Sign in with Facebook
Crush Your 2025 Reading Challenge Goals with These Tips
Congrats on taking the first (and arguably most important) step of the 2025 Goodreads Reading Challenge: signing up! By joining, you're making a personal commitment to spend time reading throughout the year. And to help you get started, we're sharing these tried-and-tested tips for staying motivated.
(Haven’t signed up yet? There’s no time like the present—join below.)
Mix up your formats
There’s no need to limit yourself to just physical books. Incorporate audiobooks into your commute, workout sessions, or while doing household chores. E-books are perfect for reading on the go or in low-light conditions. This variety can help you fit more reading into your busy schedule and keep things interesting.
Always have a book with you
Keep a book (or your e-reader) in your bag at all times. You’d be surprised how much reading you can accomplish during unexpected downtime—waiting rooms, long lines, lunch breaks… Those small pockets of time add up quickly over the course of a year.
Set a daily reading target
Break down your goal into manageable daily chunks. Even 20 pages or 30 minutes a day can add up to a significant amount of reading over the year. Consistency is key—make it a habit like brushing your teeth!
Keep a book (or your e-reader) in your bag at all times. You’d be surprised how much reading you can accomplish during unexpected downtime—waiting rooms, long lines, lunch breaks… Those small pockets of time add up quickly over the course of a year.
Set a daily reading target
Break down your goal into manageable daily chunks. Even 20 pages or 30 minutes a day can add up to a significant amount of reading over the year. Consistency is key—make it a habit like brushing your teeth!
Include a mix of genres, lengths, and difficulty levels. Shorter books or graphic novels can give you quick wins, while more challenging reads can be balanced throughout the year. Browse the books that your fellow Goodreads members have been picking up for their own Reading Challenges, our big guide to Summer Reading, or articles from our editorial team, like these recommendations for books to bust a reading slump. And don’t forget to use your Want to Read shelf to help keep track of what you’d like to read next.
Create a cozy reading nook
Designate a comfortable space in your home specifically for reading. Make it inviting with good lighting, comfortable seating, and minimal distractions. Having a dedicated reading spot can help you associate that space with your reading habit.
Use the “rule of 50”
If you’re not enjoying a book after reading about 50 pages, give yourself permission to put it down and move on. Life’s too short to struggle through books you don’t enjoy, and forcing yourself through a difficult read can slow your progress and dampen your enthusiasm.
Schedule reading time
Just as you would schedule any other important activity, block out specific times on your calendar for reading. This could be 30 minutes before bed, during your lunch break, or first thing in the morning with your coffee. Treating reading as a priority ensures it doesn’t get pushed aside by other activities.
Don’t be discouraged if you fall behind—life happens!
You can always change your annual goal on Goodreads. The important thing is to keep reading and enjoying books at your own pace. With these strategies in your tool kit, you’re well-equipped to make significant progress on your Reading Challenge and perhaps even surpass your goals.
Remember, the ultimate goal is to enjoy the journey and reconnect with your love of reading. Each book you finish is an accomplishment, regardless of how many you read in total. Reading should be a pleasure, not a chore, so find ways to make your Challenge personally exciting and rewarding.
Happy reading. And may your year be filled with wonderful books!
Comments Showing 151-200 of 223 (223 new)
message 151:
by
Sekeithia Gardner
(new)
Jan 14, 2025 05:10PM
I’m so stoked on this challenge! Last year I let life get away from me! But I love to read! I will do more of what I enjoy!!
flag
Please bring back the 5 tile tapestry log of read books.I used to love looking at my progress as a tapestry of 5 tiles.
I already follow most of these tips and they helped me reach my goal of 1000 shelved books in 2024. I've now set my next goal of 1000 READ books by the end of 2027. I'm looking forward to a great reading adventure!
Would love to still be able to see my friends reading challenges!
I am like Katie. Site will not show or let me post what have read or am presently reading.
Sarah wrote: "This year I may follow the "Rule of 50" more. I have a hard time giving up books even though I do not enjoy them."I'm the same way. So hard to "quit" a book, even if I don't love it.
I always set my goal as 1 book. After I finish it I get the congratulations and edit the goal to 2 books... and so on. With each book there is a celebration and I really feel the progress after finishing one.
Sarah wrote: "This year I may follow the "Rule of 50" more. I have a hard time giving up books even though I do not enjoy them."I have a hard time with this as well. I almost always finish a book even though I am not enjoying it because I wonder if it gets better and I will miss something.
The 50 page rule is one I’ve only recently been able to adopt. It’s a great rule to follow. Don’t waste time struggling to read something you aren’t enjoying.
I will definitely go for 'Rule of 50’. There are too mamy great books out there to waste your life on those you don't really enjoy. I also recommend audiobooks. I've been listening to them for the last couple of years while commuting and doing house chores and thanks to that I usually manage to reach my goals, which is 1 book per week. Happy reading everyone 🙂
I've finished two books so far in January 2025, and my goal line is still showing no books completed. Not sure what I'm doing or not doing wrong, but I am a voracious reader getting through a book of around 400 pages in about a week.
I always set my goal 1 book more than the amount I read the previous year. So for me that is 187 books in 2025. My Goodreads count was not quite correct due to the fact that some reads were counted twice when changing the edition. And I was too lazy to correct it. Also some books were arcs and they didn't have a Goodreads page yet. So this number is based on my personal spreadsheet.
Please bring back being able to see friends reading challenge progress!
Sarah wrote: "This year I may follow the "Rule of 50" more. I have a hard time giving up books even though I do not enjoy them."Older readers are allowed to drop things sooner. Try "100 minus your age"!
I’ve done all of this for years, and these tips work. Audiobooks are definitely my #1 tip also. Listening while driving, cleaning your home or car or while you’re grocery shopping makes it so much easier. Also, narrators can elevate books beyond what merely reading could have done. Tom Lake by Anne Patchett was written for Meryl Streep to read aloud, and you’ll never convince me otherwise.
For the past couple years I’ve set my challenge at 40. I had set it at 52 a couple years and then felt I was just reading for the challenge and not for me. I met my 52 challenge, but I didn’t enjoy. Now I read for my pleasure and read 42-44 books a year and enjoy all. I do have a complaint though. I actually read 44 books in 2024. I feel like I have to enter them in two places every time I finish a book: on the website and on the app. When the app was added, I have no idea what happened, but the website only showed I read 5 books in 2024. Yikes! Not happy with that. Also, the app doesn’t feel user friendly. I know, I know, complain, complain, complain…
About to set a family target, you should implement the app Goodreads with this option...there are apps that already do it and it is annoting using to of more app to have all' the features
I met my goal last year, only thanks to E.M. Forster's "Pharos and Pharillon" and a few other "shorties" -- but then I did read George Kennan the Elder's "The Siberian Exile System," part 2, which was nearly 1,000 pages (!) and counted it as only one. This year I'm going to follow in fact the rule of 25 on putting a book down, even if hauled from the library!I'm afraid it's only real-world actual books for me, seldom Kindle or online versions unless it's impossible to find for a reasonable price or at the library (like some of the Mr. Moto books by J.P. Marquand), in which case I will go to archive.org which is running again fortunately. I encourage others to browse there and donate, it's an unbelievable mass of treasures.
Tammy wrote: "Why did you change the reading challenge format? It’s what I looked forward to the most and it’s super disappointing that we can’t see our friend’s challenges now. I also don’t like the specific li..."Yes, that is really a shame. Last year, when my friend from Norway was beating me on the Reading Challenge, I would complain that the Norwegian language is "shorter" because it doesn't have articles as in the English language. Yes, a lame excuse....
Kilburn wrote: "Bryan wrote: "If you are looking for easy wins, consider also reading plays. They are often around a hundred pages, and they can often be finished off in a few hours."Reading short books to make ..."
Guilty as charged, see my list. Some books that appear deceptively short, however, like James Baldwin's essays, actually require you to slow down and re-read them a number of times to appreciate.
I can no longer see the reading challenges of my friends. Can you let me know where I can find them? It was really helpful to pick some books as well to achieve the Reading Challenge
I always read 200, but sometimes go over 200. Think I did this last year.
If a book isn’t for me I give up before 50 pages. I’ve set 100 and hopefully reading more non fiction this year i only managed to read ten last year. I already take a book everywhere and read every day. I change from physical and kindle but don’t want to do audio.
Meatier books which I’ve been shying 🫣 away from are deffo my challenge for this year - and I’m looking forward to it!!
I want to see my friends reading challenges, and they want to see mine! Please bring this back!
Lara wrote: "Why can‘t I see my friends reading challenges ?? That was so fun"literalllyyyyy
I have always enjoyed the reading challenges. I was always able to see in order the books that I had read in the challenge so far. I am not able to see the 2025 ones read to date. It is keeping track of the number of books read, and the percentage, , but to actually see the books, I need to go to my “books read”. Why the change?
Katie wrote: "I keep getting a blank page when I try to set my challenge for the year...I normally set it for 45 but this year I am reducing it as I want to try and read some meatier books."Try starting with a goal such as 12 -one per month. It might be easier to reach that and once you do, increase it by 12 more. Setting incremental targets can be more manageable and not as daunting.
I challenge myself to read 160 books this year, I’m not trying to be pretentious but I think I need to read more than before, it’s something that I really enjoy, and I wish I can reach this year goal… I only wish I had more reading friends to share thoughts and reviews.
Sarah wrote: "This year I may follow the "Rule of 50" more. I have a hard time giving up books even though I do not enjoy them."Oh Lord, me too!!
I liked seeing my friends reading challenges and what they were reading! Why the change?
Rafita ;) wrote: "This is my first years doing a reading challenge, I’m so excited 😆"Enjoy, enjoy. I started reading again about 5 years ago and I haven't looked back. Recording what I read on Goodreads helps me stay motivated.
Great tips 👌. I would add one more: do not worry about who is reading what, which book is getting hyped, etc.
I decided to read a book till the end, `cause you never know the end and will it surprise you. "Sus echad nichnas le bar" (A horse walks into a bar) David Grossman, was at the begining so boring, but since I had it for Book club, I forced myself to read it. And at the end it was great! But a person from club said one book is written just for me, and some titles were interesting, and at the end half of titles I read last year were not for me at all, but since I decided to read it I had to. I hope this year would be better. And reading `cause the book was awarded does not mean I would like it. That is true. Take care.
Adding my voice to the call to bring back the old layout and functionality!I did fill in the Feedback form, but I doubt anyone will look at that...
Kilburn wrote: "Bryan wrote: "If you are looking for easy wins, consider also reading plays. They are often around a hundred pages, and they can often be finished off in a few hours."Reading short books to make ..."
Not the number of books count but the pages you read in a year. You can check your statistics from time to time. For example, if you read the Bible, it counts as one book but it is about 1600 pages (depending on the translation).
My goal this year is read a book then read another
Ya puse mi meta y no aparecen los libros que ya leí este año ni tampoco los “challenges” de años anteriores. Ya probé todo pero no está funcionando. A alguien más le pasa lo mismo?
70 books is my goal this year. Love this and yes, I do a lot of the suggestions here though I noticed that I’m leaning more towards Audiobooks because I can multitask as suggested and do things like puzzles while reading, 2 of my favorite things to do. I do feel I’ve been neglecting my physical books though so finding a reading nook in my small place will be a challenge but good to try to do.
I think some people mentioned it and I hate that the new challenges are basically 'read popular books', which I've flicked through and aren't to my taste. Granted, this is my first proper year on the app, but it doesn't seem like a great idea. I think I'll just try hit my goal of 100, I read a lot of comics.
I'd much rather see my friends' reading challenges as I could in previous years than have the additional challenges.
I only set my goal for 100 this year. Goal was 120 in 2024. I finished the year out reading 310 (some of them were actually really long ones). I incorporated audiobooks as a platform last year, so I was constantly listening to a book (while cooking, working, cleaning, driving, etc.).
