Test yourself with reading challenge
It’s a new year! 2024 has ticked over into existence, and for some, this brings the promise of fresh beginnings and personal growth in the form of New Year’s resolutions.
I myself am less of a practitioner of the ‘new year, new me’ goal setting, it’s more favourable for me to roll with the flow of the year, finding liberation in allowing life and personal growth to evolve organically, not bound by too many calendar markers.
However, I have made an exception these last few years, in the form of the yearly reading goal. Setting a yearly reading tally and tracking my progress, has been instrumental in my return to regular reading for pleasure.
I have always loved reading, however the different stages and phases of life have meant my reading practice has dipped and ebbed over the years.
I’ve been using Goodreads to track my reading goals, a popular online platform where readers can discover, track and discuss books. It has a social element, if you wish you can add friends and be motivated by their reads and reviews. I have found it amazing to track my reading for the year in one handy place (I use the app on my phone), remembering everything I read in a year would be near impossible for me otherwise.
Their yearly reading challenge, in which you pledge to read a certain number of books, is wildly popular. Some identify this as utilising the principles of gamification, a motivational strategy that applies game design to non-game contexts, tapping into people’s intrinsic motivation for achievement. About 7.6 million people participated last year, pledging to read around 330 million books.
I’ve participated in the Goodreads reading challenge only since 2022, but it really kick-started my reading again. In 2022 my goal was 25 books, and read 38. In 2023 my goal was 50 books, and I read 62.
That gamification really worked wonders for me.
So, if you fancy setting a reading goal this year, it’s not too late to start. You don’t have to use Goodreads, there are a multitude of other platforms,
or maybe you’ll just do it old school.
My top tips . . . diversify your reading, try graphic novels and audiobooks, or a genre you’re not familiar with, or reading digitally.