Book Talk is a sporadic feature where I talk about bookish things that aren’t book reviews.

This year is the first year since I started blogging in late 2010 that I haven’t participated in the Goodreads Reading Challenge.  There wasn’t any particular reason for not doing it, other than just not feeling up for setting a reading goal this year.

However, there are some things I’ve noticed this year, in not doing it.  I know that it’s a random thing to talk about so late in the year, but it seemed like a good time, for some reason.

I’ve noticed that I’m putting far less pressure on myself in the number of books I’m reading.

In the past, I think I felt like I had to be either ahead or maintaining a certain pace, and I think I felt like I was partly reading to a specific number.

I haven’t felt like that at all this year, and I’ve just been reading.  Of course, I was reading in previous years, but with having an actual number of books as a goal, I think I became wrapped up in how many books I was reading, instead of what I was reading.  At least to a degree.

Not thinking about how many books I’m reading has been really freeing.

I have periods where I’m reading a lot, and I also have periods where I’m not reading a lot.  That’s pretty normal, but it’s something I haven’t really thought about this year.  I’m reading when I’m reading, and if I’m not, it’s okay.  If I’m reading, but at a slower pace, that’s okay too.  There’s no pressure, and I don’t feel bad if I’m not reading a lot.

I’ve definitely been paying more attention to what I’m reading, and even though last year, I was paying more attention to the books I’ve been reading, it’s been more of a focus this year than it has been in the past.

Maybe it’s possible to do both, but if I’m being honest with myself, I’d rather focus on what I’m reading instead of how much I’m reading.

I’m definitely open to doing it again, but it’s way too early to decide that!  And if there’s anything I’ve learned this year (and maybe last year too), it’s that there are a lot of different ways to challenge myself when it comes to reading. It’s something that’s working for a lot of people, but I don’t know that it’s something that’s necessarily motivating to me anymore.  It was great while I was doing it, but I’m at the point now, where I don’t necessarily need to read a certain number of books to challenge myself.

And in some ways, writing this post was harder than I thought.  It was hard to be at least semi-organized about it, so I decided to just write it and see where it went.

Have an awesome day!