Good observations. I subscribed.
💯 on your first point. I got back into reading four years ago now since it’s 2025. In 2022 I didn’t come close to the number, but it really made me strive for it. In 2023 I completely surpassed my goal and actually changed it several times. In 2024 I felt like I was chasing a number and was gamifying my reading experience past the point where I was enjoying it. I read 126 books last year and was burnt out by the end. I made a different a reading goal of reading the entirety of the expanse series and the first law series during 2024, and I felt way better about either of those reading goals than I did the entire number of books I read.
Good call. Numbers based reading goals is something I have been trying to reduce. I want to lose the incentive to pass over the larger books, the non-fiction books and the literature, all of which take longer to read.
I heard someone say once that bragging that you “read books really fast is like bragging you are really fast at having sex. It’s not the brag you think you think it is.” 😂😂
Just found your channel and subscribed. Total-number-of-books goals decrease my joy of reading and increase my anxiety around completing books. My vision for my 2025 reading year is to read more deeply while also finishing a few series that I read simply for pleasure. Going to check out your book club to look for more engagement also.
I’m also making 2025 a buy fewer books year. Like you I have plenty on my shelves that I bought and haven’t read. More than I can finish in a year for sure. Plus, I recently started swapping books with friends and relatives which is really fun and gives books their own little story and helps me engage with others around reading!
Thank you for affirming my decision to slow down on purchasing books until I read more of what I already own. Sometimes in the book section,I have to parent myself out loud with “ No Aleta you have books at home!” I also appreciate the encouragement at the end. I have been watching more boooktube and I’ve been wanting to try out my own book channel, your video was the push I needed! Keep up the great work!
i’ve always had a reading goal for number of books BUT since storygraph introduced challenges based on other things like tropes, genres, tackling your TBR, i’ve found i get more satisfaction from completing those than number of books. i may change my goal next year to a smaller number but complete a larger challenge to read diversely - so much more beneficial!
I think with social media instead of promoting book hauls it would be great to start a trend of bookcrossing. Since it builds communities, makes people more sociable and promotes reading as such. I would lvoe to see booktubers to promote such trend in 2025. Also book challenges such as "shop your bookshelves" would be a nice trend for this incoming year.
Nice list of trends to ditch. I like your point about making content about what you're reading, I wish more people would do that with UA-cam -- I've found that since I started making content I actually use social media less often and when I do it's with the intent to actively participate rather than just passively consume.
Hey there! Your video just popped up, and you've got a new sub! Great points, and I feel like I distanced myself from these channels a while ago because it felt unhealthy to keep up with this hyper-consumerism that's grasping every aspect of our lives. I think slowing down is so important when it comes to reading, especially for harder and more complex works. I usually break up my reading with something easier after a hefty tome or a dense classic; needless to say, my reading speed increases when I read a run-of-the-mill YA fantasy book compared to Dickens or something. In Germany, books are bound to a price, so it's not a problem to shop elsewhere. The problem only arises for English books, and even there we have Thalia, which comes very close to (or even matches) Amazon prices. Let's hope for a good reading year in 2025! 📖🎉
Great list! Very thorough and articulate. I agree with most of your points although I still like to set a number goal for myself (whether I meet it or not doesn't really matter) among other more specific goals. I don't judge others on their number goal - whether it's 5 or 500, it still involves picking up a book! Some people will have a good time reading a smaller number and some a larger number, and it shouldn't matter which type you are. I love your point about taking the time to reflect on the books. If you're going to do a review on a site like Goodreads, take the time to actually think about it and make it useful to other readers. I hate seeing top reviews that say something useless like "Hated it. So bad. 😭😡." These reviews get liked because they are by influencers with a huge number of followers who will like a "review" whether it contains anything useful or not. I'd prefer the user just put in their star rating and move on so that their "review" doesn't clog up the review section and more useful reviews can be easily seen. I currently review each book I read on Goodreads, but it's mostly for my own benefit because I like to look back and see what I thought about the book, what quotes I liked, etc. I like the idea of starting a physical journal, however, because then I'll always have it and don't have to worry about anything "disappearing" on a site.
Agree on stepping out of your lane. Dipped my toe into fantasy for the first time in 2024 (Robin Hobb) and was pleasantly surprised. Also, I love that bison behind you!
Great video. Certainly is daunting to hear the huge numbers people read and consequently one feels fenced off outside book tube or booktok when those numbers pop. Another thing I feel which certain has stopped me from being out there is that every book, fiction or non fiction, I connect to my personal experiences of being an immigrant, political nuances, cultural implications of being in the diaspora etc, and it seems the book tube that I have engaged with doesn't connect their options on the implications to the wider world. I fear that I wouldn't be able to follow the norm of being sanitized. Might be an irrational fear. Anyway love your content.
I agree about reading outside your typical genre. I love horror. It's my main genre, but I also love fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, etc. Sometimes I need something to cleanse the palette :)
I read straight-up genre fiction this year for the first time in my life. Thanks to y'all, I picked up Bad Monkey (you guys were not even talking about the book, but you briefly mentioned the TV show, which I have seen.) Bad Monkey by Carl Hiasen is a straight up hard boiled crime thriller comedy. I typically read literary fiction, history, and philosophy. I really really liked Bad Monkey. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes crime thrillers and those who want to get into them. I know I will never be a hardcore genre fiction reader, but I am happy I branched out. There are also plenty of literary fiction books with genre tropes, some of which I've also read recently: Inherent Vice and The Shards. I will definitely continue exploring this genre.
I appreciate the thoughtfulness behind your comments. I try very hard to at least write a couple of sentences on reviews. And to shop local, or from small businesses. Cheers!
I’m so glad you make UA-cam content! I originally found you through TikTok but I personally want to stop using it soon. Maybe it’ll be a forced decision if the ban goes through. Who knows. Anyways, I agree with everything you said. There’s too much consumerism (I see so much of it on TikTok), the reading goals are insane and I have a hard time believing people who say they read over 100 books in a year (a hundred seems like the most reasonable high reading number in a year imo) anything passed that I’m like okay these people are rushing through books just to have a huge end of the year number and that’s just weird as hell to me and kinda goes along with the consumerism part of it all. I hope to see readers work on retaining information about the book they just read in 2025. I see too many trendy videos of people being like “lol when I close the book I forget everything I just read” and I’m like ???? That’s actually insane to me. And I hope to see people USE THEIR LOCAL LIBRARIES MORE in 2025. Library cards should be free, your use of the library helps them remain a free public resource! Use the library before you buy a new book. You’ll save so much money. My 2025 goals is reading more genres. I rarely buy new books so my birthday being about a month before Christmas I allowed myself a big book haul. I got a lot of the books that are often on banned book lists. So I’m excited to read them! I probably won’t be buying books in 2025 as I have so much to read right now. Happy reading! Love the channel ✌🏻✨
@@ReadBooksMore it will be interesting to see what happens with TT. I like it because I get paid for views over there, but other than that I find the book community rather shallow. YT and IG are definitely better on that front.
I did an A-Z book challenge this year, I didn’t finish it but I enjoyed it. It forced me to really get creative and look for titles I wouldn’t have normally found, especially at the end of the year as I got to the tricky letters!
My goal this year was 12 books. I ended on 32. Next year I want to read 50 if I can. I use my library a lot, but I have about 70 books I haven't read yet on my shelves. I hope to get the number of unread books down to under 50, and plan on using Libby and my library as much as possible. I've also joined a book club for the first time.
As someone who reads super slow and also has adhd, while also wanting to achieve a "total books read" goal, it's a struggle. Next year, I just aim to tackle books on my backlog and enjoy them at whatever pace I'm at. They are so much more enjoyable that way
I took time to list out what I want to read more of that I missed from my uni days, and I was surprised at the variety! From the classics like Austin and Dickens, to philosophy, world history and new authors. Shopping only from indie shops has also broadened my reading, as they curate their stock in a much more interesting way than the book department stores.
Loved all of these! Reading goals were helpful in the beginning of getting me back into the habit of reading every day but it has morphed into a whole different beast these past few years. The last half of this year it felt really gross and discouraging to see everyone talking about their book number and as a human you can't help but compare yourself to others. This year I'm not setting a yearly number goal. My book goal is to branch out in genres I read because I've been in a slump. :) I've also decided to limit my book intake this coming year too. Special editions are my downfall but keeping up with all the releases are exhausting and draining my wallet. I need to get better at my reviews, it's hard to articulate sometimes how I'm feeling about a book but I don't sit with it afterwards enough before reviewing. I started a booktube Aug last year and it was exhausting posting weekly and not getting traction after 5 months. I have a new appreciation for everyone who has a channel and a full-time job. I might go back to it next year after resting and reseting
@@skycastleshay yeah making content can be overwhelming. It really just depends on what your goals are. If it's just for fun, no need to keep yourself to a strict schedule.
Thank you for expressing what I have been thinking. I’m setting a goal of purchasing few books this year, and if I do, they will be from used bookstores. If I want to read something that has been translated into English, I might purchase a new version in order to get the best translation possible. A “books read” goal might be no different than deciding to eat as much food as possible, regardless of the ingredients. 2024 was my year of reading literary classics. I enjoyed Dumas, Tolstoy, and Hardy, as well as other classic authors. It was a much more fulfilling reading year than the previous year, when I read junk food fiction that left me feeling unfulfilled and “icky” at times. A “pages read” goal will be more realistic for me, because I want to read larger works. Thanks again for your honesty!
As a writer, I’ve struggled in the past couple of years with reading. I was a huge reader. But then with writing I have two different types of pressures. Reading instead of writing, feeling guilty for reading when I could be writing. As well as having this immense pressure to read more. Expose my self to as much writing as possible, so I can be a better writer. But I found that slowing down and actually reading allowing myself to think about what I’ve read. What I like it how it works and what it does, even just in the past few months have helped me with all. I read a few pages a day, breaking it down and highlighting prose and taking notes, of what I liked and didn’t like. I found myself reading more, and getting so much more from the books I read even if it’s only 3-5 a year
My number goal is strictly based on 2 challenges I set for myself. I created 25 in 25 prompts using only books on my shelves that have been collecting dust or unread on my kindle, and 17 for 2024's Goodreads winners or runner ups. One of each category to help me diversify my reading instead of sticking to my usual thriller/horror. The thing I would like to see is more male booktubers. When I discovered booktube years ago I never found any male channels. I have seen more recently and I'm loving it.
This was great! I have literally been so scared to start my bookstagram and book review site because I am a deep dive reviewer and that doesn't seem to be popular on most social media platforms. The whole niche I am wanting to focus on is on the lore in books and that is something that has to be discussed and reviewed in detail.
agreed with the total number of books for a goal. I tried that this year with 50 books and flopped by being 8 under and was beating myself up over it. I read a lot of heavy books in 2024, as well as was working on writing my own. My goal for the next year is to simply tackle reading the wheel of time series by robert jordan, and if i enjoy it to see how far in the series I make it. I might finish the series, but I might not, and I don't wanna stress myself if I don't finish or take breaks to read other things on my tbr to just relax.
Hello! New booktuber here and new subscriber to your channel. :) I completely understand where you're coming from. If it's one thing I've learned with Booktube that FOMO is a real thing. I'll see a book and think, "Oh! I need to add that to my TBR!" Thankfully, since I'm a retired school teacher, my pension says I need to be VERY selective on the books I purchase. I will only purchase a book if I KNOW I will read it. Admittedly, I have a weakness for HARDBOUND versions of the books, but that's another story! LOL! I recently created a GOALS video for me and my channel and I set goals for myself (including # of books) because at this point in my life, I need goals. Being retired isn't always easy and having direction and MOTIVATION has been essential to my mental well-being. Sorry for sharing TMI. Thanks again for this video and I look forward to seeing more from you! Happy 2025!
I read 127 books in 2024 and have 30 new all time faves.. and that's even counting the series on that list as just "one" (so really it's more than 30). Nearly half the books I read were from the library. But I do have my own curated collection, which I love having and adding to. Since I like all size books including chonkers, my goal was 100 pages a day.. I read that anyway.. it's my #1 hobby. Lots of bangers in 2024! reading a lot of books doesn't have to mean people aren't enjoying the books or that they're not reading quality books.
I watched a yt video last night on someone creating their "reading journal" but she spoke about how guilty she felt when not reading and instead watching films, tv, or gaming. So this year, she has added media goals as well, and I really like that. To me, consuming movies, shows, and games is just like consuming audio books.
Reading goals can get wild. For 2024 I tracked all the books I finished to see how many books I read normally, granted I was in school half the year so the numbers would be lower for those months, and found that I finished 87 books. At the beginning of the year I thought I only read about 24 books a year and was shocked. That being said, I don’t trust through books and generally remember a lot about them even years later because they had such an impact on my. I feel like that is more important to me than just trying to rush through a ton of books that are not adding any value to my life. I do a combination of audiobooks, ebooks, and physical books and generally get most of my physical books from the dollar tree. Ebooks and audiobooks are from the library about 98% of the time.
When I got back in to reading, i felt like i wasnt real reader unless i met my 100+ book goodreads goal and had a bookstagram. The social media aspect put pressure that led to me struggling to read. Im not really sure why. Maybe because, as a parent, i knew i wouldnt read 100+ books and i didnt know how to take aesthetic pictures that got a lot of engagement. 2025 is for fun 💕
Ack - one of my biggest pet peeves is people who just say “ bad writing”. Nope, just because you didn’t like a book doesn’t make it poorly written. And if you are not educated enough to explain what was badly written, you are not someone whose opinion I will take seriously. But I see it so often!
I wasn’t really a reader most of my life (outside of school and work). I like to set a number of books goal but my goal each year starts at 10 books and then if I read more I increase it. I have adhd so setting this goal helps me when my motivation is low. When my motivation is low I replace all my hobbies with watching TV, which isn’t great for my mental health! BUT I think goals of like 100 books a year seems like people are just reading to say they read a lot!
all the libraries in my area have "bookstores" inside.. a small section dedicated to books you can buy (and support the library at the same time). Paperbacks $2 and hardcovers $3. Also if you want to check out a certain book from your library system but they don't have it, submit a Purchase Request - my library has approved 99% of my requests. I read a lot of new releases this way!
Great points well made. Those who push themselves to hit targets may lose some of the joy of reading. The to be read list can be a pressure sometimes too. I’m old. Statistically I have a lot fewer books left to read in my lifetime so I’ve started to be really picky on what I read and if I’m just not enjoying a book…. I give up. I don’t buy on Amazon and I try to support independent bookshops. We all enjoy books for different reasons and have our own tastes but it’s good to be kind in reviews. Be honest but respectful and not nasty. I agree that reading our favourite genre is understandable but to branch out is a wonderful experience. We are so lucky that we love reading, it’s life affirming. I’d like people to stop awarding prizes to authors because of their previous success or because the book is in vogue. This is hard to explain, sometimes brilliant books are overlooked, but I guess that’s the way of the world. Thanks for this video, it was thought provoking.
Totally agree! I do have a 'number' to reach each year because I love checking of boxes in my reading journal 😅 but nothing happens if I do not meet the goal. I'd rather read 10 amazing books a year than 100 terrible ones. Which might be superficial for me to say because I (have no idea how) just finished my 100th book of 2024 (there are some graphic novels and manga included in this number as well). Many were not good but I found few new amazing authors and series and by reading that much I have now a better understanding of what I like in my books (not to say I won't try and reach out to other genres even when I did not have much luck with some yet). That said 2025 will be year of slowing down and continuing the series I started and enjoyed this year :D
that video is by nathan's nook, and i actually think his videos are really well done and very thoughtful. if you check his monthly book recaps he provides some really good commentary on what he's read, and it's clear he's reflected a lot on his reading. that is to say, i think he read 177 books as a byproduct of his love for reading, not to hit some impressive number goal. i don't think there's any reason to throw shade at them, jack! give the videos a chance. though i do agree, for the most part, that many books is pretty crazy lol
Great points! Recently watched a video with several "It was 'stream-of-consciousness' so I didn't like it" style reviews. Pretty sure the reader knew what it was going in, and that they actually read the books, but they still did nothing to distinguish one S-o-C book from the other. Not liking S-o-C is understandable, and definitely worth mentioning in a review, but that's more akin to a content warning than a review.
I laughed out loud at your first one because that's literally my goal for 2025.😂 I read 22 books in 2024 and that was a personal best for me, at least since I have been an adult. I'm not necessarily setting anything crazy though, I'm just trying to strengthen that muscle a little bit more. I would love to read 52 books so that I read one a week but I don't know if I'm ready for that yet, so my goal is "a minimum of 23" because that'll at least mean I broke my last record. But I'm also going to do two things in addition to reading more: 1, I'm going to NOT force myself to finish a book if I'm truly not enjoying it, because when I do that I tend to avoid reading altogether, and 2, I'm going to keep a reading journal to document all the books I read.
@@druelia9485 reader A reads one book per week. Reader B reads one book per month. Who read more and who is the stronger reader? It's not possible to answer the question, because the total number of books isn't correlated to reading time, or the development of reading as a skill. If reader A can read one book a week by reading shorter/easier books that only take a total of 3 hours to read, while reader B reads an hour per day but is reading something more challenging and complex, than reader B will have actually done more reading despite having read fewer books. If you want to build a stronger reading muscle, set action based goals, not outcome based goals. For example: reading for 30 minutes per day.
@Lifeonbooks that's fair, and maybe my goal will shift into something more along those lines as I go. I think my problem is maybe I just don't exactly know what a realistic goal is for myself right now, so "I just want to increase my reading" seems like the best place for me to start. But I don't really know how long on average I have read for in the past year, only how much I've read. So I can't accurately say "I want to increase my reading by x hours". But keeping track of how long and how often I read is another part of this goal this year(as part of the Journaling I mentioned).
I worked out something very interesting! If I buy books from my local bookstore I’ll pay £1 or £2 more than Amazon but then every 10 books I get £10 discount so overall it’s pennies that I’m paying more than Amazon. You just have to stick with one provider. Same is for Waterstones
Huh. I got back into reading a few years ago. I think at the beginning, it felt really good to meet my number goal. When I made my reading schedule for next year, I didn't make a number goal and didn't realize it until later. I think I've outgrown the need for it.
On the whole I agree with you about goals for number of books read. It definitely shouldn't be a competition, nor should it be the focus. It's primarily useful, as you say, for people who are trying to increase their reading. For a long time, my goal was 100 books in a year. I have now reached that and blasted through it, but I keep my annual goal as 100 because I don't want the number to be a focus. So why then do I still have a "goal"? Really it's because all the tracking apps are set up that way. I still like using that function, I like seeing my progress through the year. And since reading is a major hobby of mine, I do like keeping track of how many books I read. But after watching your video, I decided to set some different numerical goals: read more non-fiction, read more from books I already own, re-read books. Apps aren't set up to track that, but you can create "challenges" on Storygraph that could keep track that. My problem is, I'm going to have too many challenges to keep track of on SG! But I'll try that and see how it goes.
I have found a 'total number of books' goal helped develop my reading habit, it pushed me to pick up one book after the other, getting that muscle moving. I'm talking about a total number of like 10 to 20, nothing too intense. Now that I've developed a good reading habit I don't use this type of goal anymore. My goals now are tailored to subjects, genres and connection with the books.
I never kept a count of books I read until this. I was more curious how many I read than to brag.
What I have been doing over the past couple of years is setting a goal for the number of hours I read in a year. I found it is satisfying to see my progress but I didn't feel guilty when I came up short.
I've always kept track of the number books I've read. Once I saw the 100 books in 1 year I have made it one of my many goals every year. It helps keep me out of a slump. I don't think I'll ever get to 100 in a year. But it would be fun if I did. My other goals are much more about continuing to diversify my reading and keeping track of what I am reading.
The guilt and the push to get to a specific number never made sense to me. A book will be consumed and digested at the pace that is meant for each individual. Which is how it should be.
"Going shopping from my own bookshelf" haha love that. Great video man.
I think reading as a competition needs to stop...there's way too many folks out there with the opinion of "I read 299 books this year, but anyone who reads more than 300 isn't even reading at that point." Like it's so asinine, that's like saying "I ran 100 miles this year, but anyone that ran 101 isn't actually running at that point!" . Reading is like any hobby; people are allowed to engage with it at different skill levels. A big reason I can't bring myself to make a booktube or bookstagram account is because everyone treats it like a competition and I'd rather that trend stay in 2024 more than anything...
100 miles in a year is less than 1/3 of a mile a day. I'd be shocked if most people hadn't done that. Maybe I'm overestimating people, but really, that's not a lot.
Sorry, I just run a lot, so that just stuck out to me.
@myself2noone I think you're missing the point of the comment. The idea is you are using your own lived experience and guardrails to dictate someone else's behavior. 100 to you is nothing vs. To someone else might be a big feat.
Overconsumerism! Yes this is becoming a strong point in many areas like knitting, quilting etc.All these huge haul videos crazy! We need to take a long look at what we already have,slow down and enjoy the project we're working, the book we're reading.So glad you brought that up
This year I switched from buying books on Amazon to purchasing them on Thift Books and it's been a great experience. Thanks for the info about Abe Books. I didn't realize they're owned by Amazon.
2024 was the first year I made a “number of books” reading goal. I enjoyed my reading this year, but not as much as I usually do. Wanting to reach that goal meant I was engaging with books less, was focused more on just finishing them.
And like you said, the world is already focused on consuming as much as possible; let the reading space be a haven away from that.
I wasn't aware of any trends. I just now started looking at videos regarding my reading and writing enthusiasm.
I think I'll just keep doing my thing.
Same here.
I set a goal of 75 books this year I reached it. But I found around October that I didn’t care if I reached it because I had been reading such good books. I was gravitating to huge books 700+ pages consistently. Getting lost in just amazing writing and stories. The only goal I have for next year is to finally read “1984” and “one hundred years of solitude”
random recommendation going your way: "The Machine Stops" by E. M. Forster is a short novella that could be considered the true grandfather of dystopian literature, published in 1909 much before Orwell's (equally fantastic work) I recommend giving it a go! you can finish it in a day
Both those books are excellent, though 1984 is starting to feel a little too real. 100 Years is a fantastic read.
They are both among the greats! I envy that you will read these for the first time.
Those both are my favorite. 1984, the beginning is a bit hard to start, but once you get past the first part, it gets so interesting. Hope you'll enjoy both.
Instead of number of books, I have a goal of hours read a day or a week. It can be a bit inconvenient to track, so I tend to track with the heavier books. But it helps with slowing down and also unplugging enough to read, knowing this 30min-1hour is dedicated toward enjoying this one book.
@@rphitheta2539 I typically set a timer on my phone and put it on the other side of the room.
I prefer setting a number of books goal and then changing it up or down - depending on how “life” hit me that year. Much more fluent than tying me down to reading each day. If I did that I would feel guilty if I didn’t read that day - and maybe just sit with the book my eyes gliding over the page without being in the here and now. 🙂
I think you have a better idea. I, too, feel reading everyday is more important than trying to rush through X amount of books in a year.
I use Storygraph to track my reading. You can track your reading each day (pages or minutes), or you can maybe update it once a week and you'd also get the number easily. And it also makes nice monthly reading stats (I'm a stats geek so I love that :D ) Just a suggestion.
I use the Forest app to time my reading. This sets a little challenge for me and at the end of the year I can see my reading time as a “forest” rather than a number of pages or books. Purely a vain thing but makes me feel good when my “forest” is larger than last year.
Important video, and articulated well. Thanks for making it. I agree with all of these points, and it's the surface-level book reviews that really get to me the most. I'm here for the dialogue and the debate, and on more than one occasion have turned to the booktube/bookstagram community and have been met with the opposite. When people eschew the thinking and discussion about a book for the pure numbers game of how-many-books-can-i-read-in-a-year mentality, that's a big red flag. I'm convinced short-form video content contributes heavily to this, and I've fallen into that trap myself. This was a nice reminder to be true to myself and my own values. Happy reading :) -R
The best alternative to book consumerism is the public library.
Except if you live in a small community and your public library doesn't have a lot of book or the kind of books I like to read.
@StormReads I can't speak to the services offered by every library, but it is possible that even small libraries may be able to request the materials you want from a larger nearby library at no cost to you. I would encourage anyone reading this comment to check if their local library is part of a library network and/or what the library's ILL policy is.
basically
I also recommend being broke as f^ck for this. 😔. That’s a joke but it’s also kind of true. I have to consider and plan which books I really truly want to spend my money on/get books from secondhand sources. It also makes me feel more of a desire to finish working through the stuff already on my bookshelf.
I like all of these. Specifically the number of books.
I also would add that I would like people to stop discriminating people who read via audiobook vs physical copies.
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing. This is my first time coming across your videos and I'm happy to be a new subscriber 😊
Thank you 🙏
I 100% agree about the audios. I absolutely hated fantasy books before I tried audio but now they're quickly becoming a top pick for me because they're fun to listen to, especially if they do full cast. If I'd have discriminated against them then I'd be missing out on some great books.
I feel you on the limiting of Amazon purchases. It’s gonna be hard, but my goal is actually read the books I’ve bought :)
I always check my local library then the county library then used book stores before buying from Amazon.
What an excellent list! This was extremely refreshing, I've just suscribed to your channel (which I wasn't aware existed). Have a great reading year!
You are very, very good at the whole booktube thing. I have subscribed and I'm going to go through all your old content. I appreciate everything you've said in this video.
I have a goal of 20 books a year. But it’s not my main focus. Just to get myself to read more. I’m a slow reader and a full time job. But my goal this year is to be more consistent, play less games.
Audiobooks work great cause you can listen to them in the car on your way to work, or even around your house with headphones
Before I started a reading journal, I wrote in-depth book reviews on Goodreads. The only people who read the reviews were my friends on Facebook and a handful of other bookish people, and they got almost no engagement. There's this idea that everything you do has to be "content," that you have to have a marketable personal brand and tons of online engagement. But the reality of the situation is that I wrote Goodreads reviews because I liked reading and I liked writing about the things I read.
I LOVE reading goals but above all i LOVE keeping track of the books ive read. I tend to forget what ive read in a year. However i agree with slowing down on the reading and enjoy it
totally resonate with the idea of getting out and engaging with the reading community in a more substantial way. so often reading is thought of as a solitary act, but some of the discussions i've had in the book club and elsewhere online have really enriched my understanding and appreciation for books i already liked/loved, added nuance to books i might have been otherwise lukewarm about, and gave me reason to pause and think and discuss more critically and thoughtfully-engaging with the community at large can only add to that rewarding reading experience!
Great points - I think the only one I’d tweak slightly is the reading more broadly one where I’d add that reading outside your comfort zone can help you find books you love you’d never have normally read.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you for this video! Hello from Long Island, New York and I hope that your 2025 is all that you want it to be! I look forward to checking out more content from you.
yes I agree with all this pressure to reach a reading goal - we need to just read for fun and be gentle with ourselves! I love my library to avoid the overbuying!
I'm really glad that I set my goal to 12 books every year as a personal goal. Sometimes I read only 12 books and most times I read more. I do plan on using my local library a lot more this year because I bought too many disappointing books this year and it felt sad spending so much on something I ended up not liking. Happy reading this 2025 everyone 📚
Great video and reading goals. I plan on reading more intentionally in 2025. I think booktok and booktube has caused reading to be a competition instead of reading for pleasure.
I consume most of your content on IG and I’m a huge fan. I agree with everything you said here, especially about book reviews. I’ve been thirsting for meaningful reviews myself and hope to embody that in my own Bookstagram. People like you and Books Are Better Than Food have been such a huge influence on me, so thank you🙌🏼
I am just seeing your channel for the first time. Love this video. I started reading about 6 years ago because of booktube channels. I follow so many amazing channels. However, you bring up points I've often thought about myself.
I have wandered if readers are actually enjoying books when they read so many, so quickly. I just finished Greg Isles, Natchez Burning and frankly, I need a few days to digest and reflect on everything. His writing is all encompassing. Definitely one of my favorite books of all time. It's over 700 pages and it felt like 100!!!!!
Anyway, thank you for this video. I am now subscribed to ANOTHER book tube channel 😂😂😂 and looking forward to browsing your history videos and future videos.
I’m about to start a UA-cam channel and I plan on doing a book review here and there related to my niche. I love all of these points! Now I gotta go binge some of your content where you do book reviews thanks!
I really enjoyed your video and am glad the algorithm decided to send me this way. I agree with all of your points, specifically the first and fourth. I know when I first got Goodreads and noticed reading goals I enjoyed it but the following year began reading shorter books to increase my number of books read which left me feeling unsatisfied. I decided not to feel beholden to some arbitrary goal in 2024 and while I read fewer books I think what I read was enjoyable and varied.
Wish your channel receives more engagement in 2025. Such sincere and authentic booktube content 😊
Great video. This is going to push me to find a way to be more in depth with how i review this year. I've always used my Goodreads as a personal reminder space for what i read. So i kind of verbal diarrhea quick thoughts in my review, give it stars and move on. I'll be adding a goal to be more conscious about how i write my reviews for 2025. Thanks for pointing out something i never thought twice about! As my boss says "Try to be 1% better everyday".
I listen to different music in each ear so I can get through more songs
😂
Thank you for expose of reading goals by number of books. This has been bugging me since 4th grade when I watched classmates get reading awards for most books read. Meanwhile, I didn't, because I read books based on my interests instead of how short the volume is.
I am glad this video popped up on my feed. You summarized so many things that I in some shape or form had thought about, but in much less of an articulated manner. The “optimization” of reading (or quantitative competition), the book consumerism, and shallow consumption (likely tied to quantity over depth) are all concepts I have struggled with myself and would love to improve personally for 2025. Thanks for sharing!
I do set a goal but I set it low…so the pressure is off. I also set it low because sometimes I get into other hobbies like crochet and I don’t want to limit myself because I have this crazy book goal that I have to meet. It doesn’t prevent me from reading the books I’m interested in…and I never have to cram in short books at the end. I take my time to watch vids (much like this one) to see what’s out there and keep myself informed on new literary works. I get most of my books on the library app and occasionally from somewhere like ThriftBooks. I like longer books in hand so I don’t have a library time limit. I don’t keep my books because I never read one twice! There’s too many stories out there. I have one big bookshelf of TBR…and otherwise I donate or resell or pass on everything I read. If something really strikes my fancy, I may keep it. Too bad I let someone borrow my 11/22/63. That’s one I wouldn’t mind rereading!
Love that!
you're so real, i love it! found you on tiktok and here i am subscribing to ur channel. keep it up, sir!
Thank you!
Love the suggestion about making a goal to engage more with what I read
Thank you for a very thoughtful video. I particularly agree with you that surface-level reviews (or reviews that are actually plot summaries) are not helpful. I'm a new subscriber to your channel, and look forward to more of your content. Happy new year!
Just found your channel from this video. Love everything you said here. Insta-subscribed to channel and newsletter!
Thank you! Glad to have you here!
Sensible comments, very though provoking. Subbed
The thing about the counting of books read is that we're all looking for the ultimate read, the book that blows us wide open, and for me the 'reading goal' number is a way of keeping myself serious about the search; how many books have I tried, how hard have I been searching? How much time/effort have I given to my reading? (That said, I may in fact not set myself a goal this year! You're not wrong, I feel; I just wanted to say that it's not just about the numbers or the ticking of boxes.)
Good recommendations. I found myself agreeing with a lot of what you said. I reading in a private cintext, so my only engagement with the book community is here. My friends look at me funny when I start talking about books.
I like the points you’ve raised here. I do set a number goal for my reading on StoryGraph but I don’t care if I reach that goal or not, as long as I’m reading books, that’s fine by me.
I do agree with the well thought out reviews. This year I have hardly done any reviews online but I have been taking a lot of notes on the books I’m reading, especially in the past few months and it has been so helpful in me remembering what I’ve read and understand myself more as a reader and think more critically about the books I choose to read.
Great video!
This is the first of your videos I've seen. I agree with your points about setting a numeric goal for your reading every year. I used to do that, but I found myself avoiding more difficult or longer books. I also agree that reviews need to be more substantive.
Good observations. I subscribed.
💯 on your first point. I got back into reading four years ago now since it’s 2025. In 2022 I didn’t come close to the number, but it really made me strive for it. In 2023 I completely surpassed my goal and actually changed it several times. In 2024 I felt like I was chasing a number and was gamifying my reading experience past the point where I was enjoying it. I read 126 books last year and was burnt out by the end. I made a different a reading goal of reading the entirety of the expanse series and the first law series during 2024, and I felt way better about either of those reading goals than I did the entire number of books I read.
just sub'd and signed up for your newsletter! 😊
Happy New Year & Happy Reading!
This is a great list. Each point makes so much sense to me. Thanks. I’m subscribing.
Good call. Numbers based reading goals is something I have been trying to reduce. I want to lose the incentive to pass over the larger books, the non-fiction books and the literature, all of which take longer to read.
@@OmnivorousReader big books are life!
I heard someone say once that bragging that you “read books really fast is like bragging you are really fast at having sex. It’s not the brag you think you think it is.” 😂😂
Just found your channel and subscribed. Total-number-of-books goals decrease my joy of reading and increase my anxiety around completing books. My vision for my 2025 reading year is to read more deeply while also finishing a few series that I read simply for pleasure. Going to check out your book club to look for more engagement also.
@@nancynurse4552 love that!
I love the idea of not setting a goal. Sometimes, the focus becomes more about the goal than the actual books you are reading.
I’m also making 2025 a buy fewer books year. Like you I have plenty on my shelves that I bought and haven’t read. More than I can finish in a year for sure. Plus, I recently started swapping books with friends and relatives which is really fun and gives books their own little story and helps me engage with others around reading!
Thank you for affirming my decision to slow down on purchasing books until I read more of what I already own. Sometimes in the book section,I have to parent myself out loud with “ No Aleta you have books at home!”
I also appreciate the encouragement at the end. I have been watching more boooktube and I’ve been wanting to try out my own book channel, your video was the push I needed!
Keep up the great work!
i’ve always had a reading goal for number of books BUT since storygraph introduced challenges based on other things like tropes, genres, tackling your TBR, i’ve found i get more satisfaction from completing those than number of books. i may change my goal next year to a smaller number but complete a larger challenge to read diversely - so much more beneficial!
I think with social media instead of promoting book hauls it would be great to start a trend of bookcrossing. Since it builds communities, makes people more sociable and promotes reading as such. I would lvoe to see booktubers to promote such trend in 2025. Also book challenges such as "shop your bookshelves" would be a nice trend for this incoming year.
Nice list of trends to ditch. I like your point about making content about what you're reading, I wish more people would do that with UA-cam -- I've found that since I started making content I actually use social media less often and when I do it's with the intent to actively participate rather than just passively consume.
Hey there! Your video just popped up, and you've got a new sub! Great points, and I feel like I distanced myself from these channels a while ago because it felt unhealthy to keep up with this hyper-consumerism that's grasping every aspect of our lives.
I think slowing down is so important when it comes to reading, especially for harder and more complex works. I usually break up my reading with something easier after a hefty tome or a dense classic; needless to say, my reading speed increases when I read a run-of-the-mill YA fantasy book compared to Dickens or something.
In Germany, books are bound to a price, so it's not a problem to shop elsewhere. The problem only arises for English books, and even there we have Thalia, which comes very close to (or even matches) Amazon prices.
Let's hope for a good reading year in 2025! 📖🎉
@@Syssn3ck glad the video resonated! I'm the same as you, sometimes I like something a little lighter after a more challenging book.
Great points. I'm actually doing an "unhaul" right now. Overconsuming and keeping (hoarding) books I'll never read again is becoming overbearing.
Readers may have very different goals, and that is okay. There is room for readers at different points in their journey.
Great list! Very thorough and articulate. I agree with most of your points although I still like to set a number goal for myself (whether I meet it or not doesn't really matter) among other more specific goals. I don't judge others on their number goal - whether it's 5 or 500, it still involves picking up a book! Some people will have a good time reading a smaller number and some a larger number, and it shouldn't matter which type you are.
I love your point about taking the time to reflect on the books. If you're going to do a review on a site like Goodreads, take the time to actually think about it and make it useful to other readers. I hate seeing top reviews that say something useless like "Hated it. So bad. 😭😡." These reviews get liked because they are by influencers with a huge number of followers who will like a "review" whether it contains anything useful or not. I'd prefer the user just put in their star rating and move on so that their "review" doesn't clog up the review section and more useful reviews can be easily seen. I currently review each book I read on Goodreads, but it's mostly for my own benefit because I like to look back and see what I thought about the book, what quotes I liked, etc. I like the idea of starting a physical journal, however, because then I'll always have it and don't have to worry about anything "disappearing" on a site.
Agree on stepping out of your lane. Dipped my toe into fantasy for the first time in 2024 (Robin Hobb) and was pleasantly surprised. Also, I love that bison behind you!
Ha thanks! I call him my "ReadBull"
Great video. Certainly is daunting to hear the huge numbers people read and consequently one feels fenced off outside book tube or booktok when those numbers pop.
Another thing I feel which certain has stopped me from being out there is that every book, fiction or non fiction, I connect to my personal experiences of being an immigrant, political nuances, cultural implications of being in the diaspora etc, and it seems the book tube that I have engaged with doesn't connect their options on the implications to the wider world. I fear that I wouldn't be able to follow the norm of being sanitized. Might be an irrational fear. Anyway love your content.
That film/movie consumption analogy is great
I agree about reading outside your typical genre. I love horror. It's my main genre, but I also love fantasy, sci-fi, thriller, etc. Sometimes I need something to cleanse the palette :)
I read straight-up genre fiction this year for the first time in my life. Thanks to y'all, I picked up Bad Monkey (you guys were not even talking about the book, but you briefly mentioned the TV show, which I have seen.) Bad Monkey by Carl Hiasen is a straight up hard boiled crime thriller comedy. I typically read literary fiction, history, and philosophy. I really really liked Bad Monkey. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes crime thrillers and those who want to get into them. I know I will never be a hardcore genre fiction reader, but I am happy I branched out. There are also plenty of literary fiction books with genre tropes, some of which I've also read recently: Inherent Vice and The Shards. I will definitely continue exploring this genre.
@@marcelhidalgo1076 sometimes it's nice to mix in some pure fun reads
I appreciate the thoughtfulness behind your comments. I try very hard to at least write a couple of sentences on reviews. And to shop local, or from small businesses. Cheers!
I’m so glad you make UA-cam content! I originally found you through TikTok but I personally want to stop using it soon. Maybe it’ll be a forced decision if the ban goes through. Who knows.
Anyways, I agree with everything you said.
There’s too much consumerism (I see so much of it on TikTok), the reading goals are insane and I have a hard time believing people who say they read over 100 books in a year (a hundred seems like the most reasonable high reading number in a year imo) anything passed that I’m like okay these people are rushing through books just to have a huge end of the year number and that’s just weird as hell to me and kinda goes along with the consumerism part of it all.
I hope to see readers work on retaining information about the book they just read in 2025. I see too many trendy videos of people being like “lol when I close the book I forget everything I just read” and I’m like ???? That’s actually insane to me.
And I hope to see people USE THEIR LOCAL LIBRARIES MORE in 2025. Library cards should be free, your use of the library helps them remain a free public resource! Use the library before you buy a new book. You’ll save so much money.
My 2025 goals is reading more genres. I rarely buy new books so my birthday being about a month before Christmas I allowed myself a big book haul. I got a lot of the books that are often on banned book lists. So I’m excited to read them! I probably won’t be buying books in 2025 as I have so much to read right now.
Happy reading! Love the channel ✌🏻✨
@@ReadBooksMore it will be interesting to see what happens with TT. I like it because I get paid for views over there, but other than that I find the book community rather shallow. YT and IG are definitely better on that front.
I did an A-Z book challenge this year, I didn’t finish it but I enjoyed it. It forced me to really get creative and look for titles I wouldn’t have normally found, especially at the end of the year as I got to the tricky letters!
My goal this year was 12 books. I ended on 32. Next year I want to read 50 if I can. I use my library a lot, but I have about 70 books I haven't read yet on my shelves. I hope to get the number of unread books down to under 50, and plan on using Libby and my library as much as possible. I've also joined a book club for the first time.
As someone who reads super slow and also has adhd, while also wanting to achieve a "total books read" goal, it's a struggle. Next year, I just aim to tackle books on my backlog and enjoy them at whatever pace I'm at. They are so much more enjoyable that way
I took time to list out what I want to read more of that I missed from my uni days, and I was surprised at the variety! From the classics like Austin and Dickens, to philosophy, world history and new authors. Shopping only from indie shops has also broadened my reading, as they curate their stock in a much more interesting way than the book department stores.
Loved all of these! Reading goals were helpful in the beginning of getting me back into the habit of reading every day but it has morphed into a whole different beast these past few years. The last half of this year it felt really gross and discouraging to see everyone talking about their book number and as a human you can't help but compare yourself to others. This year I'm not setting a yearly number goal. My book goal is to branch out in genres I read because I've been in a slump. :) I've also decided to limit my book intake this coming year too. Special editions are my downfall but keeping up with all the releases are exhausting and draining my wallet. I need to get better at my reviews, it's hard to articulate sometimes how I'm feeling about a book but I don't sit with it afterwards enough before reviewing. I started a booktube Aug last year and it was exhausting posting weekly and not getting traction after 5 months. I have a new appreciation for everyone who has a channel and a full-time job. I might go back to it next year after resting and reseting
@@skycastleshay yeah making content can be overwhelming. It really just depends on what your goals are. If it's just for fun, no need to keep yourself to a strict schedule.
Thank you for expressing what I have been thinking. I’m setting a goal of purchasing few books this year, and if I do, they will be from used bookstores. If I want to read something that has been translated into English, I might purchase a new version in order to get the best translation possible. A “books read” goal might be no different than deciding to eat as much food as possible, regardless of the ingredients. 2024 was my year of reading literary classics. I enjoyed Dumas, Tolstoy, and Hardy, as well as other classic authors. It was a much more fulfilling reading year than the previous year, when I read junk food fiction that left me feeling unfulfilled and “icky” at times. A “pages read” goal will be more realistic for me, because I want to read larger works. Thanks again for your honesty!
As a writer, I’ve struggled in the past couple of years with reading. I was a huge reader. But then with writing I have two different types of pressures. Reading instead of writing, feeling guilty for reading when I could be writing. As well as having this immense pressure to read more. Expose my self to as much writing as possible, so I can be a better writer. But I found that slowing down and actually reading allowing myself to think about what I’ve read. What I like it how it works and what it does, even just in the past few months have helped me with all. I read a few pages a day, breaking it down and highlighting prose and taking notes, of what I liked and didn’t like. I found myself reading more, and getting so much more from the books I read even if it’s only 3-5 a year
I created a booktube because I don't have many people I can talk to about books. So been nice finding more people to talk to and share my thoughts. 😊
My number goal is strictly based on 2 challenges I set for myself. I created 25 in 25 prompts using only books on my shelves that have been collecting dust or unread on my kindle, and 17 for 2024's Goodreads winners or runner ups. One of each category to help me diversify my reading instead of sticking to my usual thriller/horror.
The thing I would like to see is more male booktubers. When I discovered booktube years ago I never found any male channels. I have seen more recently and I'm loving it.
Thank you for all you do! 🙏🏼
This was great! I have literally been so scared to start my bookstagram and book review site because I am a deep dive reviewer and that doesn't seem to be popular on most social media platforms. The whole niche I am wanting to focus on is on the lore in books and that is something that has to be discussed and reviewed in detail.
@@KennedyDean-m5u I say go for it!
@Lifeonbooks thank you! I actually am going to this year for sure! I'm planning on launching my Instagram this month.
Discovered your channel recently and I’m enjoying the content. I also really like your hat!!
Thank you!
agreed with the total number of books for a goal. I tried that this year with 50 books and flopped by being 8 under and was beating myself up over it. I read a lot of heavy books in 2024, as well as was working on writing my own.
My goal for the next year is to simply tackle reading the wheel of time series by robert jordan, and if i enjoy it to see how far in the series I make it. I might finish the series, but I might not, and I don't wanna stress myself if I don't finish or take breaks to read other things on my tbr to just relax.
Hello! New booktuber here and new subscriber to your channel. :)
I completely understand where you're coming from. If it's one thing I've learned with Booktube that FOMO is a real thing. I'll see a book and think, "Oh! I need to add that to my TBR!"
Thankfully, since I'm a retired school teacher, my pension says I need to be VERY selective on the books I purchase. I will only purchase a book if I KNOW I will read it. Admittedly, I have a weakness for HARDBOUND versions of the books, but that's another story! LOL!
I recently created a GOALS video for me and my channel and I set goals for myself (including # of books) because at this point in my life, I need goals. Being retired isn't always easy and having direction and MOTIVATION has been essential to my mental well-being.
Sorry for sharing TMI. Thanks again for this video and I look forward to seeing more from you! Happy 2025!
I read 127 books in 2024 and have 30 new all time faves.. and that's even counting the series on that list as just "one" (so really it's more than 30). Nearly half the books I read were from the library. But I do have my own curated collection, which I love having and adding to.
Since I like all size books including chonkers, my goal was 100 pages a day.. I read that anyway.. it's my #1 hobby. Lots of bangers in 2024! reading a lot of books doesn't have to mean people aren't enjoying the books or that they're not reading quality books.
I watched a yt video last night on someone creating their "reading journal" but she spoke about how guilty she felt when not reading and instead watching films, tv, or gaming. So this year, she has added media goals as well, and I really like that. To me, consuming movies, shows, and games is just like consuming audio books.
Reading goals can get wild. For 2024 I tracked all the books I finished to see how many books I read normally, granted I was in school half the year so the numbers would be lower for those months, and found that I finished 87 books. At the beginning of the year I thought I only read about 24 books a year and was shocked.
That being said, I don’t trust through books and generally remember a lot about them even years later because they had such an impact on my. I feel like that is more important to me than just trying to rush through a ton of books that are not adding any value to my life.
I do a combination of audiobooks, ebooks, and physical books and generally get most of my physical books from the dollar tree.
Ebooks and audiobooks are from the library about 98% of the time.
When I got back in to reading, i felt like i wasnt real reader unless i met my 100+ book goodreads goal and had a bookstagram. The social media aspect put pressure that led to me struggling to read. Im not really sure why. Maybe because, as a parent, i knew i wouldnt read 100+ books and i didnt know how to take aesthetic pictures that got a lot of engagement. 2025 is for fun 💕
Ack - one of my biggest pet peeves is people who just say “ bad writing”. Nope, just because you didn’t like a book doesn’t make it poorly written. And if you are not educated enough to explain what was badly written, you are not someone whose opinion I will take seriously. But I see it so often!
Fantastic advice. Excellent video.
I read what grabs my attention when I have time. In other words I do it at my own pace.
I wasn’t really a reader most of my life (outside of school and work). I like to set a number of books goal but my goal each year starts at 10 books and then if I read more I increase it. I have adhd so setting this goal helps me when my motivation is low. When my motivation is low I replace all my hobbies with watching TV, which isn’t great for my mental health! BUT I think goals of like 100 books a year seems like people are just reading to say they read a lot!
all the libraries in my area have "bookstores" inside.. a small section dedicated to books you can buy (and support the library at the same time). Paperbacks $2 and hardcovers $3.
Also if you want to check out a certain book from your library system but they don't have it, submit a Purchase Request - my library has approved 99% of my requests. I read a lot of new releases this way!
Great points well made. Those who push themselves to hit targets may lose some of the joy of reading. The to be read list can be a pressure sometimes too. I’m old. Statistically I have a lot fewer books left to read in my lifetime so I’ve started to be really picky on what I read and if I’m just not enjoying a book…. I give up. I don’t buy on Amazon and I try to support independent bookshops. We all enjoy books for different reasons and have our own tastes but it’s good to be kind in reviews. Be honest but respectful and not nasty. I agree that reading our favourite genre is understandable but to branch out is a wonderful experience. We are so lucky that we love reading, it’s life affirming. I’d like people to stop awarding prizes to authors because of their previous success or because the book is in vogue. This is hard to explain, sometimes brilliant books are overlooked, but I guess that’s the way of the world. Thanks for this video, it was thought provoking.
I set a rough reading goal of 100 books and/or 20,000 pages-to make sure I don’t limit longer books that I want to read!
Totally agree!
I do have a 'number' to reach each year because I love checking of boxes in my reading journal 😅 but nothing happens if I do not meet the goal. I'd rather read 10 amazing books a year than 100 terrible ones. Which might be superficial for me to say because I (have no idea how) just finished my 100th book of 2024 (there are some graphic novels and manga included in this number as well). Many were not good but I found few new amazing authors and series and by reading that much I have now a better understanding of what I like in my books (not to say I won't try and reach out to other genres even when I did not have much luck with some yet). That said 2025 will be year of slowing down and continuing the series I started and enjoyed this year :D
A BookTube video popped up last week from a young man who said he read 177 books this year. I decided not to watch it.
177? Those are rookie numbers. I saw a claim of 650 on Tiktok, by means of listening to 2 audiobooks per day at 3x speed.
@Lifeonbooks Good grief!
Only 650? I read that just in December
@@broby06 😂😂😂
that video is by nathan's nook, and i actually think his videos are really well done and very thoughtful. if you check his monthly book recaps he provides some really good commentary on what he's read, and it's clear he's reflected a lot on his reading. that is to say, i think he read 177 books as a byproduct of his love for reading, not to hit some impressive number goal. i don't think there's any reason to throw shade at them, jack! give the videos a chance. though i do agree, for the most part, that many books is pretty crazy lol
You’re on UA-cam! I follow you on TikTok, didn’t realize you were here too 👏🏼
My favourite of your videos. Well done
Thank you!
Great points! Recently watched a video with several "It was 'stream-of-consciousness' so I didn't like it" style reviews. Pretty sure the reader knew what it was going in, and that they actually read the books, but they still did nothing to distinguish one S-o-C book from the other. Not liking S-o-C is understandable, and definitely worth mentioning in a review, but that's more akin to a content warning than a review.
I laughed out loud at your first one because that's literally my goal for 2025.😂 I read 22 books in 2024 and that was a personal best for me, at least since I have been an adult. I'm not necessarily setting anything crazy though, I'm just trying to strengthen that muscle a little bit more. I would love to read 52 books so that I read one a week but I don't know if I'm ready for that yet, so my goal is "a minimum of 23" because that'll at least mean I broke my last record. But I'm also going to do two things in addition to reading more: 1, I'm going to NOT force myself to finish a book if I'm truly not enjoying it, because when I do that I tend to avoid reading altogether, and 2, I'm going to keep a reading journal to document all the books I read.
@@druelia9485 reader A reads one book per week.
Reader B reads one book per month.
Who read more and who is the stronger reader?
It's not possible to answer the question, because the total number of books isn't correlated to reading time, or the development of reading as a skill.
If reader A can read one book a week by reading shorter/easier books that only take a total of 3 hours to read, while reader B reads an hour per day but is reading something more challenging and complex, than reader B will have actually done more reading despite having read fewer books.
If you want to build a stronger reading muscle, set action based goals, not outcome based goals. For example: reading for 30 minutes per day.
@Lifeonbooks that's fair, and maybe my goal will shift into something more along those lines as I go. I think my problem is maybe I just don't exactly know what a realistic goal is for myself right now, so "I just want to increase my reading" seems like the best place for me to start. But I don't really know how long on average I have read for in the past year, only how much I've read. So I can't accurately say "I want to increase my reading by x hours". But keeping track of how long and how often I read is another part of this goal this year(as part of the Journaling I mentioned).
I worked out something very interesting! If I buy books from my local bookstore I’ll pay £1 or £2 more than Amazon but then every 10 books I get £10 discount so overall it’s pennies that I’m paying more than Amazon. You just have to stick with one provider. Same is for Waterstones
Huh. I got back into reading a few years ago. I think at the beginning, it felt really good to meet my number goal. When I made my reading schedule for next year, I didn't make a number goal and didn't realize it until later. I think I've outgrown the need for it.
On the whole I agree with you about goals for number of books read. It definitely shouldn't be a competition, nor should it be the focus. It's primarily useful, as you say, for people who are trying to increase their reading. For a long time, my goal was 100 books in a year. I have now reached that and blasted through it, but I keep my annual goal as 100 because I don't want the number to be a focus. So why then do I still have a "goal"? Really it's because all the tracking apps are set up that way. I still like using that function, I like seeing my progress through the year. And since reading is a major hobby of mine, I do like keeping track of how many books I read. But after watching your video, I decided to set some different numerical goals: read more non-fiction, read more from books I already own, re-read books. Apps aren't set up to track that, but you can create "challenges" on Storygraph that could keep track that. My problem is, I'm going to have too many challenges to keep track of on SG! But I'll try that and see how it goes.