Achieving your reading goals should feel both challenging and fun — and that starts with creating a plan that’s right for you. Our handy guide will help you get there and make this your best reading year yet!
HOW DO I SET MY READING GOALS?
The first step to success? Learning how to set an achievable reading goal.
Tip #1: Establish a Timeline
Figure out when you want to start working toward your reading goals and how long you want to give yourself to complete them. It’s fairly common to kick off a reading goal at the beginning of the year with a December 31 deadline. That’s a perfectly fine way to do it — just keep in mind that you can set a reading goal at any time and for any duration!
Tip #2: Decide What You Want to Accomplish
Remember that reading goals don’t have to be about numbers. Your goals should be specific to you and your reading habits.
For most folks, their reading target is a number. After all, a major reason for setting a goal is to read more books, right? If your aim is to hit a set number of titles, then pick a number that works best for you and start reading. Wondering how to decide on that number? Stick with us — we’ll get to that in a bit.
For other readers, striving to hit a set number of books isn’t particularly motivating, and that’s perfectly fine. Maybe you don’t really care about your total book count at the end of the year, or maybe you’re happy with the amount you already read, but you’d like to diversify your reading experience.
If that’s the case, then channel it into your goals. Do you race through doorstop fantasy novels but want to read more biographies and memoirs? Challenge yourself to read a memoir every other month. Have a great habit of reading self-help books each night before bed, but you’d like to crack open the historical fiction narratives gathering dust on your shelf? Challenge yourself to shake up your bedtime reading routine three nights every week.
Reading goals are meant to help you be a better reader — whatever that looks like for you.
Tip #3: Stick to the Specifics
Now that you’ve got a sense of what you want to accomplish, come up with precise targets to help you succeed. The key here is to be specific — transform those general goals into specific goals. Here’s what we mean:
General goal: Read more memoirs
Specific goal: Read 1 memoir for every 3 novels
General goal: Read more than I scroll
Specific goal: Replace phone time before bed with 20 minutes of reading
General goal: Read more books during summer break
Specific goal: From June to September, read at least 1 book every 2 weeks
Getting specific about your goals is a surefire way to help you stay on track. It creates built-in benchmarks that boost momentum and demonstrate your progress. We guarantee you’ll feel more motivated to keep going when you can look at your list and say, Yeah, I’m doing that!
HOW MANY BOOKS SHOULD I CHOOSE FOR MY GOAL?
Setting yourself a challenging yet achievable reading target is key. But how do you do it?
Tip #1: Set a Goal That’s Reasonable for You
Sure, reading 100 books in a year sounds impressive, but is that actually doable for you? First things first: Your goal should be based on your habits, not anyone else’s, because we all have different lives, commitments, and reading speeds.
If you want your reading goal to be motivating but not overwhelming, you have to be reasonable. Look at your reading history, consider your natural pace, and decide how much time your daily life allows for reading. Set a number with those details in mind.
If you read 10 books last year, going for 50 this year probably isn’t practical. And if you shoot for an overly ambitious number, you risk sucking the fun right out of reading. Don’t make reading a chore. It shouldn’t feel like a slog, and you shouldn’t feel you have to sacrifice other things that you want to do in order to meet your reading goals.
Tip #2: Start Small (You Can Always Read More)
Still not sure where to begin? Here’s a simple solution: Start out small.
Focus on short books you can read in a day, or set a target for the year that’s more than achievable. Then, if you’re three months in and you’re already at the halfway mark, boost your goal! The posts aren’t set in stone here — you can absolutely move them.
The same goes for your more granular goals, too. Let’s say you’d like to read a certain number of pages every day. Rather than giving yourself a demanding page count that turns your daily reading into homework, shoot for something you know is manageable. Before you know it, you’ll be reading well past your target.
WHAT ARE SOME TIPS FOR MEETING MY READING GOALS?
Setting your reading goal is the first step. Now you have to follow through. It’s easy to get started — you’re feeling excited and motivated and can’t wait to dive into your TBR list — but keeping the ball rolling can start to feel like an uphill battle. Thankfully, there are plenty of strategies you can use to keep yourself on track.
Tip #1: Try a Reading Challenge List
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If you’re stumped by what to read next, a pre-set reading challenge list offers just the help you need. These lists are full of fun and creative prompts that point you towards new literary discoveries, whether it’s a story told from multiple perspectives or a book with the name of a flower in the title.
There are plenty of reading challenge lists for you to explore. Here’s Celadon’s 2025 Reading Challenge to get you started!
Tip #2: Track Your Progress
Let’s be honest: Half the fun of setting goals is getting to mark down all your progress. There’s no right way to track your progress, so find a method that works best for you.
If you prefer to do your tracking on paper, try one of these options:
Reading journal: Reading journals are a great way to keep track of your reading. You can write down your thoughts as you read each chapter, note your favorite quotes, and give each book a rating or review when you’re done. If you’re not sure what to include in your reading journal or you want some ideas on how to organize it, you’ll find lots of templates online. You can even buy reading journals that are already formatted, so all you have to do is fill them out.
Reading log bookmark: Reading log bookmarks are a straightforward way to track the books you’ve read. Just write down your current read and then add a rating when you’ve finished. Take the bookmark with you from book to book, and continue adding titles as you go! You’ll find plenty of options for these bookmarks with a quick online search, or get creative and make your own.
Bullet journal: Bullet journals are a super fun option for readers with an artistic side. The only preprinted element in a bullet journal is the dotted grid, so it’s up to you how you design your pages and track your reading. You can find all sorts of creative ideas for bullet journal themes and sections on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok.
If you want to go the digital route, here are a few ways you can do that:
Online reader platforms: Community-driven book discovery networks and sites like The StoryGraph, BookWyrm, LibraryThing, or Goodreads are social hubs for readers — you can add books to your TBR list, track your reading progress, and leave reviews for the books that you’ve read. These platforms are also great if you love to talk about what you’ve been reading and chat with other folks who are reading the same things.
Social media: Mainstream social media can also be a fun and interactive way to track your reading progress. If you like the idea of creating visual or video content to keep tabs on your reading, there are thriving book communities on Instagram and TikTok.
Tracking apps: There are all sorts of apps to help you track your reading progress. Peruse the app store and see what looks like it will work for you. You might have to try an app or two before you find the perfect fit, but with so many options, chances are you’ll find your match.
Tip #3: Plan Your Reading Time
Sometimes the day just gets away from you. Before you know it, your head hits the pillow, and you haven’t read a single page. It happens to all of us!
Planning your reading time each day is a great way to keep yourself on track toward your reading goal. Even five minutes can get you through a few pages.
You can plan your reading time for your train commute, your work breaks, for a set amount of time before bed, or as part of your morning routine. You can even schedule yourself a date with your book — set aside a few hours every week to take your current read to your favorite cafe or park.
If reading is on the calendar, you’re more likely to do it!
Tip #4: Set Up Some Accountability
It’s easy to procrastinate when you’re the only one keeping tabs on whether you finished that chapter. But with a bookish bestie at your side, you’re far more likely to stay on track!
Connecting with a reading buddy or joining a book club is a great way to hold yourself accountable and hit your reading goals. It also offers an excellent opportunity to make friends and discover new books to read. Win-win!
Tip #5: Pick the Right Format for You
Fair warning: This is not an exclusive space for hardcover purists.
A book is a book is a book, so find the format that best fits your life. If you love a lightweight paperback or a backlit e-reader, that’s how you should be reading your books.
Different formats serve different purposes, and no format is more valid than another. Hardcovers, paperbacks, e-books, and audiobooks all deliver the same content, so pick what you enjoy and what gets you closer to your reading goals.
And if you’re a chaotic reader (like me!), you can really cover your bases by switching to different formats depending on your situation. I like to read a physical book when I’m relaxing on the couch, settling in for bed, or sitting at the kitchen table with my coffee. I’ll pull up an e-book on my phone whenever I’m standing in a long line, sitting in a waiting room, or stuck on hold. And I’ll press play on an audiobook when I’m in the middle of a physical activity like driving to work, exercising, or going for a walk.
Find your favorite format for every occasion, and always bring a book with you! You can’t read it if you don’t have it….
Tip #6: Be Flexible
Remember, your reading goal is not an assignment. This isn’t homework or a job requirement. This is supposed to be fun. Challenging, perhaps, but still fun. So don’t be afraid to adjust as you go if needed.
This applies to all aspects of your reading goal: Is your book count goal feeling too high or too low? Change it. You challenged yourself to read a romance novel every month, but you realize you prefer another genre? Update your selection. You started a book, but you’re just not into it and it’s keeping you from reading something you’re excited about? DNF that sucker.
Give yourself plenty of grace and wiggle room, and above all, enjoy the literary journey. After all, reading is always time well spent.
