Let’s be honest with ourselves, most New Year’s resolutions are pretty dismal. Luckily, I’ve found a cure for myself 2 years ago: A goal that I’ll definitely look forward to accomplishing. Yes, it’s time for the 2018 Reading Challenge!

I made the bold move by pledging to read 100 books in 2016 and I was a wee bit nervous. I wondered if I could hit the target, so I took the conscious effort to read at least 8-9 books ever month. And I did it!

And with that achieved goal, I took a bigger step and pledged 120 books in 2017. This time, the goal was to have 10 books read per month. It was easy at first, but it does get a little challenging as the months passed by. But nothing would stop me. Lo and behold, I made that mark too!!

Last year, more than three million readers joined the Challenge and collectively finished more than 43 million books. In a recent survey of Goodreads members, 82% said they wanted to spend more time reading. I’ve also made a promise to myself to read more books this year – 150 is my number 🙂

Goodreads makes it easy to set your own reading goal, track your progress, and celebrate your success.

 

Need help achieving your goal this year? Here are some practical tips:

Set your goal:

• • Keep it fun and easy! You can begin the year by committing to an easily achievable goal to avoid feeling overwhelmed. You can always increase the number of books in your challenge once you gained on your goal for the previous year.

• • Some members set a calendar-based goal: 12 books (one per month), 24 books (two per month), even 52 books (one per week), and so on. You get the idea 😉

• • The Reading Challenge is all about what you want to read. If you’re focused on reading a long literary classic that will take more time to read than a graphic novel, then planning is crucial! If you find yourself breezing through lots of short novels, try being more ambitious. You know yourself best, so pace accordingly.

• • Re-reading counts. Want to go back and re-experience an old favorite? Or maybe you just want to get over a reading slump by reading something you know you already love. Now all the books you re-read count towards your Reading Challenge. Hurray!!

 

Happy reading!