Something to do with reading
The most I’ve read in a single year was fifty-five books. In 2025, I only read twenty-six—the fewest since becoming an avid reader. So what happened?
The first thing was that I stopped keeping track of how many pages I read each day. I didn’t realize how much influence this simple habit had over the number of books I read each year. Despite maintaining a daily reading habit, I was spending less time reading.
It turns out that if I want to spend more time reading—which I do—keeping track of how many pages I read each day is a great indicator of how well I’m doing. It’s not enough to just ask myself whether or not I read. I can answer that question favorably even if I only read one page a day. That’s not a good enough rubric for the daily reading practice I’m developing.
The second thing that happened was that I took on a very difficult book early in the year. I chose to read The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky (I spelled that right on my first try, ha!). As much as I loved it, it took me five months to finish. I took breaks and read other books to not feel so behind, but I feel like that slowed things down even further. Before I knew it, it was June, and I had only read nine books.
Does the number of books read each year matter?
Every reading app out there wants you to have a goal for the number of books read each year. Having such a goal is fine, but three years into my Avid Reader Era, I’m starting to question its value.
To me, hitting some arbitrary number at the end of the year feels, well, arbitrary. Let’s say you wanted to read twelve books in 2026. You could hit that goal, even if you only start reading in the fall. Or let’s say that you want to read 150 books this year. You could do that by listening to audiobooks at 3x speed while doing chores around the house. It starts to feel like we’re betraying the spirit of the goal.
My reading goal for 2026
Rather than having a yearly reading goal for 2026, I want to have a daily reading goal—and I want it in three parts:
A minimum—this is for the busy, and sometimes chaotic days that sneak up on us. Unless there’s something completely catastrophic, I should be able to hit this minimum. Only hitting the minimum day after day should signal that something is off. I’m not reading enough. I need to find out why and do something about it.
An ideal—this is the daily reading practice I want to develop. It helps me avoid distraction and doomscrolling. Hitting this goal means I’m doing something right. I’m spending an appropriate amount of time reading and spending less time holding my phone.
A stretch—I’m reading way more than I expected. Maybe I have more time, or I’m reading a really good book that I can’t put down. Either way, I’m spending as much time reading as I can get away with, and it feels good!
I read somewhere that the number of pages you read each day will roughly reflect the number of books you read each year. The year I read fifty-five books, I averaged fifty-two pages a day. The year I read thirty-eight books, I averaged thirty pages a day. The year I stopped keeping track of the number of pages I read each day, I read the fewest number of books.
It’s not that I care about how many books I read at the end of the year. It’s that I care about how much I’m reading each day. The more time I spend reading, the less time I’m wasting on my phone.
Here is what I want my daily reading practice to look like in 2026:
- Minimum: 15 pages a day
- Ideal: 30 pages a day
- Stretch: 60 pages a day
It takes me roughly two minutes to read a single page, depending on the book. So that’s half an hour, one hour, and two hours a day, respectively.
I’ll be using the Margins book app to keep track of my daily reading goal. You can follow me there if you’re interested in reading together. I love talking about books and seeing what others are reading.
I want to become a better reader in 2026. I want to read more and scroll less. I want to write about what I’m reading and how it relates to life—here and now. Reading isn’t just for entertainment—although it’s especially good at that. Reading, for me, is about learning how to live a meaningful life in a world that loves distracting us with meaningless strife.
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