Day 3098 – How To Read 300 Books In A Year

Last year, I read 304 books. 200 kids books (picture books) and 104 “adult/full length” books. I was super proud of myself and learned a lot about a lot through reading so much. My previous year, I read 75 books. I like challenging myself to do more, so this year, I am planning on reading 300 books again, but all or very nearly all “adult/full length” books. I know I will read, I have to, but having a big goal is helpful. And a big shout out to Goodreads in helping to keep track of my goal….and telling me if I’m off track.

So what do I do to set myself up for success in this area?

I set aside several times a day to read. My morning tasks include reading through a book on book marketing/blog marketing/etc and reading through Tribe of Mentors. This helps me to chip away at 2 books. My evenings I want to read a little out of a non-fiction and read a fiction book as well. Since we just got back from being away, there are things to catch up on, so my evenings aren’t as open as they normally are, but in the future, I hope to spend an hour or two reading.

I keep track of my progress in Goodreads and on a sheet of paper. This serves as a double check to make sure I’ve recorded all of my books, and an easy way to count up adult vs. kids.

I use reading challenges to expand my options of books. Last year I started two challenges but they fizzled out by February. I’m not sure if I’ll complete any of the ones I’ve chosen this year, but they really help my options. This year, I’m hope to attempt the following:

The 2018 Modern Mrs. Darcy Reading Challenge
The 2018 #BWELLREAD Reading Challenge
The 2018 Popsugar Reading Challenge
The 2018 Read Harder Challenge
The Mommy Mannegren 52 Books in 52 Weeks Challenge

There are some fantastic ideas in there (in order of the lists above):
a classic you’ve been meaning to read
a book with a one-word title
a book that was being read by a stranger in a public place
a comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC, or Image
a book with bad reviews

I listen to audio books during my longer commutes.

But most important, I won’t beat myself up if I don’t meet my goal. The reasons to read are many (authors should read a lot, reading gives you many perspectives, etc) and just the act of reading and learning new things elates my soul.

Are you doing a reading challenge this year?

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6 thoughts on “Day 3098 – How To Read 300 Books In A Year”

You are a machine for even thinking of setting your goal at 300 books! That’s amazing and I wish you luck because I’m getting anxious just thinking about the idea of reading that much in a year. This is the first year that I’ve set an official goal for the number of books that I want to read in the year (60). Happy reading!

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365 days of marriage on January 6, 2018 at 11:16 am said:

Haha, oh my goodness, I laughed out loud at that! A few years ago, I don’t think I could ever have even thought of a goal that high, but as Norman Vincent Peale said, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.”

Good luck on your goal too!!! My reading totally changed after I started setting official goals for the year. Reading Challenges (like the ones in the post) really helped to push me to read too.

I will admit, I got a little anxious myself when I logged into Goodreads and saw the “you are 2 books behind schedule” notification. Oy.

But here’s one trick that’s helped me – reading commencement speeches turned into books. I count that as a full book. Some great ones I’ve read recently are: Now Go Out There, Make Good Art, What Now?, This Is Water, Congratulations By The Way

They tend to be super inspirational too.

Adding in some fun books really helps too, like: Find Momo, Maddie on Things, Treat!, I Did My Homework in My Head, Manny the Frenchie’s Art of Happiness, Bolt and Keel: The Wild Adventures of Two Rescued Cats, The Lazy Guru’s Guide to Life

A book that changed my life in terms of reading, and achieving goals in general was – Dream Big, Think Small. It really helped me see that even little steps every day adds up to big things. Happy reading to you as well!!

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