Marley's Reading
A few months into 2023, I decided that I wasn't reading enough. To change this, I set myself a challenge to read 40 books by the end of the year, alternating between fiction and non-fiction. Going into 2024, I aimed my sights higher, at 52 books.
A complete list of all the books I have read since I made a Goodreads account in 2023 can be found here.
I track my daily reading in a Google Sheets spreadsheet. This allows me to share plots like those below, which give a good indication of the variation in my reading pace.
2023 Challenge
In 2023, I challenged myself to read 40 books. I got off to a slow start, but then managed to catch up. To see a complete list of all the books I read that year, click here.
2024 Challenge
In 2024, I challenged myself to read one book per week. My reading pace was inconsistent, until the last three months of the year. Perhaps this can be explained by "October Theory". To see a complete list of all the books I read that year, click here.
2025 (No) Challenge
After two years of reading challenges, in 2025 I decided to give them up. But I haven't given up reading! This year I am taking time to revisit books I read a long time ago, as well as sprinkling in some new ones in between. There is no arbitrary goal, and I am not trying to maintain a balance between fiction and non-fiction as I have done the previous two years. For a list of all books I have read so far, click here.
Thoughts
I have found that setting reading targets in terms of books per year or pages per day can be an effective motivator to increase time spent reading, especially when using spreadsheets and plots to visualise progress. However, at times it felt that reading was becoming a chore rather than a hobby.
Going forward, I will hold on to the enjoyment of reading that I have fostered, and the desire to go out of my comfort zone when it comes to books. At the same time, I will be avoiding constraints and targest which might sap away some of that enjoyment. The spreadsheet will remain!