Last year my goal was to read genres that didn't normally make it to my TBR pile. I did 2 things, first I selected 6 fiction and 6 nonfiction genres with the goal of reading 2 books from each and I joined an online book community that had a genre of the month challenge.

I planned to finish each of the books I started, but by Spring I decided not to torture myself. I had slogged through a few classics and it was making reading not fun.

My goal was to explore and get a taste of other types of books, I found a few authors I really enjoy, and I found a few genres that I will seek out. I learned that there is a lot of variety within most genres and how to pick up clues from the book descriptions to increase the chances of choosing a book that won't annoy me.

I still read many books from my favorite genres, but mix in a variety of other genres.

I refuse to set a goal that puts pressure on me. I only set a #of books goal because both of the apps I've used to log my books have them and it makes it easier to see the books I read broken down by year, but I ignore that goal.

To avoid buying books that I later decide not to read, I use the library. I learned a long time ago that the pleasure or excitement of finding and buying books has nothing to do with my reading hobby.

Why do you want to read more? What do you hope to get out of reading books? Once you can answer those questions, you may be able to choose a book that you want to read.

Most of my reading goals are about my purpose for reading. Last year I wanted to explore new genres, so I set goals to accomplish that purpose. This year I want to explore new cultures so I'm choosing books written by authors from a variety of countries.

I'm currently reading The Nordic Theory of Everything: In Search of a Better Life by Anu Partanen.

I created a reading project for myself, I'm reading fiction and nonfiction books by Authors from 195 countries. I'm reading any genre or topic that catches my eye, so there is a bit of randomness to my book selections. This is my nonfiction choice from Finland.

I'm intrigued by politics both domestically (I'm in the US) and abroad. The book compares and contrasts a lot of social and political ideas between the US and Nordic nations. I find it interesting how the author who was raised in Finland and immigrated to the US as an adult was caught off guard by the differences in the 2 cultures.

I don't think you have to have a disorder or be destined to never enjoy reading. It takes practice to enjoy a quieter, slower, and less stimulating activity in a world that moves so fast and is filled with sensory distractions.

For people wanting to start reading, I recommend setting aside time on a schedule, shorter times to start, and reading something that really interests you. Save all the "great books" for when you are into a routine, and mix them in with other interesting books.

I think it's helpful to follow the advice that's given to people trying to start meditating. Set time aside regularly, start with short periods, take a few minutes to clear your mind, and keep a notebook nearby to jot down thoughts that you can't set aside.

I rarely read reviews, but there are a lot of books that others love and they just don't work for me at this point in my life. There are books I read when I was younger that are a slog to reread. A book can be a masterpiece, but not right for you right now. I have DNF'd books a few pages in, I've DNF'd books nearly to the end and everywhere in between. I recently gave up on a series after book 4, which was nearly 4000 pages.

My reason for reading is to enjoy some time getting a glimpse into a world different than my own. Sometimes I'm in the mood to read books that are filled with a lot of characters and unfamiliar worlds and sometimes I want something that is more familiar and less complicated. The 2 things I don't want are to be bored or annoyed, and most times I don't want to be stressed.

Sometimes if I'm reading a book I feel like I "should" finish, I'll do what I like to call a slow read. It becomes a secondary book, I'll read a few pages a few times a week and it may take me months to finish it. I'll read other books at my normal pace for the rest of my reading time.

When I was doing the genre of the month challenge and my own genre challenge I had an expectation of exploration. I wasn't expecting to find great books but was reading to see what other types of stories were out in the world and how to understand how to decipher book descriptions. I will say I read some crap books early in the year and became more selective as time went on. I did decide to DNF a few books about 1/2 way through the year, I feel I'd moved far enough outside of my comfort zone and I didn't need to torture myself.

I love goals and joining challenges, but I also reserve the right to change them when they stop working for me.

Choosing what to read is my biggest reading challenge, I suffer from decision fatigue so I do a couple of things to narrow down my choice and to allow myself to have to make decisions less often.

I rarely buy books. I used to love to browse both new and used bookstores and pick up things that looked interesting, but I ended up with hundreds of unread books and multiple large bookshelves in my house. So I purged my books and now only buy books I know I want to read and that I can't get at my local library. I'm down to a single small shelf and I'm committed to not outgrowing it.

Now when I see a book that looks interesting, I just add the title and author to a list I keep on my phone.

I like to choose themes, set goals, and join challenges. Last year I wanted to explore new genres so I joined a community that had a genre of the month club and I set a personal goal to read 2 books from the 12 genres I selected. This year I want to explore authors from other countries, so I set a goal to read fiction and nonfiction books by authors from 195 countries, this should take a few years.

I like variety and I have a few favorite genres, so I like to mix things up. I like to read a few challenging and emotional books each year, so I make sure I have something easy and lighthearted to read after my harder books.

Because I get the vast majority of my books from the library I'm happy to give a book that sounds interesting a chance. I'm also fine with DNFing a book if I'm not enjoying it. Exploring genres last year helped me get a feel of what to expect by reading the descriptions of books, I've also discovered that there are some books I enjoy in genres I didn't think I liked.

I envy people that have a defined taste in books. For me books are a lot like my fashion sense, I can't describe it, but I know it when I see it.

To understand a bit more about the US obsession with men needing to be manly, you might want to read Jesus and John Wayne.

There are lots of kinds of goals. Reading a specific amount per day is a good one for people who want to get into the habit. But a goal can be anything, I have a goal to DNF books without guilt if I'm not enjoying them. Even when I'm trying to learn something new, I know that there are many books on the topic and if I find one that I'm struggling to finish, I'm happy to quit it and find another that may be better for me.

A few things came to my mind as I was reading your post.

Why do you read? Are you trying to improve something like language or understanding other perspectives? Do you read for entertainment, relaxation, or to escape? Is it just another thing on your To-Do list?

Do you set any goals or join any challenges? I do both of these things to help guide my reading each year. I have infinite choices so focusing on a theme, genre, or my TBR pile helps narrow choices for me.

It's also OK to take a break from reading, we all have seasons in our lives when it's more stress than benefit to do certain activities.

I used to read to be better at my job, so my books reflected that and I rarely read for pleasure. Now, I'm retired and I primarily read for pleasure, but I also want to continue to learn things, so my book choices reflect that.

I find getting clear on the purpose of any activity is helpful to decide how you participate in that activity and how much time you dedicate to it.

Classics aren't for everyone. One of my goals last year was to read some classic books, ones on the everyone should read before you die lists, and for me it was torture. They weren't hard, they were just annoying, but I slogged through them because they were part of a goal I set. I no longer feel like reading these books will enhance my life in any way. I may try more in the future, but I will DNF them if I don't enjoy them.

I'm in one now and have been in a few. The "formalness" varies. Most that I've been to have a "host" that person usually has a few questions that the group answers. Some people use notes, so it wouldn't be weird to bring them, some people bring the book with sticky tabs or highlights, others just show up, sometimes people haven't read or finished the book, it's all OK.

I encourage you to show up and see if the group has a vibe you enjoy. When it comes to meet up I often "try out" groups and just show up to see if I feel like a fit for the group.

I used to do the same and over the years I acquired hundreds of books that I never read. I don't want to think about the money I spent. When we decided to move and downsize our house I decided to address my books, I decided to only pack what I thought I would realistically read in the next 2 years and anything I needed for work. I only packed 2 boxes of books. Which left me with about 800-1000 books to deal with. I sold, gave away, and donated them all. I had at least 4 large bookshelves that I also got rid of.

Now my rule is to not outgrow my single small bookshelf. It's been 3 years since my move and this year I'm committed to reading the last of the books I brought with me.

A few things that have helped me not overbuy books since the move are: I decided that buying/collecting books is a separate hobby from reading and it was not a hobby I want to participate in. I know myself well enough to accept that I like "fresh" books, I lose interest in books once I've owned them for a while, there is always something more interesting to catch my eye. I'm a sucker for a cover or a display, so I don't spend much time in bookstores.

I get most of my books from the library these days. I'm retired and have a lot of time to read and between physical books, ebooks, and audiobooks the library keeps me very well supplied.

I almost exclusively borrow books from the library. I still have a few books left over from when I was buying books, which I plan to read and release this year.

A few reasons why I switched from buying to borrowing are:

-It's free, I don't have a tight budget, but it makes no sense to me to pay for something I can get for free.

-There is no guilt if I DNF a book, if I start a book and don't like it, I just return it early.

-I don't need to create space for a large library. For many years I had several large shelves of books, but we moved to a smaller home, and now I have a single small shelf that is more than enough space.

-Dramatically reduces the chances of my binge-buying books that I'll never read.

-I rarely reread a book, so borrowing means I don't have to decide what to do with the book when I'm finished.

My system for buying books is simple, if there is a book I want to read and I can't get it from the library, I buy it, usually as an ebook or audiobook. Although with InterLibrary Loans, there are few books I can't acquire from my library.

I rarely annotate a book, but when I was reading a lot of nonfiction for work I found it best to read the book first (which could have been a loan) then if there was enough valuable info, I would purchase a copy and make my notes.

The one negative about borrowing from the library is not always being able to get the book right away. It took me some time to get my system of holding books so I always had something available to read.

Yes, they are often staged and in fact, some of them are virtual backgrounds. At minimum people arrange them artfully, but I've known many people who've purchased books to put in their background knowing that people will notice what's behind them.

I read nonfiction often, but not all nonfiction is worth taking notes on. If I read biographies or memoirs I treat them like a fiction novel, I read to enjoy the story, and other than remembering some details, I'm fine if I forget parts.

Over the years I've read a lot of nonfiction to learn. For these books, I would often read or listen to them cover to cover, if I felt they were worth diving in deeper, I'd get a physical copy, take notes, highlight, and do any exercises in the book. I would refer back to them frequently until I feel I'd mastered the skill.

Another category for me is more "motivational" those I often listen to every year or 2 to remind myself why I make the choices I make or to keep me on track.

I like to explore a variety of genres, topics, and authors.

I think that's the most succinct way I can describe my tastes in books. I do enjoy reading mysteries, but too much of that gets boring, so I always set goals and join challenges to help me choose a wide variety of books.

I just realized I left out the words "from a library". It appears Australia also has public libraries that are free to use. Mine has a couple of apps Libby, Hoopla, and Kanopy that allow me to check out a variety of digital media.

I personally wouldn't copy an entire book, but I'm not a scofflaw.

If you are in the US (not sure about other countries), you can likely get the ebook for free, which is much easier on your budget.

edit: Free from a public library.

If I was able to stop at a clear breaking point, I don't usually reread anything. If for some reason I stopped on just a random page, I skim the page until I find where I left off.

Yes the aesthetics of a book matter to me. I'm retired, my eyes are not young and I do not want to strain my eyes to read for pleasure. Glasses and good lighting can only get you so far at my age. Thank God for smartphones with lights and zoom features.

A book like that feels more like artistic expression and if that is more important to the author than sales or profits, good for them. As long as they understand that they are limiting their reach by making it inaccessible to some people.

Please don't feel bad about how many books you read. I had to retire to finally get to read a lot of books. When my kids were little we were planning a vacation and I told them my one and only condition is we needed to go somewhere that would allow me enough free time to read a book cover to cover.

I love reading challenges. I posted recently about the challenges I've participated in recently and others have shared their challenges.

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/z8gypn/i_know_some_of_you_are_looking_for_a_new_reading/

Since I joined StoryGraph this year, I've joined a few other challenges:

Book Hoarder: has 5 prompts to help me tackle my physical TBR pile

2023 Reading challenge by Millisabv with 12 prompts to promote diversity

A cozy mystery challenge with 20 prompts for cozy mysteries

Crime Queens Crime Read with 9 prompts focused on crime novels

Leave the comfort zone with 7 prompts based on my Storygraph stats

The Linzthebookworm/Logophile challenge with 5 levels and up to 60 prompts for a variety of genres and authors.

Currently no, but I believe we have seasons in our lives where reading needs to take a backseat or we need to read easy books.

I read an article a few weeks ago that made it very clear that the movie will be an adaptation and that there will be significant changes.

This was one of my DNF books last year, I didn't want to spend the week reading about a family being terrorized. The previews of the movie make me wonder if I should have given it more of a chance. I stopped when the strangers knocked on the door.

I think the story could go a few ways. We are a greedy species, so I would expect a single nation to try to keep the power to itself.

I felt the same way after finishing Project Hail Mary, I want a sequel.