As the end of the year nears and we enter December, one thing I know will be the talk of bookish social media is the reading goals set at the beginning of 2024. At this stage though, it’s more likely the talk of binge reading to try and get the numbers up and prove that you did reach the ascribed reading goal set by the old you. I don’t have anything against reading goals or the readers who attempt to do a little reading crunch at this stage in the year to meet that goal, but the whole ordeal is something I don’t plan on putting myself through.

I have no reading target for 2024, something I established back in Jan with my Reading Goals of 2024 post. My reasons were simple – I didn’t want to pressure myself to read for the sake of meeting an arbitrary number when that meant taking away from the books themselves. What is the point of reading if not the joy of reading? I also didn’t want to take away from the reading experience by making a new reading goal when I met my initial target. I understand that some people need the incentive and accountability aspect of a reading goal to read but it isn’t my cup of tea anymore. I find the process of reading much more therapeutic for me when I don’t force myself to read or put expectations on myself to get a certain number of books read each month.

Am I still feeling the impact of the reading crunch? Absolutely. Try as I might to separate myself from the pressure, I still wonder how many more books I can fit in before the new year arrives. This is partially due to my future plans and PhD work; I know I will be busy early next year and I want to stock up on review and discussions for those days where I only have time to post and then need to put my attention elsewhere. I also have a bit of pressure on my shoulders due to a different reading goal being set – my physical TBR list.

I sought to read every book on my shelf by the end of the year, and while I can say I am happy with how many books I have read from my physical TBR pile, I can see there are more than a few more to go. It’s not a problem considering we’re approaching a designated holiday time when the university is closed. My supervisor has told me, as have many other people in the graduate research school, that breaks are essential and Christmas break is mandatory. Say less! This gives me weeks of peaceful reading time. My only concern is the weather – I am not a summer reading girlie. I don’t like sitting out in the sun to read and getting books sweaty (not to mention beet red after half an hour). I’m surprised I’ve read as much as I have this month as is. For those who don’t know Auckland summers, here are a few keywords: humid, sunny, SPF50+ sunscreen is essential, and storms possible.

So what can I say to lessen the pressure off those endeavouring to meet their reading targets for 2024? First and foremost, don’t stress yourself. It doesn’t reflect poorly on you if you don’t meet your goal because many other things happen in life that take precedence over leisurely reading. Secondly, other aspects of your reading tally are more important than the overall number – how many different genres did you read? Did you try out new genres this year? Did you read new authors? Did you read books by authors of different ethnicities or nationalities to you? Did you read any books about people in different countries? What about people in your country? These questions matter so much more than your total number of books read.

Finally, and these deserve a paragraph of their own, did you enjoy your reading this year? Did you fall back in love with reading? Did you need some time away from reading? Did you feel a positive or negative emotion when faced with the task of reading? What did you learn about yourself from reading this year? What have you found out about your reading tastes, preferences, or journey? This goes further than the stats you find with trackers as it comes from within. Learning about yourself and how you read is equally, if not more important, than achieving your reading goals and reading target.