Happy Friday! I can’t believe it’s the last day of February already!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and Dini @DiniPandaReads. Each Friday, bloggers will write posts about a particular topic and share on their blog.

This week, we’re chatting yearly reading numbers.

How many books do you typically read in a year?

This number varies a lot actually, but for the last couple of years, it has been 50+.
From 2012-2019 I read on average 25 books a year and was always very pleased with that. Then 2020 happened and I read 40 books. That number has since crept up each year with 2024 ending on 86 books read!

Do you always track your reading?

I do! I have tracked every single book I have read in the last 3 years for definite. I never miss a book and I enjoy seeing what I have read in the past. Since I also read a lot more now than I used to, it helps me keep track of where I am at in series (since I rarely read them in one go), and to remind myself of past books I enjoyed that I can recommend to others.

Does keeping track of the books you read motivate you or stress you out?

Up until a couple of years ago, I enjoyed the challenge of meeting my number goal. However as I detailed in my 2025 plans post, I have actually stopped setting number goals, and I’ve found my reading is improved for it. I still have an arbitrary one on Storygraph, but I have actually already nearly completed it! On the surface, I generally don’t care about things like that, but my stats-loving and type-a self can’t leave boxes unchecked so it was affecting me even if I didn’t realise!

How do you keep track of the books you read?

I have a very extensive Google Sheets document where I detail all my reads and it throws out a bunch of charts and graphs that make me very happy.
I also have a Storygraph account (let’s be friends!) where I have been logging my books since 2022 (though 2022 was inconsistent).

Do you have a 2025 reading goal?

I have several, detailed here!
If you have/do read the linked post, you’ll notice that all of my goals are based on reading challenges and not hard numbers. I have found over the years that I do better when setting goals to read types of books rather than a number of books. The underlying principle of my goals this year is to read more diversely.

You tell me: How much do you usually read in a year? Do you always have a goal to WORK to?