Why I AM Participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge in 2015

Jessica wrote a great post about not participating in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, and I can identify with a lot of what she wrote — feeling the pressure to meet your reading goal, feeling bad about falling behind. But despite all that, I’m still going to participate again.

In 2012, my goal was 300 books; I read 250. Last year, in 2013, my original goal was 200 books. When I started working at a book store, all the ARCs made it easy to meet that goal. Even with my thesis looming, I kept reading. (Maybe it was also procrastination, I admit.) By the fall, I had upped my goal to 300. When I went home for the holidays, I knew it was my last chance to meet my challenge. Never one to actually enjoy my accomplishments, I upped my goal to 400. I went to the library and stocked up. My Instagram feed shows stacks and stacks of library books. I spent most of New Year’s Eve day finishing The Goldfinch. I finished out the year at 318.

This year, my goal was 300 books. With two weeks left of the year, I have read 194. Am I disappointed? Of course. I’m frustrated. But I keep reading, anxious to see what my final number will be. It’s nice to know how much I read over the course of a year. This year, I can see how things have changed, now that I’m not in graduate school — less time to read, with work and other commitments. I’ve learned to cut myself some slack.