In The Walrus, Tajja Isen writes about our relationship with reading goals on Goodreads and other platforms. I List Therefore I Am:
The reading challenge might seem like a natural vehicle for moral improvement—this can fix me is, after all, the implicit siren song of many lists. But it’s entirely possible, and moreover extremely valuable, to gather data without turning it into self-improvement or a chore. I’d venture that doing so can even make you a better reader.
So relatable. When I got sober during the first pandemic lockdowns and started reading heavily again, I went whole-hog on the reading challenges. In December 2021 I was all over the ‘short books to boost your numbers’ lists, which didn’t make me happy. I remember spending New Years’ Eve at my in-laws’ house, desperately trying to finish Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 while everyone else was asleep. (It’s a great book, but a stupid way to read it.)
I’ve stopped setting fixed goals, and last year set my goal to read fewer books with more depth and intention. I really think that was a smart move, and I succeeded:
Issen goes a step further: rather than only writing about the books, she does an analysis on them, ranking them and breaking the list down by race and gender. I’ve thought about doing that but haven’t, but her rationale makes me want to do it:
My goal, in breaking the list down in these ways, is not to read more. It’s to get a keener sense of my own tastes as a reader and how to both indulge and challenge them more satisfyingly and more often. It’s a way of pushing back against the prescriptions of various algorithms and cultural drifts to instead refine my own sonar for what brings me pleasure.
I think this calls for another round of books vs. charts.
(…and if you do Goodreads, Add me!)
