As a very slow, nonlinear reader, I’ve avoided any and all challenges like this to prevent the inevitable shame of not hitting my goal. I often read 2 or 3 books a time, jumping between them daily. I typically finish 1 book per month, sometimes not even that. If I’m bored, I might not even finish the book at all.
But avoiding the challenges hasn’t freed me of the shame of not reading the “right quantity” of books. Every time I get notified that one of my Goodreads friends has finished a book, I take a hit of self-criticism. A realistic reading goal for me would be finishing 10-12 books a year, which is embarrassing to even admit. I hear that these “successful” CEOs read hundreds a year, and the thought rushes in before I can stop it: “well I’ll never be successful.” (Never mind that my definition of success doesn’t even remotely align with that of a CEO or those who admire them).
I absolutely love your analysis of the gamification and performance of reading driven by Goodreads and our societal obsession with numbers. After reading this, I feel more empowered to push away the shame when it creeps in. And I’ll keep savoring my books one month at a time.
“Never mind that my definition of success doesn’t even remotely align with that of a CEO or those who admire them.” Me, too, Alex! And yet, I can’t help but fall for the comparison games. I think the social media of it all has trained my brain to use the platform as another extension of my identity. Instead of centering books, Goodreads centers the “Reader”—some capital R “Reader” that reflects worldliness, artfulness, brilliance.
I’ll be borrowing a page from your book (sorry, the puns are inevitable sometimes) and work on reading slowly, patiently, and with care.
“Instead of centering books, Goodreads centers the “Reader”—some capital R “Reader” that reflects worldliness, artfulness, brilliance.” Omg yes! You’re so right! And it does makes sense that Goodreads would center the reader — after all, it’s owned by Amazon and Amazon can’t advertise books to other books.
As a very slow, nonlinear reader, I’ve avoided any and all challenges like this to prevent the inevitable shame of not hitting my goal. I often read 2 or 3 books a time, jumping between them daily. I typically finish 1 book per month, sometimes not even that. If I’m bored, I might not even finish the book at all.
But avoiding the challenges hasn’t freed me of the shame of not reading the “right quantity” of books. Every time I get notified that one of my Goodreads friends has finished a book, I take a hit of self-criticism. A realistic reading goal for me would be finishing 10-12 books a year, which is embarrassing to even admit. I hear that these “successful” CEOs read hundreds a year, and the thought rushes in before I can stop it: “well I’ll never be successful.” (Never mind that my definition of success doesn’t even remotely align with that of a CEO or those who admire them).
I absolutely love your analysis of the gamification and performance of reading driven by Goodreads and our societal obsession with numbers. After reading this, I feel more empowered to push away the shame when it creeps in. And I’ll keep savoring my books one month at a time.
“Never mind that my definition of success doesn’t even remotely align with that of a CEO or those who admire them.” Me, too, Alex! And yet, I can’t help but fall for the comparison games. I think the social media of it all has trained my brain to use the platform as another extension of my identity. Instead of centering books, Goodreads centers the “Reader”—some capital R “Reader” that reflects worldliness, artfulness, brilliance.
I’ll be borrowing a page from your book (sorry, the puns are inevitable sometimes) and work on reading slowly, patiently, and with care.
“Instead of centering books, Goodreads centers the “Reader”—some capital R “Reader” that reflects worldliness, artfulness, brilliance.” Omg yes! You’re so right! And it does makes sense that Goodreads would center the reader — after all, it’s owned by Amazon and Amazon can’t advertise books to other books.