8 Ways to Meet Your Reading Goals

StoryGraph is a comprehensive and multi-faceted platform that not only helps you track your reading, but also helps you choose your next book with ease, by taking into account your preferences, or connecting you with readers similar to yourself. For those who have a difficult time just getting started, StoryGraph does three things: 

1. Allows you to set personal reading goals, and tracks them.
2. Provides personalized recommendations through machine learning AI that takes your preferences into account, and allows you to cue up to five books at a time to keep that momentum going.
3. Provides filters based on mood, genre, pace, etc. to help you find the right book for your mood.

StoryGraph is also a really effective platform for people who are more motivated when they have a partner, or can collaborate with others. Partly a social platform, StoryGraph also allows you to: 

1. Connect with other people who have similar reading tastes and habits to your own
2. Participate in reading challenges or book clubs with people from around the world
3. Read with friends–you can share books lists, and you can add live reactions to specific parts of a book which are locked until the other people in your group have gotten to that section, allowing you to share reactions without the fear of spoilers

And finally, for people who thrive best using numbers, data, and analytics, StoryGraph has the hook-up: 

1. You can mark a book as “owned” if you own a copy or “DNF” if you didn’t finish a book so you can refine your tastes and library over time.
2. You can contribute to “reading journals,” which are private notes that you can take alongside your reading progress updates.
3. You can rate books with half and even quarter stars, so you know you’re getting the most accuracy possible.

Goodreads is very similar to StoryGraph. It’s another platform you can use to track, explore new reads, and connect with all sorts of people, from other readers, to reviewers, to the authors themselves! While both platforms have overlapping capabilities, I would recommend Goodreads to those who like to keep up with what’s trending, and who want the opportunity to hear from the actual authors. When it comes to connecting with other people, these are Goodread’s capabilities: 

1. You can join online discussion forums that connect you with other readers and allow you to talk about the books you love with other enthusiasts.
2. It features an “Ask the Author” section where readers can post questions to straight to the authors and get actual answers–which is not only fun, but can also support those who need some reading comprehension support.

Similarly to StoryGraph, Goodreads is also a great option for those who like numbers, facts, and analytics: 

1. It will track how many books and pages you read, books and pages over time, publication years of all your books, your first and last reviews of the year, and so much more, in easily accessible graph formatting.
2. You’re also able to rate and review books, and provide private notes on your overall thoughts of each book.
3. You can keep lists of which books you own physical copies of, which books you want to read, and you can provide updates on the progress of the books you’re currently reading.
4. You can set personalized reading challenges for yourself that Goodreads will track for you.

And for those who are either just breaking into the reading world, or who like to keep up with what’s trending, Goodreads has these features: 

1. Based on your preferences and your reading history, Goodreads will recommend books for you to read.
2. They hold Goodreads awards, a high honor bestowed upon authors who have put out incredible books.
3. They create news posts, lists, and giveaways of popular, festive, and trending books so you can keep up with the current reading industry trends.

Whether you join an online book club, or an in-person book club through your library or other community, many people are more likely to achieve their goals when they work with like-minded people. Book clubs are great for folks who need a little structure–perhaps it’s difficult for you to choose a book to read, or maybe you need an assigned time-frame so you don’t procrastinate. Maybe it’s just a more exciting process for you if you get to debrief with other people about books you love!

Whatever the case may be, book clubs are a common way for book lovers to come together, and they’re not as difficult to find as you think. 

Journaling is always a great exercise for reaching your book goals, as writing and reading skills support each other. It’s specifically helpful if you tend to have trouble processing what you read. 

Whether your notebook is more of a tracker or more of a collection of annotations, it’s a way of reaching your reading goals that will actually provide valuable skills outside of pleasure reading too, such as reading comprehension, review writing, or data analysis. 

Bullet journals are for a specific type of journaling—if you were on TikTok during the pandemic, you likely remember the trend. That being said, the first time I ever witnessed someone using a bullet journal for their reading was in high school. I sat next to a girl in my history class who had the most beautiful bullet journal I’ve ever seen, and she used it for all books, from our history textbook to whatever she was reading for pleasure at the time. 

Bullet journaling is a mindfulness practice intended to improve productivity. It can be whatever you want it to be; a habit tracker, a collection of annotations, drawings or scrapbook-like art that represents whatever you’re reading about. The girl in my history class used it for all three of those things. There are journals that are made specifically for bullet journaling, but you can use any type of notebook. This is a great recommendation for visual learners, folks who struggle with reading comprehension, or people who simply enjoy a book more when they can celebrate it with their creative mind. 

This may seem like an easy one—but if you’re someone with a busy schedule who doesn’t always have the time to sit down with a book, investing in e-books and audiobooks are an efficient solution that has tons of benefits. You can read from anywhere; you can use a Kindle or Nook on the subway into work, listen to an audiobook in the car when you’re dropping your kids off to school, and you’ll never have to worry about lugging a clunky book around if you don’t have the space for it. 

This not only increases convenience, but also decreases guilt. The book-reading process should be fun, not something that makes you feel guilty! You can achieve your goals and still live your life. 

Oftentimes if you read about or talk to a writer, they’ll say that they set a certain amount of time aside per day to write. The same thing can be done with reading, or most goals for that matter. This is an effective strategy for people who need a sense of routine to complete their goals, or who need some sort of organizational method to control the habit. 

Whether you read too much, or not enough, this strategy ensures that you will meet those goals in an appropriate timeframe while still doing everything else you need to do—even if it’s only 10 minutes a day. 

This tip may seem trivial too–but keep it interesting! The book world can be intimidating, especially when you’re new to it, because occasionally you’ll meet someone who doesn’t consider people a reader if they haven’t read “the classics,” or someone who thinks that if you don’t devote all of your free time to reading, then you can’t consider yourself a reader. But the truth is, if you like to read, you’re a reader. 

If you are someone who is looking to simply read more, it’s okay if everything you read is from the same genre. If you’re looking to read a wider variety of genres, it’s okay to do that without reading “the classics.” If you’re simply hoping to read one book, it’s okay if it takes you a whole 365 days, and it’s okay if it takes you longer! 

But you’re much more likely to achieve that goal if you’re reading things that interest you. Oh, and it’s okay to stop two, fifty, or three-hundred pages in if at any point you’re not feeling it. Read by your own rules. You got this!

Featured image: Aaron Burden / Unsplash