3 Reasons Why I Don't Have a Reading Goal for 2022
Yes, you read that title correctly: I'm not setting a reading goal for 2022. I have in the past. In fact, the past several years I have had multiple reading goals/challenges going simultaneously. The quantity challenge from Goodreads...a genre challenge from another blog...some other random challenge I found that seemed exciting in the moment...or something else entirely. They have done amazing things to help fuel my reading journey. But this year I'm hitting play on mixing it up a bit and "live on the wild side" as it were. Here's why:
1. I want to focus on depth of reading rather than quantity. The last couple years I've been introduced to a variety of types of books and authors that I have been thoroughly enjoying. I want to explore these things more thoroughly without the pressure of feeling "behind" or attempting to meet a quota. Hopefully this will result in a couple things: A) I'll be able to dive into some of the longer books I've been eying but never seem to have time to read; and B) I'll be able to intentionally choose authors whose backgrounds are different than my own but also never seem to have time to read.
2. I want to free myself to truly not finish a book I'm not enjoying. I used to be on "team always finish," but over the past couple of years I've found myself more inclined to lay aside books I'm not enjoying. Sometimes, however, I still find myself attempting to finish a book I'm not enjoying in order to finish a prompt/number for a specific challenge. There is nothing wrong about this, and I think sometimes there will always be books I feel like I "should" finish, but overall I want to move away from this general mindset.
3. I'm burned out on challenges. There, I said it. Probably the biggest reason I don't have a reading goal this year is because I'm simply tired of it. I don't want to track the number of books I read because reading is a gift in and of itself. This year, I want to focus on the joy of reading.
These are my personal reasons. I do have a list of books I want to intentionally read this year (reveal coming soon!), but I don't view them as part of a challenge or goal. If you have a specific goal/challenge for yourself, I think that's great! Next year I may find myself wanting to shoot for something particular. But this year I'm attempting to "release my inhibitions" and enjoy reading what I want, when I want. What about you?