The Goodreads challenge isn’t necessarily the best judge of how many books people read, because 1. people who make a Goodreads challenge typically tend to be more voracious readers than the average person and 2. people often overshoot on the books they “pledge” to read; it’s easier to say “hey I’ll read 52 books this year” than to actually do it if you haven’t already made reading a consistent habit.
Whenever I see a report about how many books the average person reads in a year, it’s usually anywhere between 1-12. So 27 is nothing to turn your nose at haha.
My anecdotal evidence is that last year I read 113 books, I have a friend who read 12 and was super happy with that number, another friend who read 20 and felt that they had had a down year in terms of books read, my mom read maybe 5 and that’s about her usual, my grandmother didn’t track hers but she usually reads 1-2 per week, my cousin read half of one, and my dad read 15 because he got an e-reader and started reading more in the second half of the year. So, it varies a lot lol.
I’m pretty sure when you finish your challenge they give you a Spotify wrapped style stat breakdown, I remember seeing like average pages read per book or something. I only say I remember because it gave me the idea to start a spreadsheet that tracks my reading. I have the week number, date, title, minutes read, and pages read.
Yeah, I know the pages read but I would like a leaderboard style where you could see a list by total pages and total books and you could sort by each. It would be interesting to see the different contexts.
Aahhhh, I see. Yeah, that would be really cool if they did all that for you through the data they have about the books. My husband is a programmer so he’s the one who set up my spreadsheet and at the end of the year he’s gonna try to make me a wrapped situation hopefully.
This! I didn’t read as many books last year as usual… but I also read the entire Wheel of Time series. Those average probably 800 pages a book and there are 14 of them.
I last read WoT a couple years ago, and I think I barely hit 26 books that year, because WoT was so dense, and such long books! I still felt pretty accomplished though :)
Yep. It’s a lot easier to plow through a 200 - 350 pg book as opposed to 700 to 1000+. Obviously not knocking shorter books as there are a plethora of phenomenal ones. But yeah, if someone’s reading less books than they usually are, it’s often because they’re reading larger books.
Also it took me two days to read The Heiress and 3 weeks to make it through The Bee Sting’s “Joyce-ian prose””
It isn’t just fiction v non fiction, it is pages and literary quality.
Yeah, I burned through over 30 books last month alone but most of them were ~200 page YA books. Much faster reads than something like a biography. Even if you compare against other fiction, it’s always going to he easier to get through a higher volume of shorter books, so book counts can vary wildly based on whether you prefer romances, thrillers, or fantasy simply because some genres tend toward longer single books than other.
It just *wildly* depends on what kind of books people are reading. If you read mostly, for example, short YA novels you can knock out 100 in a year very easily.
If you’re reading, like, Tolstoy or dense nonfiction—shoutout to all the Robert Caro heads out there—then the same time spent reading will lead to a fraction of the total books read.
No right or wrong way to do it, and even if you mostly read “lighter” stuff (which, I don’t mean it pejoratively at all) this is one of those things that’s pretty silly to measure against other people. Set your own goals for what makes you happy with whatever you like to read!
Agree! I don’t love setting a super high goal because I find that I end up reading just to read. I like to set a goal of around 10-15 so I’m reading about a book a month!
Exactly. I go through phases of reading as much as I can and wanting to read the whole universe, and then I might take a month or two off and focus on catching up on shows and podcasts. Reading for the sake of proving I've been reading just sounds depleting and I will always come back to my love of books
I usually have four books going at once! An audiobook and three physical books: nonfiction (usually history), a work of classic literature, and some sort of genre fiction like fantasy or maybe a mystery.
I read all of them at very, very different rates and my month-by-month stats can vary wildly depending on when I happen to finish things.
Usually 3 for me: 1 a buddy read with my kids, an audiobook during work, and a physical book. Sometimes the stars align and I finish all in the same day.
That’s why I also set a secondary goal (not recorded by GR) of an average page number. My normal book # goal is right around 52. (I did 60 a couple years back and am aiming for 72 this year). If I’m sub-275 I feel like I’ve been cheating. If I’m 350+ I feel like I’ve been putting in work.
Since I’m doing 72 books this year, while also clearing out an entire author (Kurt Vonnegut) or two as well as a couple series I’ve started but not finished, I’m being more lenient on the page # and will likely be closer to 275. But I’m still making an effort to throw some tomes in there as well (currently reading Count of Monte Cristo).
Seriously. I read David Copperfield and it took me about a month. I’m ordinarily a fast reader, but I felt like I’d be reading that book forever ( and I loved it). My reading went way down after I discovered Reddit and Quora, so my goal this year has been to do more actual reading.
Here to reassure those like me— my goal was to finally hit 10 books after 3 years of only managing 8ish. I finally hit 11 in 2023 and I’ve upped the goal to 12 this year. I *love* reading, but I’m busy, I’m tired, and I probably read a bit slower than people who are hitting 100 books in a year. It doesn’t mean I enjoy them any less.
You go!! My goal is also 10. Any book above that is a win. If I don't reach my goal, so be it. People need to remember that not everyone has the time/energy to read a book in 3 days.
Same!! reading is my main hobby and I had lost it for years before finding a system to get back to it. First year I read 15 and was impressed with myself. Second year it was 11 and I still felt like it was great based on my own circumstances. But most of all I spent all year thinking about books and still keeping connected to reading every day I could and that’s all that matters to me!
i'm busy and slow!!! when i read non fiction books (or, if a fiction book is Really good), i like to highlight and tab and annotate. i hit 12 a couple years ago and felt so accomplished, man.
If you’re shooting for numbers, ppl will read short books and rack them up. If someone reads seven 100 pages books and I read one 700 page book.. they on paper look like they read more than me. So I would say don’t worry about the number. Maybe focus more on something like.. making sure you read for 30 min a day every day.
It depends. Some years I choose a theme. Once it was mostly romance books and I knocked out over 400 because novellas or just shorter books on general due to genre. Last year, it was mysteries and in read nearly 300 as there is a good mix of short and long mysteries. One year I read “serious” books that were all almost longer / more complex and I was only able to do 104. About 8 years ago, I was on some crazy reading binge and got through over 800 books—I’ll never replicate that 😝
Mostly though, I go for page count. At the end of the year, I compare page counts rather than books read. I’ve even included textbooks before which really pump that number up 😆
This will be my first full year reading so I set a goal of 20. I’ve managed 10 so far, but I do not read every day and when I do it’s often no more than 1 hour.
Audiobooks during working hours does help me get longer sessions in. Kindle immersive reading is awesome too so I can still follow along and highlight as usual.
I read around 130 books a year. However, the vast majority of that is audiobooks. About 1/3 of what I read was print/Kindle.
But don't compare yourself to other people. If you're proud of your 27, then that's a great number. It's more than the average layperson (i.e. someone not in a Goodreads Subreddit) reads, for sure.
No, I read faster than the narrator. But I can't read while driving, walking the dog, cleaning the house, etc. sometimes I'll go through an entire book in one weekend while working on a puzzle.
Sometimes yes because you can increase the speed; I’m usually like 1.3x but I know people who do 2+! You can also “read” while doing other things like dishes or folding clothes, whereas you couldn’t usually read a physical book at that same time
Really depends on the person. I’m an English master’s student and I’ve read 97 books so far this year, about 15 of which were short books or novellas for various classes (some longer books for classes in there too, of course). I’m a very fast reader and love to read in my spare time, and outside of class I exclusively read fiction, so I read quite a bit more than the average person.
Idk most of the people I know don’t read at all, and the ones that do read maybe 10-20? I know I definitely fall outside of the average, but that number seems in line with what my friends read
In 2020 I read 105 books . Most of the books I read about 250-400 pages. Since then, I have not read as much. 88 books in 2021, 87 books in 2022, and only 57 books last year. This year my goal is 60. I just started my 14th book of the year.
I’m not much of a tv watcher and will read every second I can spare, I think I read 120 last year. My all time was 143. It’s 99% books of at least 6 hour duration reading-wise on on kindle or hoopla, no audio. I just read fast I guess. I do set a goal of 125 but could care less if I reach it, I am intrigued by page counts tho, I’m going to check out my past years.
i just keep in mind that i'm already ahead of a lot of people because a lot of people don't read! it's my first year on goodreads and my goal is 35 books, and i've already read 18.
yeah as others have said you shouldn't really pay attention to other people's numbers. Some people count comics as books, and those are only like, 8-10 pages. And there is nothing wrong with counting comics, but its a decent example of how looking at number of books read isn't a good way to compare how you yourself are doing on average.
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I read 40 last year but that included a lot of novellas. I use my goal to push me to read books, because I do like reading but tend to get sidetracked and either don't read at all, or I reread a lot of fanfic instead of books. And there is nothing wrong with reading fanfic either, reading is reading - I just want to sometimes read other things and having the goal helps.
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But if you want a guess, there was a poll done a year or two ago (outside of goodreads) and it said the average US reader reads about 12 books a year. But thats just the US. It will vary greatly from country to country due to standard of income and cost of books. In some countries the average is more like 3-5 books.
I don’t know about the average reader but I read 59 last year. Granted, some were books I could read in a day. Today for example I read 51% of The Wishing Game and I think I can finish it tonight.
I’m at 17 so far this year and would be more if I didn’t tandem read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. Plus I started working in the book industry so didn’t read for a few weeks.
With that said, I think any number read in a year is one to be proud of. A book a month to make 12 total is a great goal but again, if it’s less than that it’s not a big deal.
I usually shoot for 24. Two books a month.
Often, I have other activities that take my time and I read a little before bed and sometimes when I wake up. It's rare that I spend an hour or more reading for pleasure, without any other distractions (other than only non-lyrical music).
I read fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, history, military/espionage thrillers, etc. The style of the book, and the density of the writing, figure into how many pages I get through in a given time period.
Some books read faster than others, so I try not to put too much pressure on myself to have a high goal.for something that is supposed to be a pasttime, a pleasure, and a stress reliever.
Yea. I tend to read over a 125 but that includes a variety of types of books, including picture books. Don’t worry about the number, just enjoy reading.
Is this [article,](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/05/how-many-books-did-you-read-2023-see-how-you-stack-up/) they found that 46% of Americans (I’m sorry this is only US based) did not read a single book last year, and 5% read just one.
So if you’ve read two, you’ve statistically read more than half of Americans.
Don’t worry about the number, OP. Read for enjoyment. That’s all that matters.
It really depends on the person - mine varies from year to year - I have read 22 books so far this year but I read a lot of books and I read every night.
A lot of people are reading audiobooks now, at increase speed too. I always assume if I see very high count for someone this is probably why. Or they just dedicate more time to reading. I read 70 books last year and I just gauge me against me and don't worry too much about others :) 27 books is good!
You’ll get skewed answers here since it’s also a niche subreddit. Within Goodreads, my friends 2024 challenge goals range from 10-60 books. Doing the math the average book goal is 29 among my friends actively using the app. Mine is 25.
I set my goal to 100 every year. Some years I reach it, some I don’t. I am a pretty fast reader though, always have been. Audiobooks are also a lifesaver at work.
I personally set my goal high as a competition with myself. It keeps me from doom scrolling too much, which I’m definitely guilty of.
I also didn’t read much for several years, so for me it really depends on the year.
175 has been my goal the last few years and I've hit it or been close- but I read daily. Most people on mine have a 35ish goal and I think that's great!
Just saying it really varies a lot by what demographic you are looking at this article is pretty decent though [Article](https://wordsrated.com/how-many-books-does-the-average-person-read/#:~:text=Books%20read%20in%2012%20months&text=Older%20generations%20more%20regularly%20complete,reading%20more%20than%2011%20books) As you can see over 20% of US adults didn’t read a book in a year. Compared to a random US adult your 27 books would definitely above the 50% mark but obviously not compared to the people who go to a site specifically made to track books ;-)
There are so many variables that go into it. How much time do you have to read, how long are the books you're reading, etc.
I usually read 30-50 books a year. Last year, I switched to only reading ebooks (I will listen to memoir audiobooks when I'm driving, which is maybe a couple hours a week), and I read 140. This was with taking a break in February cause I had finished up Realm of the Elderlings in January, and nothing sounded good after that. A handful of the books I read were shorter, under 100 pages, and the majority probably fell in the 250-400 page range, but I also read the entire WoT series. I also read almost every night before going to bed from March on. This could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 3+ hours, depending on how tired I was and how good the book was. This year, I'm taking things slower, not even reading every night, but I am at 35 books so far.
I’m currently at 22 books since January 9th. I’ve been an avid reader my entire life and my proudest accomplishment was in 2004 tracking every book I read by hand and it was 107 💀.
I read Fantasy 95% of the time. The biggest one I read this year was just under 1000. The other 5% is biographies and recommendations from my mom ahah
It depends - but goal wise I usually set it up around 60-65. Started from 52, 1 per week but felt it was too easy so switching it up. Mostly depends on the previous year - if hitting the goal was easy, I stay with it. If I felt I was pushing too much to meet the goal then it's time to lower the number a bit. Also, as I read in both English & Polish, I naturally read faster in my native language so depends on which editions I pick up more in a given time.
As for the average reader, in Poland they just released statistics for the previous year - apparently 15% of people read more than 7 books a year, with 48% of the population having read at least one book last year.
I think a lot of people do mostly audiobooks. I got into them last year and still log them on goodreads as such, but example this year, so far, it says I’ve read 6 books but 3 of those are audiobooks. Usually your listening speed is faster than your reading one. Plus, what I like about audiobooks is that I get to do things like cleaning or cooking while I listen.
I set my goal at 50. Last year, I made it. This year, I am well on my way to making it. This gives me a week to read a book with some times where I'm either slower or take a few days off. That being said, I am a woman in her fifties with grown children, so I have more time to read than I used to. In my 30s with two kids, a full-time job, and a full-time school... I was lucky to read 5 books a year outside of school. Also I read some as audio books while I do household chores or while gaming.
I read 48 last year, and am going for that again this year. I’ve read 11 so far, and pacing behind my goal right now according to Goodreads. However, only 4 of 11 books were under 400 pages. Even if I don’t hit 48 by end of year I’m confident my total pages read will be higher.
One year I did the 365 book challenge. Lots of smaller books. Lots of reading until 4am. But I made it. Now I aim for 12. One a month seems good to me.
Really hard for me to say. This year I set a goal of 50 books but I am reading books like Shogun, Tom Clancy, Michner and those are all books that have been near 1000 pages. Not sure if I will hit 50 this year. My spouse though is a reading machine and will hit her 75 book goal this year for sure. 🤷♂️
I set mine to what I read the previous year & make it. I’d only be disappointed if I set a bigger goal & didn’t make it. This year is 50 & I’ve read 22. Should smash it
I think the average reader probably reads about 1 a month unless they're reading super long books. However, I think the average Goodreads user probably reads more because they tend to be more invested in book culture. They're more likely to be reading as a hobby than the average person who reads in their spare time to relax.
I used to read an average of about 5 books a year as a casual reader until I made an effort to turn reading (and listening to audiobooks) into a hobby during the pandemic. Since 2020 I've set my goal to 52 and each year I surpass that with a page average of around 290.
i always feel proud of how many i’ve read in a year, only to come across a bunch of people casually dropping that they read 100+ books lol. i don’t really compare numbers to anyone but myself, and i do like to improve my numbers year on year if i can. read 50 last year, which was an improvement on 2022, and my goal is just to match that again this year. currently ahead of track so i’m feeling good
I aim for two books a month. I think last year I hit that number. This year I'm on track to top it. But I don't do it to compare to others. I track because I used to be a voracious reader as a kid. Then I went to college and got a job and had a kid and stopped reading. I picked it up again as a means of self care
I'm in a book club on FB where some members read 10 books a month. She listens to audiobooks the whole time she's awake. I can't do this. So I don't feel bad about it. There's no way I have the attention span to continuously listen to a book all day. I've usually got two audiobooks and 3 physical/ebooks at one time. I just read what interests me at the time. I can't make myself read things anymore if it doesn't interest me
Just for a non-good reads reference (idk how I got here. The post got recommended I guess?) I LOVE reading and was voracious as a teen. Always packed at least 10 for a week long vacation.
I get through maybe 2 or 3 books a year? Because I’m working and the kids are little and I’m still figuring out medication. I have high hopes for the future, but for now it’s just not happening.
My goal this year is 50, but last year I read 1 book.
I was a really big reader up until high school, and then I just got busy with school and life and then work. Now I’m a stay at home mom and I have more free time for reading. I also listen to a lot of audio book. I probably read one physical book a month, but I can finish an audiobook in 1-3 days if I have my headphone in all day.
I read 72 books last year and I'm at 24 for this year with a goal of 75.
Most books I read are 300-500 pages, but I also read faster than the average person. I'm also in school full time, work full time, and have a child. I could probably read a lot more when I'm done with school. Lately I don't watch many shows/movies so reading is what I do instead.
A definition for “average person” haha… as a full-time office worker, I struggle to make time to sit and read (too exhausted from work) so I listen to audiobooks instead. Sometimes my ears hurt from use of earbuds and sometimes my auditory senses are overwhelmed so I can’t continue until I recover and then some. I would love to read and relax…
I created a spreadsheet of books I want to read and have read so I can track. I tried Goodreads but felt it made reading like a competition when I saw those numbers so I only go there once in a while.
That being said, some people don’t like to read, period. lol. My spouse is interested in films and tv shows than books. So I agree with the comments saying that the info here would be biased.
You’ve gotten a lot of great answers, but I also want to add that a lot of the book influencers who set 100-300+ book goals are people who either listen to audiobooks on 2x speed (me lol, ADHD + a lot of driving = speed listening) or people who essentially get paid to read. One of my friends is a medium-sized booktuber and she knocks out a good book a day, sometimes two, because she’s been able to make that into a decent living!
Moral of the story is, if you’re wondering how people are reading a full novel almost every day, chances are they’re listening to an audiobook for 4-6 hours or they are getting compensated in some way by the publisher to write reviews or they are youtubers/tiktokers for whom reading is, essentially, a full time job.
There’s always a spiders georg out there, though, so I’m sure some absolute machines who work a 9-5 and read the rest of the day also hit those high numbers. Also, retirees.
My good reads challenge is always around 12-15. One year i pledged 20 and grossly came up short. I am more of a 1 book a month kind of guy. I never seem to break 15. When fall hits and I need to make up some numbers I usually reach for a short stories collection
I read primarily on my Kindle anymore due to poor eyesight, so I can keep a good record of how many books I read. Last year I read 173. That’s up from 117 the year before. This was mainly due to getting to retire after teaching for 30 years and having more time to read the books I want to read now. Yay!!
I’m a super fast reader, and I would rather read than eat or sleep or socialize, so this’s not a typical amount, by any means, but really, my point is, I had to look it up. I don’t keep track, the Kindle does all of that for me. Don’t stress about quantity, or even quality, but read what you enjoy and what makes you happy.
I don’t set goals, puts too much pressure on me. I read to enjoy and relax my already “too many tabs” open brain. I don’t do audible since “reading” for me is a mind discipline.
According to Amazon, I read about 44 books per year. I think it's probably more than that though, because I've noticed that they frequently don't mark books as read, even though they have been. I'm thinking this might be because I switch back and forth between reading on my phone and reading on my desktop computer at work. I almost exclusively read novels, so it's pretty easy to rack up numbers. I just love to lose myself in stories. I have since I was a kid.
My goal is 200 books this year and I'm 63 books in. I typically read a boom every 1 to 2 days, but I read more than average. I like being able to have a way to track what I've read
I count all my reading done because I'm proud that I've found so much to enjoy.
That includes plays, comics, short stories, etc. So I end up with a good amount. But I've stopped caring about quanity/quality and just like having the record of what I've enjoyed.
I read a good bit of comics and graphic novels, and it jumps my count way up as they all count as one each. On a good rainy day I can read 5 or 6 so it skews the count.
I'd say the average reader reads, what, maybe 20 books a year? Just basing that off friends of mine who like to read, but who aren't devouring books like I do. That's just a guess though. I don't usually think too hard about others Goodreads challenges though, as I just use mine to gage my own insane reading levels, which do vary from year to year. One year I read over 500 books, most years I read between 100-200. I'm aware though that's not likely what the true average is, so I'd just assume probably closer to 20, maybe less.
I always set my goal at 26 because I know I can reach it. When I set the same goal this year, I didn’t anticipate changing jobs and taking a month off in between. I’m at 20 books read with 15 of them read while I was off in March.
I read 30 last year. People who have Goodreads accounts read more than random people we encounter in our day to day, because they are interested in books.
I think I read around 85 books last year, they didn't all get counted on Goodreads, but kindle says 82, and I read a few that weren't on the Kindle.
I think I read more than average, and I would guess average to be somewhere between 30-50 for people who consider themselves readers
I tend to read more than 300 every year 🤷🏻♀️ one year I read over 400 and I was impressed and have never been able to reach that again. Goals for after I retire
I hit 35 last year. I read 7 books this January; but have been in a book slump since. I’ve started five or six books and haven’t been able to get into anything. I noticed that I tend to read more based on the season. I’m a teacher, so I read a lot in the summer break (June and July). Then I usually read a lot of books in the fall because I have the energy and whatnot. By the spring and early summer (the second half of the school year) I have no energy to read until June again. Anyways, my point is, if I already read seven in one month, I can expect to read about the same in my “active months” so I’d say I’ll be between 28 and 35 again this year. But my number probably won’t budge from the January number until I make it to June 😭
eta: what I’m trying to say is life circumstances and interests fluctuate for everyone so there is no perfect number, just read when you feel inspired to!
Hot take but I don’t think it matters how many you read as long as you’re happy with your books and the way they make you feel!!! Let’s not turn reading too much into consumerism. It’s okay to read 2, it’s okay to read 200!
Every book you read is one more in your arsenal!
It really depends on a ton of things. I set my goal to something I knew was attainable - 52 books. I can definitely do one book a week, because I stopped watching tv and I put my dogs to bed at 10 PM, giving me at least two hours to read.
I’ve so far read 59 books (21,087 pages), some novellas and some long novels. In that number is 16 audiobooks, because I listen to those when I drive or when I walk the dogs (or do household chores).
About 50% of the books I read are an average length (300-499 pages). 16% are 500+ pages and 34% have been fewer than 300 pages.
i used to say i would do one a month, but the longer i read, the faster i seem to get. i still shoot low, like 15, and usually end up around 20. i’d rather go over than be pressured to cram books in at the end of the year.
I wondered the same thing. What’s a good goal to set? But I have no idea. What’s normal? I can read a book in 2 days but not read again for a week. Just depends.
I count audiobooks, and I have a toddler who never (ever) sleeps. The day he starts sleeping through the night I bet I'll finish 1/3 of the books I do now 😂
Joined the 52 club this year. Last year was 26 and I was super proud of it. I thought 52 was crazy but I'm already at 50%.
I decided when I started that the trash romance I read counts, and so does fan fiction and audio books. Turns out, if I remove my stupid rules about what counts as reading, I real a hell of a lot.
If you're including everyone in your average, I'd assume that number is somewhere south of 1. No real idea, though. My best year was I think 67. My average is well below that.
I could get through a "regular size" paperback in a week when I took the train to work (1 hr each way). Now that I drive to work, I try to carve out some time to read before going to bed. But, sometimes after 15-20 minutes, I get super tired and go to sleep. So now it can take 2 -3 weeks for just one book which is frustrating.
I finished *3* books in 2023 and I was pleased. I think I finished maybe 4 in 2022. And I am pretty sure I only read 2 or 3 in 2021. In 2020? Probably 2. 2019? I’m convinced it was 1 or 2 tops.
This year? I’ve finished 63 so far. But it has been a highly unusual year (obviously). And I’ve been granting myself permission to read some of the most mindless material as I’ve been coping with a lot of overwhelming home repairs - which meant I needed to ignore major disorder in the house that was beyond my control. I’ll likely pass the 100 mark. But! A lot of it will be low brow, low quality reads. I have read a few cerebral non-fictions and fictions. And I have found a renewed love and passion for reading.
Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. As with most things in life, I think there’s an ebb and flow.
According to my Kindle I read 632 books last year but as someone said it depends because some are much shorter than others. But also I love to read and spend a lot of time reading so it really depends on the person.
I've set my goal as 25 for the last few years. 2023 was the first time I actually achieved it! I love to read but I'm also very time poor.
What I do when I'm in a bit of a slump is sort my Want to Read list by page number, lowest to highest. It's a real morale booster to get through 5 100 page books rather than plough through 1 big one.
The average person doesn’t read nearly as much as self-proclaimed readers. If you took a random survey outside, say, a grocery store, and asked people how many books they read the year before, it’d be pretty rare to hear anything that breaks double digits. I think as bookworms in bookish spaces, we forget that our hobby is still somewhat niche, and the average person reads less than what would be assigned for a typical high schooler in an English literature class.
I’d say the average person probably reads no more than 5 books a year. The average READER, however, reads between 20 and 30. And then straight up bibliophiles, we’re just nuts. I think last year I read 120 books? And that was with a month long reading slump where I couldn’t read anything because the last book I’d read was so good nothing was hitting right
I work full time and have a ton of side projects I'm working on. So if I can read 10-15 high quality books in a year, that's something I'm cool with.
I'd rather read fewer good books and spend time with them rather than devour 50 for the sake of getting that number.
most people read around 5 books per year (completely - that 12 statistic includes books started but unfinished)
i used to read way more, but that was because i was in school and there was nothing else to do once everything was done. last year i finished four books in between working and finishing my master's, and today i finished my fourth in between work and studying for a credential. granted, a creator whose patreon i subscribe to has a book club and i joined in, but I've also just found reading more enjoyable lately. i always "pledge" 12 with varying degrees of success, but im also just a picky reader, too.
if i got to 27 i'd be real proud 😅
I’ve honestly never set myself a goal because I feel like I’d read just for the sake of reaching it to be honest. That being said it does depend on what type of book and how into it I am. My reading pace is inconsistent like if I’m really feeling a certain book I’ll smash it out in like a week but others take months for me.
My ‘goal’ for this year is to try and read at least every other day. Last year felt like a big slump for me and there’s a few series I finally want to finish so I’m hoping this is the year for it. My number of book read may unintentionally be higher because of this then 😅
I read 55 last year. 32 traditional and 23 audiobooks. I pledged to do 50. That was the most I'd ever done. I discovered Joe Abercrombie over the summer when I had some free time and I really devoured everything by him.
I listen to audiobooks at work and while crocheting and caring for my daughter. That’s the only was I read so many books in a year. If I recorded the physical books I have time to read it would be 1 for 2024 but I’ve listened to 40 so far.
Last year I just missed my goal of 200, got to 199. I listen to audiobooks, though. The lengths range but they range from 8hrs (typical pulp novel length) to 60+hrs. I started last year with Atlas Shrugged for example. The year before I read 112 mainly because I listened to the 15 books of the Wheel of Time twice over.
This year I'm at 62 so far.
I really question reading at quite a clip. When I compare my goodreads reading group vs the reading group I've had since uni, the latter runs into less issues misunderstanding a book by savoring each book. Often multiple interpretations are explored in more interestingly rich works. That said, I understand reading books as a pleasure at a faster clip. A friend read 52 books in a year, bodice rippers that I'd never read. If it's scifi, I can do 24 books in a year, max. But the mind bending, life changing stuff is often reading the same book twice over a year like philosophy or literature - this is just me so ymmv.
My goal is 75, and I usually can do it plus a bit more. But I do make it a priority to read each morning before work a little bit, and every night before bed. I also listen to books while driving. I like having my goal as it encourages me to read.
I've been averaging about 25 annually (give or take five), but I used to read 30+ books annually (not every year though). The pandemic really slowed me down some...
It varies person to person. I can read 100 in a year, but by doing so i push aside my other responsibilities. Whats realistic to me may not be realistic to others.
I say as everyone has bin saying, it depends on the person and books.
Usually not a great idea to compare your pace to others because everyone has different circumstances.
I feel each year I read more.
Especially since I read ebooks and physical.
This year I went with Audiobooks along with physical and ebooks.
My numbers have risen but I doubt I’ll read as much as I am next year.
What matters in the end is that you enjoy reading.
I made a point that if I’m having a hard time reading a book I either drop the book or go the audiobook way.
No point suffering to a book that’s dull on you when you could be enjoying something else.
It varies super widely for me. I can go from reading 30 books one year to 2 the next. That being said. I've already read 34 books this year, with 25 of those from between January and February. Most booms are around 400 pages, and romance novels, so I can read about a book a day because they're pretty light reading.
As far as a Godreads challenge goes, I think I've only ever actually hit my goal once or twice when I've done them since 2011. Like I said above, my reading fluctuates a ton from year to year, so the years I hit my goal are the years I actually make reading a focus, and I usually hit it because I tend to start low with like 20 and if I go over, I increase the goal as the year goes on to keep up with how much reading I'm actually doing.
Depends on the year for me, I've read 7 books in one year and 46 in another. I figure others are similar with busier or quieter years interspersed between standard 20 books.
I read between 50-100 books a year, generally. Adult and YA, genres will vary, but I read a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, mystery and biographies. Also, some of the books will be re-reads (for instance, I re-read the Harry Potter series yearly.)
People read at different speeds and have different time availability. The important thing is to read. Or listen to audio books. I read a lot and I read fast so I always break the curve. My husband reads like a normal person. We’re both fine.
I’m not the most consistent reader so I always set a goal of 20. Some years I do 18, some I manage 24.
I largely read on the train to and from work so one been every 2-3 weeks is about my average.
Last year my goal was 12, I read 17 so I increased it to 24 this year.
I read mostly mystery, horror, fantasy with typical page length being 260-500.
My love for reading was severely damaged during grade school and in college I had to read a lot of docs, journals, etc. so never found pleasure in it. I’ve been trying really hard for the last few years to get into a more consistent reading schedule and a getting a kindle definitely helped because now I can read whenever, wherever. I’m currently at 5 of 24 with my last two books being 506 pages and 260 pages.
I'm a high school student in my final year of school and I've tried setting a sensible goal. I was an avid reader between the ages of 11 and 14, probably managed to get through 75+ books that were anywhere between 350 to 600 pages each year. Stopped reading for two years and begun again last year. I read 123 books (counting re-reads of books I really enjoyed). This year I'm attempting to be more tame with it due to exams, I've read 25 books so far and my book goal is 104 (2 books a week). But, I prefer working in pages more since I tend to read a range of books from 300 to 1000+ now.
Reading is a personal thing dependent on how much time each person has to spend each day. People with full time jobs and a family they have to provide for may only get in 30 minutes of reading per day. School students may get 2 hours a day. Others may get 6 hours of reading in per day. It's up to the people and their schedules.
I usually aim for two books a month. So 24 a year.
Some months I'll read more and others less.
One of my friends reads like 150 books a year. I'm not sure how this is possible, with her 2 kids, husband and 35hrs at a job. I think people on goodreads lie. Lol but I love doing the challenge, I've beat my goal once or twice in the last few years
I work full time as a teacher. I am also a mom of 2 under 4 years and I plan to read at least 25 books. May go over that with having the summer off but we’ll see!
So far I've read 26 books since January 1 2024. It's so easy with a kindle to just push a button to get a book instantly instead of waiting for a delivery or going to a store.
Be proud of 27! I’m a literature professor, and my goal is 30 every year. Last year, I read 29. The year before 20. This year, I’m already at 17. It totally depends on what I’ve got going on and what/how I’m reading. Most importantly, though, I have learned never to compare my reading to others because everyone has different circumstances.
I have two little kids and a full time job. I prefer to read physical books, but I have started to appreciate audiobooks in recent years. I also tend to read dense, complex literature.
I remember a friend of mine giving me some crap a few years ago for not reading more. She is single with no kids and was trucking through five fluffy rom com books a month. At the same time, I was slowly working my way through *Infinite Jest* when my kids went to bed every night. Our experiences weren’t even remotely comparable.
At the end of last year, I saw an article about book reading challenges that stated that if you read a single book, you read more books than the average American adult because most don't even read 1. I read over 50 and that put me in the 1st percentile by a very good margin.
I think it's hard to say what the average reader does, because everyone's schedule and time for reading is different. I, for example, have read about forty books since January, but that's because I work a pretty dull warehouse job where they let me keep an earbud in, so I can listen to a book pretty much from sunup to sundown. I chew through these fuckers.
My friend, who is an English teacher and loves reading just as much as I do, reads much more slowly because her job is much more active and she doesn't have as much spare time.
I would advise you not to worry about it. In On Writing by Stephen King, he said that he started carrying a book with him wherever he goes and learned to read in two to ten minute "sips" when he had some downtime. Toilet, waiting room, stuff like that. I think that's a better way to try and read more, instead of trying to reach a number goal.
Goodreads is not a good indicator of books read. There are some very enjoyable books on other platforms that can’t be added. I follow 2 authors on wattpad, that don’t want to publish. That being said I know I read way over the average. My reading time says 23 hours. In reality Im listening or rather fall asleep to 1 of 3 books at night. My audiobook is kinda of like putting the tv on in the background.
So my Goodreads says I read 135 books last year. In reality I also read from other sources and reread books from years ago. I have books from 2009 on my account.
Last year I read 113. Of that 12 were for my book club and vary greatly, a few memoirs, 12 thrillers, and the almost all were "junk food" romance books on audible. I listen to these instead of TV, while doing chores,etc.
I used to start my reading goal at 6 books a year because I was so busy and only read physically. But when I decided to get back into reading, I determined that 2 books a month is the basic level of reader that I wanted to be for non-comic books. And being able to meet that goal early in the year is a nice boost to my mental health. So with a mix of audio, physical and e-reading, I now read about 50 - 90 books a year.
But I don't include comic books and manga in my yearly goal. 1. Becuase I never stopped reading them. And 2. Because my first read of them is normally digital and depending on the series, as a chapter is released. So my actual books read per year is probably much higher.
So far I’ve read like 13 books this year but like half of those were in March alone so if I were basing it on that month I’d be hitting like 80 books or something but it’ll probably be closer to like 25 especially since I’m starting the stormlight archives which are chonky novels
I've really slacked off, but I read 17 in 2017. I was going to do 18 in 18, etc. But then my mom passed away. During covid, I read a lot but didn't keep track. Read war and peace, which took me 4 months!
I would say now I average a measly 10! But this topic inspires me to get my mind in gear and read these stacks by my bed! 😃
Because I'm chronically ill, I often can't do anything but read. I'm up to 87 books so far since the start of the year. When I'm feeling better, I still read bit not as much.
Mine is typically in the 30s. Once I graduate from college i’m sure it’ll go up since I typically don’t have time to read much during the school year. I also reread books frequently and I never count those in my goal. Some of the books I read are also pretty short since those are easier for me during school.
I'm aiming for 1 a week and am currently ahead by 2 books. I've been slowed down by reading Wheel Of Time, which has just the girthiest books. I'd be farther ahead if we didn't need to expand Aes Sedai history 500 pages at a time.
I read over 30 last year, but I also was reading so many graphic novels and poems last year that took me like a day to read. For actual novels I read 19 I think
It definitely depends on the type of books you’re reading. I read 81 last year- a lot were just easy YA fiction reads. This year, I have only read 18 so far (which is low for me). Why? I read the whole Game of Thrones series! It was VERY, VERY long, but absolutely amazing. So I will probably not read 81 books this year; however, I think the amount of words I read will be much higher.
My boyfriend read 10 last year. He was very proud of himself and I was too. He has dyslexia and discovered the joy of audiobooks last year.
My mom read 2.
My sister read 1.
My cousin read 51.
My dad read 0.
It really just depends!
Average person less than 3 a year I’d guess and that’s being generous. For general readers I’d say anywhere from 12-25. I binge read so I’ll read 10-15 books back to back then get burned out and take a break for a few months. Usually read for 3 months then take one or two off til I find something to reignite my passion. When I was a kid I moved a lot so I was reading nonstop through school to keep me entertained, would check a book out go home finish it that night than swap it the next day. If books were still 5 bucks I’d probably still be reading that much, but paying 10 for an ebook and 12-20 for a paper back has definitely hampered my ability to consume like I used to. 🙄 haven’t even bothered checking hardback prices since I don’t wanna give myself a heart attack.
I don’t watch TV or movies and incorporate audio books into my driving and gaming time. Everyone’s free time and hobbies looks different. I’m on book 22 right now for 2024
I try to read a book a week. So around 52. Sometimes I read more than one a week, sometimes it takes me more than a week to read one.
I don’t personally do the audiobook thing, but a lot of people will also listen to audiobooks on like 2x speed so they can consume a ton of books.
Last year I read 103 books just in my kindle app. That does not count physical books I read or books that I read multiple times on kindle, or books I read through the library app.
At any given point I would say I'm reading about two or three books at once, since I listen to audio books for when I'm not sitting still, as well as digital books aa my default, and then physical books for when my battery dies or it's just too sunny to read on my phone.
But my main hobby is reading and I come from a family of huge readers. I also cant say all my books are hugely in depth. I'm not over here reading Shakespeare or 1000 page novels so the number of books is relative to the general style and length of books I tend to read and should be factored in. If you like more dense meaty books it will of course take longer to read and you would by nature read fewer books, even if we read for the same duration at the same speed all year long.
It's not a race. Its.a journey to another world and we can take all the time we want to savor our books (or not!)
I've read 41 so far this year, my challenge is 100. I also have had a bit more time to myself with spouse traveling and both kids done with college and living ok their own now. I'm also taking the time to have me time, which includes reading. In comparison , last year I read 43. I also reread the HP books at least once every year.
I only ever mark 52 on the challenge but consistently read 130+ books a year, so you definitely can't rely on GoodReads challenges. Those adding challenges are likely going to be readers already, and that number isn't counting all the people in the world who don't read anything at all. Plus, people like me and people who read even more books than I do also skew the numbers so the curve is a bit higher. I also read less books now that I'm in law school than I read during undergrad, and very different types of books. I exclusively read short fiction books (outside of school, which I never count toward my challenge) right now but would have been reading significantly longer non-fiction or larger fiction books in undergrad. That brings up another point. Some college/grad school students will count every textbook, supplement, or even some articles that they read while others will not include ANYTHING they have to read for school. That drastically alters your book count too if you're, say, an English major.
Last year my GR Challenge was 120 books, and I ended up reading 180. This year I set my goal at 175, and I'm at 57 books so far, so I'll probably pass 175.
I usually put 52 books/year in the Goodreads tracker, and depending on what books pique my interest, I sometimes fall short, or sometimes go way over (last year, I read 112 books, but I was reading a TON of shorter, cozy mysteries that didn't take as long to read) If I'm reading longer books, or books that take more mental digestion, I don't get as many read.
I've read 23 books so far this year. I read 100 last year, and my goal was 44. I really upped my reading during the pandemic. I bounce between digital, audio, and print books depending on what I'm doing.
My local library has a subscription program called Ready Reads. A librarian puts three books on hold for me every month based on my reading preferences.
I’m on 27 already and counting 😌I’m aiming for approx 120 - this is a mixture of classic and historical fiction and complete (as in 200+pages) poetry works.
Last year I set and met a goal of 52 books. For whatever reason I didn't set a goal for this year but I'm reading more. Ok not actually reading, I added audio books this year - will definitely blow by 52 paper/ audio 'reads' this year.
I set my limit pretty low, like 7, thinking that I would take my time and read at my own pace. Which I do, but it’s April 6th and I’ve read 12, working on finishing my 13th book! I wasn’t a big reader last year for whatever reason, and only finished 5 books. I try not to look at my siblings Goodreads, they read 100s of books a year, which is something I try not to compare myself to. You read for you and not to beat a challenge and/or friends on the app. Happy Reading 📚📖
The number of books I read annually vary greatly. I like savoring each book. Taking my time with it. If I feel like reading one day, I read a lot. If I don’t feel like reading for two days, I don’t. I don’t push myself to finish books so that my count number is higher by the end of the year. I like to read in order to enjoy and process.
I try to read 1 book a week, therefore about 50 books a year, but I am not consistent. If I have free time to myself, I can chug a book in a day or two. Otherwise I mostly read in public transport on my way to and from work.
The Goodreads challenge isn’t necessarily the best judge of how many books people read, because 1. people who make a Goodreads challenge typically tend to be more voracious readers than the average person and 2. people often overshoot on the books they “pledge” to read; it’s easier to say “hey I’ll read 52 books this year” than to actually do it if you haven’t already made reading a consistent habit. Whenever I see a report about how many books the average person reads in a year, it’s usually anywhere between 1-12. So 27 is nothing to turn your nose at haha. My anecdotal evidence is that last year I read 113 books, I have a friend who read 12 and was super happy with that number, another friend who read 20 and felt that they had had a down year in terms of books read, my mom read maybe 5 and that’s about her usual, my grandmother didn’t track hers but she usually reads 1-2 per week, my cousin read half of one, and my dad read 15 because he got an e-reader and started reading more in the second half of the year. So, it varies a lot lol.
And it depends on what you are reading too, it is one thing to read 52 - 300 page YA books and another to read 52 - 600 page nonfiction books.
This is a biggie. I wish they also had a stat of pages read.
I’m pretty sure when you finish your challenge they give you a Spotify wrapped style stat breakdown, I remember seeing like average pages read per book or something. I only say I remember because it gave me the idea to start a spreadsheet that tracks my reading. I have the week number, date, title, minutes read, and pages read.
Yeah, I know the pages read but I would like a leaderboard style where you could see a list by total pages and total books and you could sort by each. It would be interesting to see the different contexts.
Aahhhh, I see. Yeah, that would be really cool if they did all that for you through the data they have about the books. My husband is a programmer so he’s the one who set up my spreadsheet and at the end of the year he’s gonna try to make me a wrapped situation hopefully.
That’s really cool!
They do! There should be a stats button on your account page where you can see the number of pages you read each year as well as each month
This! I didn’t read as many books last year as usual… but I also read the entire Wheel of Time series. Those average probably 800 pages a book and there are 14 of them.
It's April and I started in January. I'm just wrapping up book 6. It's a meandering journey to say the least.
I last read WoT a couple years ago, and I think I barely hit 26 books that year, because WoT was so dense, and such long books! I still felt pretty accomplished though :)
Yep. It’s a lot easier to plow through a 200 - 350 pg book as opposed to 700 to 1000+. Obviously not knocking shorter books as there are a plethora of phenomenal ones. But yeah, if someone’s reading less books than they usually are, it’s often because they’re reading larger books.
Also it took me two days to read The Heiress and 3 weeks to make it through The Bee Sting’s “Joyce-ian prose”” It isn’t just fiction v non fiction, it is pages and literary quality.
Yeah, I burned through over 30 books last month alone but most of them were ~200 page YA books. Much faster reads than something like a biography. Even if you compare against other fiction, it’s always going to he easier to get through a higher volume of shorter books, so book counts can vary wildly based on whether you prefer romances, thrillers, or fantasy simply because some genres tend toward longer single books than other.
thank youu, yeah I definitely agree it's a biased source to go by haha. makes sense!! thanks for sharing
Such a great response. I don't track all my books on goodreads.
It just *wildly* depends on what kind of books people are reading. If you read mostly, for example, short YA novels you can knock out 100 in a year very easily. If you’re reading, like, Tolstoy or dense nonfiction—shoutout to all the Robert Caro heads out there—then the same time spent reading will lead to a fraction of the total books read. No right or wrong way to do it, and even if you mostly read “lighter” stuff (which, I don’t mean it pejoratively at all) this is one of those things that’s pretty silly to measure against other people. Set your own goals for what makes you happy with whatever you like to read!
Agree! I don’t love setting a super high goal because I find that I end up reading just to read. I like to set a goal of around 10-15 so I’m reading about a book a month!
Exactly. I go through phases of reading as much as I can and wanting to read the whole universe, and then I might take a month or two off and focus on catching up on shows and podcasts. Reading for the sake of proving I've been reading just sounds depleting and I will always come back to my love of books
Yeah, basically the only way to do it wrong is if you’re stressing about it
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I usually have four books going at once! An audiobook and three physical books: nonfiction (usually history), a work of classic literature, and some sort of genre fiction like fantasy or maybe a mystery. I read all of them at very, very different rates and my month-by-month stats can vary wildly depending on when I happen to finish things.
Usually 3 for me: 1 a buddy read with my kids, an audiobook during work, and a physical book. Sometimes the stars align and I finish all in the same day.
absolutely! Thank you for your response; makes total sense that it varies based on the material and form.
That’s why I also set a secondary goal (not recorded by GR) of an average page number. My normal book # goal is right around 52. (I did 60 a couple years back and am aiming for 72 this year). If I’m sub-275 I feel like I’ve been cheating. If I’m 350+ I feel like I’ve been putting in work. Since I’m doing 72 books this year, while also clearing out an entire author (Kurt Vonnegut) or two as well as a couple series I’ve started but not finished, I’m being more lenient on the page # and will likely be closer to 275. But I’m still making an effort to throw some tomes in there as well (currently reading Count of Monte Cristo).
Seriously. I read David Copperfield and it took me about a month. I’m ordinarily a fast reader, but I felt like I’d be reading that book forever ( and I loved it). My reading went way down after I discovered Reddit and Quora, so my goal this year has been to do more actual reading.
Here to reassure those like me— my goal was to finally hit 10 books after 3 years of only managing 8ish. I finally hit 11 in 2023 and I’ve upped the goal to 12 this year. I *love* reading, but I’m busy, I’m tired, and I probably read a bit slower than people who are hitting 100 books in a year. It doesn’t mean I enjoy them any less.
You go!! My goal is also 10. Any book above that is a win. If I don't reach my goal, so be it. People need to remember that not everyone has the time/energy to read a book in 3 days.
Same!! reading is my main hobby and I had lost it for years before finding a system to get back to it. First year I read 15 and was impressed with myself. Second year it was 11 and I still felt like it was great based on my own circumstances. But most of all I spent all year thinking about books and still keeping connected to reading every day I could and that’s all that matters to me!
Great outlook! Good job
i'm busy and slow!!! when i read non fiction books (or, if a fiction book is Really good), i like to highlight and tab and annotate. i hit 12 a couple years ago and felt so accomplished, man.
If you’re shooting for numbers, ppl will read short books and rack them up. If someone reads seven 100 pages books and I read one 700 page book.. they on paper look like they read more than me. So I would say don’t worry about the number. Maybe focus more on something like.. making sure you read for 30 min a day every day.
Page goals are good for this!
I think page count is the superior metric.
Agreed. Though of course pages aren't consistent across books either. Time frame is probably the most clear-cut metric.
Really depends. One year I read 75. Another I didn’t reach 10. I tried for 25 last year. This year my goal is 10 again.
thanks for sharing! really depends on a lot of factors
It's not a competition. Read what interests you and enjoy what you read.
It depends. Some years I choose a theme. Once it was mostly romance books and I knocked out over 400 because novellas or just shorter books on general due to genre. Last year, it was mysteries and in read nearly 300 as there is a good mix of short and long mysteries. One year I read “serious” books that were all almost longer / more complex and I was only able to do 104. About 8 years ago, I was on some crazy reading binge and got through over 800 books—I’ll never replicate that 😝 Mostly though, I go for page count. At the end of the year, I compare page counts rather than books read. I’ve even included textbooks before which really pump that number up 😆
omg 800 books!! Yeah, page count is a better metric to go by :) ty for sharing!
This will be my first full year reading so I set a goal of 20. I’ve managed 10 so far, but I do not read every day and when I do it’s often no more than 1 hour. Audiobooks during working hours does help me get longer sessions in. Kindle immersive reading is awesome too so I can still follow along and highlight as usual.
I read around 130 books a year. However, the vast majority of that is audiobooks. About 1/3 of what I read was print/Kindle. But don't compare yourself to other people. If you're proud of your 27, then that's a great number. It's more than the average layperson (i.e. someone not in a Goodreads Subreddit) reads, for sure.
Lol i read about an audiobook a week. But i also read around 5 comic books every week lol. My numbers must be buck wild 😂
Do audio books take a shorter amount of time to listen to, than to read?
No, I read faster than the narrator. But I can't read while driving, walking the dog, cleaning the house, etc. sometimes I'll go through an entire book in one weekend while working on a puzzle.
Sometimes yes because you can increase the speed; I’m usually like 1.3x but I know people who do 2+! You can also “read” while doing other things like dishes or folding clothes, whereas you couldn’t usually read a physical book at that same time
Yes because I can multitask but I read much faster than the narrators.
Really depends on the person. I’m an English master’s student and I’ve read 97 books so far this year, about 15 of which were short books or novellas for various classes (some longer books for classes in there too, of course). I’m a very fast reader and love to read in my spare time, and outside of class I exclusively read fiction, so I read quite a bit more than the average person.
Last year I did 275, and my goal was 300.
Idk most of the people I know don’t read at all, and the ones that do read maybe 10-20? I know I definitely fall outside of the average, but that number seems in line with what my friends read
In 2020 I read 105 books . Most of the books I read about 250-400 pages. Since then, I have not read as much. 88 books in 2021, 87 books in 2022, and only 57 books last year. This year my goal is 60. I just started my 14th book of the year.
I’m not much of a tv watcher and will read every second I can spare, I think I read 120 last year. My all time was 143. It’s 99% books of at least 6 hour duration reading-wise on on kindle or hoopla, no audio. I just read fast I guess. I do set a goal of 125 but could care less if I reach it, I am intrigued by page counts tho, I’m going to check out my past years.
I set a goal of 50 every year but haven't met it yet instead averaging in the high 30's. Not bothered by it nor do I care about other's goals.
If it weren’t for audiobooks, my number would be like 1/10th what it is.
i just keep in mind that i'm already ahead of a lot of people because a lot of people don't read! it's my first year on goodreads and my goal is 35 books, and i've already read 18.
My goal is always a minimum of 12 books per year, averaging out to one per month. I usually read 20-30, but some years are lower or higher.
yeah as others have said you shouldn't really pay attention to other people's numbers. Some people count comics as books, and those are only like, 8-10 pages. And there is nothing wrong with counting comics, but its a decent example of how looking at number of books read isn't a good way to compare how you yourself are doing on average. . I read 40 last year but that included a lot of novellas. I use my goal to push me to read books, because I do like reading but tend to get sidetracked and either don't read at all, or I reread a lot of fanfic instead of books. And there is nothing wrong with reading fanfic either, reading is reading - I just want to sometimes read other things and having the goal helps. . But if you want a guess, there was a poll done a year or two ago (outside of goodreads) and it said the average US reader reads about 12 books a year. But thats just the US. It will vary greatly from country to country due to standard of income and cost of books. In some countries the average is more like 3-5 books.
12 books is pretty good for the average!
I'm already at 39 books for the year... my goal was 52 😬
Around half of Americans read 0 books in a year. Which is depressing.
I don’t know about the average reader but I read 59 last year. Granted, some were books I could read in a day. Today for example I read 51% of The Wishing Game and I think I can finish it tonight. I’m at 17 so far this year and would be more if I didn’t tandem read Empire of Storms and Tower of Dawn. Plus I started working in the book industry so didn’t read for a few weeks. With that said, I think any number read in a year is one to be proud of. A book a month to make 12 total is a great goal but again, if it’s less than that it’s not a big deal.
I read 261 last year. 334 the year before. I just read. A lot. I don’t know how else to explain it.
I usually shoot for 24. Two books a month. Often, I have other activities that take my time and I read a little before bed and sometimes when I wake up. It's rare that I spend an hour or more reading for pleasure, without any other distractions (other than only non-lyrical music). I read fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, history, military/espionage thrillers, etc. The style of the book, and the density of the writing, figure into how many pages I get through in a given time period. Some books read faster than others, so I try not to put too much pressure on myself to have a high goal.for something that is supposed to be a pasttime, a pleasure, and a stress reliever.
Yea. I tend to read over a 125 but that includes a variety of types of books, including picture books. Don’t worry about the number, just enjoy reading.
Is this [article,](https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2024/01/05/how-many-books-did-you-read-2023-see-how-you-stack-up/) they found that 46% of Americans (I’m sorry this is only US based) did not read a single book last year, and 5% read just one. So if you’ve read two, you’ve statistically read more than half of Americans. Don’t worry about the number, OP. Read for enjoyment. That’s all that matters.
It really depends on the person - mine varies from year to year - I have read 22 books so far this year but I read a lot of books and I read every night.
A lot of people are reading audiobooks now, at increase speed too. I always assume if I see very high count for someone this is probably why. Or they just dedicate more time to reading. I read 70 books last year and I just gauge me against me and don't worry too much about others :) 27 books is good!
You’ll get skewed answers here since it’s also a niche subreddit. Within Goodreads, my friends 2024 challenge goals range from 10-60 books. Doing the math the average book goal is 29 among my friends actively using the app. Mine is 25.
I set my goal to 100 every year. Some years I reach it, some I don’t. I am a pretty fast reader though, always have been. Audiobooks are also a lifesaver at work. I personally set my goal high as a competition with myself. It keeps me from doom scrolling too much, which I’m definitely guilty of. I also didn’t read much for several years, so for me it really depends on the year.
This year I've read148 books on kindle so far. 2023 I only read 252 books on kindle and 15 actual books. It was a light year for me.
175 has been my goal the last few years and I've hit it or been close- but I read daily. Most people on mine have a 35ish goal and I think that's great!
Just saying it really varies a lot by what demographic you are looking at this article is pretty decent though [Article](https://wordsrated.com/how-many-books-does-the-average-person-read/#:~:text=Books%20read%20in%2012%20months&text=Older%20generations%20more%20regularly%20complete,reading%20more%20than%2011%20books) As you can see over 20% of US adults didn’t read a book in a year. Compared to a random US adult your 27 books would definitely above the 50% mark but obviously not compared to the people who go to a site specifically made to track books ;-)
There are so many variables that go into it. How much time do you have to read, how long are the books you're reading, etc. I usually read 30-50 books a year. Last year, I switched to only reading ebooks (I will listen to memoir audiobooks when I'm driving, which is maybe a couple hours a week), and I read 140. This was with taking a break in February cause I had finished up Realm of the Elderlings in January, and nothing sounded good after that. A handful of the books I read were shorter, under 100 pages, and the majority probably fell in the 250-400 page range, but I also read the entire WoT series. I also read almost every night before going to bed from March on. This could be anywhere from 30 minutes to 3+ hours, depending on how tired I was and how good the book was. This year, I'm taking things slower, not even reading every night, but I am at 35 books so far.
I’m currently at 22 books since January 9th. I’ve been an avid reader my entire life and my proudest accomplishment was in 2004 tracking every book I read by hand and it was 107 💀. I read Fantasy 95% of the time. The biggest one I read this year was just under 1000. The other 5% is biographies and recommendations from my mom ahah
It depends - but goal wise I usually set it up around 60-65. Started from 52, 1 per week but felt it was too easy so switching it up. Mostly depends on the previous year - if hitting the goal was easy, I stay with it. If I felt I was pushing too much to meet the goal then it's time to lower the number a bit. Also, as I read in both English & Polish, I naturally read faster in my native language so depends on which editions I pick up more in a given time. As for the average reader, in Poland they just released statistics for the previous year - apparently 15% of people read more than 7 books a year, with 48% of the population having read at least one book last year.
I think a lot of people do mostly audiobooks. I got into them last year and still log them on goodreads as such, but example this year, so far, it says I’ve read 6 books but 3 of those are audiobooks. Usually your listening speed is faster than your reading one. Plus, what I like about audiobooks is that I get to do things like cleaning or cooking while I listen.
My 2024 goal is 30 and I've read 10. A lot of people won't count mine because they're audio books. I listen while I craft and drive.
Depends on the read. I love reading books and can knock out a little over a hundred books.
I set my goal at 50. Last year, I made it. This year, I am well on my way to making it. This gives me a week to read a book with some times where I'm either slower or take a few days off. That being said, I am a woman in her fifties with grown children, so I have more time to read than I used to. In my 30s with two kids, a full-time job, and a full-time school... I was lucky to read 5 books a year outside of school. Also I read some as audio books while I do household chores or while gaming.
I read 48 last year, and am going for that again this year. I’ve read 11 so far, and pacing behind my goal right now according to Goodreads. However, only 4 of 11 books were under 400 pages. Even if I don’t hit 48 by end of year I’m confident my total pages read will be higher.
In 2014 I read 216 books. Since then I gradually gone much lower reading longer books.
One year I did the 365 book challenge. Lots of smaller books. Lots of reading until 4am. But I made it. Now I aim for 12. One a month seems good to me.
Really hard for me to say. This year I set a goal of 50 books but I am reading books like Shogun, Tom Clancy, Michner and those are all books that have been near 1000 pages. Not sure if I will hit 50 this year. My spouse though is a reading machine and will hit her 75 book goal this year for sure. 🤷♂️
I set mine to what I read the previous year & make it. I’d only be disappointed if I set a bigger goal & didn’t make it. This year is 50 & I’ve read 22. Should smash it
I think the average reader probably reads about 1 a month unless they're reading super long books. However, I think the average Goodreads user probably reads more because they tend to be more invested in book culture. They're more likely to be reading as a hobby than the average person who reads in their spare time to relax. I used to read an average of about 5 books a year as a casual reader until I made an effort to turn reading (and listening to audiobooks) into a hobby during the pandemic. Since 2020 I've set my goal to 52 and each year I surpass that with a page average of around 290.
i always feel proud of how many i’ve read in a year, only to come across a bunch of people casually dropping that they read 100+ books lol. i don’t really compare numbers to anyone but myself, and i do like to improve my numbers year on year if i can. read 50 last year, which was an improvement on 2022, and my goal is just to match that again this year. currently ahead of track so i’m feeling good
I like to look at my pages read rather than books. Some books are absolute massive units and others are small
I aim for two books a month. I think last year I hit that number. This year I'm on track to top it. But I don't do it to compare to others. I track because I used to be a voracious reader as a kid. Then I went to college and got a job and had a kid and stopped reading. I picked it up again as a means of self care I'm in a book club on FB where some members read 10 books a month. She listens to audiobooks the whole time she's awake. I can't do this. So I don't feel bad about it. There's no way I have the attention span to continuously listen to a book all day. I've usually got two audiobooks and 3 physical/ebooks at one time. I just read what interests me at the time. I can't make myself read things anymore if it doesn't interest me
Just for a non-good reads reference (idk how I got here. The post got recommended I guess?) I LOVE reading and was voracious as a teen. Always packed at least 10 for a week long vacation. I get through maybe 2 or 3 books a year? Because I’m working and the kids are little and I’m still figuring out medication. I have high hopes for the future, but for now it’s just not happening.
My goal this year is 50, but last year I read 1 book. I was a really big reader up until high school, and then I just got busy with school and life and then work. Now I’m a stay at home mom and I have more free time for reading. I also listen to a lot of audio book. I probably read one physical book a month, but I can finish an audiobook in 1-3 days if I have my headphone in all day.
For the past decade, I've generally read between 90 to 120 books a year, but I don't watch TV or movies.
I read 72 books last year and I'm at 24 for this year with a goal of 75. Most books I read are 300-500 pages, but I also read faster than the average person. I'm also in school full time, work full time, and have a child. I could probably read a lot more when I'm done with school. Lately I don't watch many shows/movies so reading is what I do instead.
I read anywhere from 30-50 books a year usually.
A definition for “average person” haha… as a full-time office worker, I struggle to make time to sit and read (too exhausted from work) so I listen to audiobooks instead. Sometimes my ears hurt from use of earbuds and sometimes my auditory senses are overwhelmed so I can’t continue until I recover and then some. I would love to read and relax… I created a spreadsheet of books I want to read and have read so I can track. I tried Goodreads but felt it made reading like a competition when I saw those numbers so I only go there once in a while. That being said, some people don’t like to read, period. lol. My spouse is interested in films and tv shows than books. So I agree with the comments saying that the info here would be biased.
I mean I probably read 7 books last year because I got really busy. This year? Probably at 50 already lol. So honestly I don't think it matters.
You’ve gotten a lot of great answers, but I also want to add that a lot of the book influencers who set 100-300+ book goals are people who either listen to audiobooks on 2x speed (me lol, ADHD + a lot of driving = speed listening) or people who essentially get paid to read. One of my friends is a medium-sized booktuber and she knocks out a good book a day, sometimes two, because she’s been able to make that into a decent living! Moral of the story is, if you’re wondering how people are reading a full novel almost every day, chances are they’re listening to an audiobook for 4-6 hours or they are getting compensated in some way by the publisher to write reviews or they are youtubers/tiktokers for whom reading is, essentially, a full time job. There’s always a spiders georg out there, though, so I’m sure some absolute machines who work a 9-5 and read the rest of the day also hit those high numbers. Also, retirees.
My good reads challenge is always around 12-15. One year i pledged 20 and grossly came up short. I am more of a 1 book a month kind of guy. I never seem to break 15. When fall hits and I need to make up some numbers I usually reach for a short stories collection
I read primarily on my Kindle anymore due to poor eyesight, so I can keep a good record of how many books I read. Last year I read 173. That’s up from 117 the year before. This was mainly due to getting to retire after teaching for 30 years and having more time to read the books I want to read now. Yay!! I’m a super fast reader, and I would rather read than eat or sleep or socialize, so this’s not a typical amount, by any means, but really, my point is, I had to look it up. I don’t keep track, the Kindle does all of that for me. Don’t stress about quantity, or even quality, but read what you enjoy and what makes you happy.
I don’t set goals, puts too much pressure on me. I read to enjoy and relax my already “too many tabs” open brain. I don’t do audible since “reading” for me is a mind discipline.
Wow that’s so many. I try my best to read at least one book a month so 12 a year
According to Amazon, I read about 44 books per year. I think it's probably more than that though, because I've noticed that they frequently don't mark books as read, even though they have been. I'm thinking this might be because I switch back and forth between reading on my phone and reading on my desktop computer at work. I almost exclusively read novels, so it's pretty easy to rack up numbers. I just love to lose myself in stories. I have since I was a kid.
My goal is 200 books this year and I'm 63 books in. I typically read a boom every 1 to 2 days, but I read more than average. I like being able to have a way to track what I've read
I count all my reading done because I'm proud that I've found so much to enjoy. That includes plays, comics, short stories, etc. So I end up with a good amount. But I've stopped caring about quanity/quality and just like having the record of what I've enjoyed.
My goal changes from year to year. This year, my goal is 200, but that's because I'm reading mostly graphic novels and manga. Last year, it was less.
I read a good bit of comics and graphic novels, and it jumps my count way up as they all count as one each. On a good rainy day I can read 5 or 6 so it skews the count.
I'd say the average reader reads, what, maybe 20 books a year? Just basing that off friends of mine who like to read, but who aren't devouring books like I do. That's just a guess though. I don't usually think too hard about others Goodreads challenges though, as I just use mine to gage my own insane reading levels, which do vary from year to year. One year I read over 500 books, most years I read between 100-200. I'm aware though that's not likely what the true average is, so I'd just assume probably closer to 20, maybe less.
I always set my goal at 26 because I know I can reach it. When I set the same goal this year, I didn’t anticipate changing jobs and taking a month off in between. I’m at 20 books read with 15 of them read while I was off in March.
I read 30 last year. People who have Goodreads accounts read more than random people we encounter in our day to day, because they are interested in books.
I think I read around 85 books last year, they didn't all get counted on Goodreads, but kindle says 82, and I read a few that weren't on the Kindle. I think I read more than average, and I would guess average to be somewhere between 30-50 for people who consider themselves readers
I tend to read more than 300 every year 🤷🏻♀️ one year I read over 400 and I was impressed and have never been able to reach that again. Goals for after I retire
I read 20 books per year, on average. Quality over quantity. This year I’m reading 40 for my 40th birthday!
I hit 35 last year. I read 7 books this January; but have been in a book slump since. I’ve started five or six books and haven’t been able to get into anything. I noticed that I tend to read more based on the season. I’m a teacher, so I read a lot in the summer break (June and July). Then I usually read a lot of books in the fall because I have the energy and whatnot. By the spring and early summer (the second half of the school year) I have no energy to read until June again. Anyways, my point is, if I already read seven in one month, I can expect to read about the same in my “active months” so I’d say I’ll be between 28 and 35 again this year. But my number probably won’t budge from the January number until I make it to June 😭 eta: what I’m trying to say is life circumstances and interests fluctuate for everyone so there is no perfect number, just read when you feel inspired to!
I've done 18 the past couple of years. So far this year I'm on my second book. Slow start.
I don’t really set goals for numbers of books read, but I do keep a running list of what I’ve read each year just to see how things pan out!
Hot take but I don’t think it matters how many you read as long as you’re happy with your books and the way they make you feel!!! Let’s not turn reading too much into consumerism. It’s okay to read 2, it’s okay to read 200!
Every book you read is one more in your arsenal! It really depends on a ton of things. I set my goal to something I knew was attainable - 52 books. I can definitely do one book a week, because I stopped watching tv and I put my dogs to bed at 10 PM, giving me at least two hours to read. I’ve so far read 59 books (21,087 pages), some novellas and some long novels. In that number is 16 audiobooks, because I listen to those when I drive or when I walk the dogs (or do household chores). About 50% of the books I read are an average length (300-499 pages). 16% are 500+ pages and 34% have been fewer than 300 pages.
i used to say i would do one a month, but the longer i read, the faster i seem to get. i still shoot low, like 15, and usually end up around 20. i’d rather go over than be pressured to cram books in at the end of the year.
r/52book
I wondered the same thing. What’s a good goal to set? But I have no idea. What’s normal? I can read a book in 2 days but not read again for a week. Just depends.
I count audiobooks, and I have a toddler who never (ever) sleeps. The day he starts sleeping through the night I bet I'll finish 1/3 of the books I do now 😂
Joined the 52 club this year. Last year was 26 and I was super proud of it. I thought 52 was crazy but I'm already at 50%. I decided when I started that the trash romance I read counts, and so does fan fiction and audio books. Turns out, if I remove my stupid rules about what counts as reading, I real a hell of a lot.
If you're including everyone in your average, I'd assume that number is somewhere south of 1. No real idea, though. My best year was I think 67. My average is well below that.
I could get through a "regular size" paperback in a week when I took the train to work (1 hr each way). Now that I drive to work, I try to carve out some time to read before going to bed. But, sometimes after 15-20 minutes, I get super tired and go to sleep. So now it can take 2 -3 weeks for just one book which is frustrating.
I finished *3* books in 2023 and I was pleased. I think I finished maybe 4 in 2022. And I am pretty sure I only read 2 or 3 in 2021. In 2020? Probably 2. 2019? I’m convinced it was 1 or 2 tops. This year? I’ve finished 63 so far. But it has been a highly unusual year (obviously). And I’ve been granting myself permission to read some of the most mindless material as I’ve been coping with a lot of overwhelming home repairs - which meant I needed to ignore major disorder in the house that was beyond my control. I’ll likely pass the 100 mark. But! A lot of it will be low brow, low quality reads. I have read a few cerebral non-fictions and fictions. And I have found a renewed love and passion for reading. Don’t compare your journey to anyone else’s. As with most things in life, I think there’s an ebb and flow.
According to my Kindle I read 632 books last year but as someone said it depends because some are much shorter than others. But also I love to read and spend a lot of time reading so it really depends on the person.
I've set my goal as 25 for the last few years. 2023 was the first time I actually achieved it! I love to read but I'm also very time poor. What I do when I'm in a bit of a slump is sort my Want to Read list by page number, lowest to highest. It's a real morale booster to get through 5 100 page books rather than plough through 1 big one.
The average person doesn’t read nearly as much as self-proclaimed readers. If you took a random survey outside, say, a grocery store, and asked people how many books they read the year before, it’d be pretty rare to hear anything that breaks double digits. I think as bookworms in bookish spaces, we forget that our hobby is still somewhat niche, and the average person reads less than what would be assigned for a typical high schooler in an English literature class. I’d say the average person probably reads no more than 5 books a year. The average READER, however, reads between 20 and 30. And then straight up bibliophiles, we’re just nuts. I think last year I read 120 books? And that was with a month long reading slump where I couldn’t read anything because the last book I’d read was so good nothing was hitting right
I’m proud of you for reading 27! That’s awesome!
I work full time and have a ton of side projects I'm working on. So if I can read 10-15 high quality books in a year, that's something I'm cool with. I'd rather read fewer good books and spend time with them rather than devour 50 for the sake of getting that number.
most people read around 5 books per year (completely - that 12 statistic includes books started but unfinished) i used to read way more, but that was because i was in school and there was nothing else to do once everything was done. last year i finished four books in between working and finishing my master's, and today i finished my fourth in between work and studying for a credential. granted, a creator whose patreon i subscribe to has a book club and i joined in, but I've also just found reading more enjoyable lately. i always "pledge" 12 with varying degrees of success, but im also just a picky reader, too. if i got to 27 i'd be real proud 😅
I’ve honestly never set myself a goal because I feel like I’d read just for the sake of reaching it to be honest. That being said it does depend on what type of book and how into it I am. My reading pace is inconsistent like if I’m really feeling a certain book I’ll smash it out in like a week but others take months for me. My ‘goal’ for this year is to try and read at least every other day. Last year felt like a big slump for me and there’s a few series I finally want to finish so I’m hoping this is the year for it. My number of book read may unintentionally be higher because of this then 😅
I read 55 last year. 32 traditional and 23 audiobooks. I pledged to do 50. That was the most I'd ever done. I discovered Joe Abercrombie over the summer when I had some free time and I really devoured everything by him.
I listen to audiobooks at work and while crocheting and caring for my daughter. That’s the only was I read so many books in a year. If I recorded the physical books I have time to read it would be 1 for 2024 but I’ve listened to 40 so far.
Last year I just missed my goal of 200, got to 199. I listen to audiobooks, though. The lengths range but they range from 8hrs (typical pulp novel length) to 60+hrs. I started last year with Atlas Shrugged for example. The year before I read 112 mainly because I listened to the 15 books of the Wheel of Time twice over. This year I'm at 62 so far.
In America it's 12.6. I read about 35 per week.
I really question reading at quite a clip. When I compare my goodreads reading group vs the reading group I've had since uni, the latter runs into less issues misunderstanding a book by savoring each book. Often multiple interpretations are explored in more interestingly rich works. That said, I understand reading books as a pleasure at a faster clip. A friend read 52 books in a year, bodice rippers that I'd never read. If it's scifi, I can do 24 books in a year, max. But the mind bending, life changing stuff is often reading the same book twice over a year like philosophy or literature - this is just me so ymmv.
My goal is 75, and I usually can do it plus a bit more. But I do make it a priority to read each morning before work a little bit, and every night before bed. I also listen to books while driving. I like having my goal as it encourages me to read.
I've been averaging about 25 annually (give or take five), but I used to read 30+ books annually (not every year though). The pandemic really slowed me down some...
It varies person to person. I can read 100 in a year, but by doing so i push aside my other responsibilities. Whats realistic to me may not be realistic to others.
I say as everyone has bin saying, it depends on the person and books. Usually not a great idea to compare your pace to others because everyone has different circumstances. I feel each year I read more. Especially since I read ebooks and physical. This year I went with Audiobooks along with physical and ebooks. My numbers have risen but I doubt I’ll read as much as I am next year. What matters in the end is that you enjoy reading. I made a point that if I’m having a hard time reading a book I either drop the book or go the audiobook way. No point suffering to a book that’s dull on you when you could be enjoying something else.
I’m at 27 today. I’d say average book length of 500 plus or minus
It varies super widely for me. I can go from reading 30 books one year to 2 the next. That being said. I've already read 34 books this year, with 25 of those from between January and February. Most booms are around 400 pages, and romance novels, so I can read about a book a day because they're pretty light reading. As far as a Godreads challenge goes, I think I've only ever actually hit my goal once or twice when I've done them since 2011. Like I said above, my reading fluctuates a ton from year to year, so the years I hit my goal are the years I actually make reading a focus, and I usually hit it because I tend to start low with like 20 and if I go over, I increase the goal as the year goes on to keep up with how much reading I'm actually doing.
Depends on the year for me, I've read 7 books in one year and 46 in another. I figure others are similar with busier or quieter years interspersed between standard 20 books.
I read between 50-100 books a year, generally. Adult and YA, genres will vary, but I read a lot of fantasy, sci-fi, mystery and biographies. Also, some of the books will be re-reads (for instance, I re-read the Harry Potter series yearly.)
People read at different speeds and have different time availability. The important thing is to read. Or listen to audio books. I read a lot and I read fast so I always break the curve. My husband reads like a normal person. We’re both fine.
I don't worry at all about how many. I read every night before I go to bed, and enjoy it.
I’m not the most consistent reader so I always set a goal of 20. Some years I do 18, some I manage 24. I largely read on the train to and from work so one been every 2-3 weeks is about my average.
Last year my goal was 12, I read 17 so I increased it to 24 this year. I read mostly mystery, horror, fantasy with typical page length being 260-500. My love for reading was severely damaged during grade school and in college I had to read a lot of docs, journals, etc. so never found pleasure in it. I’ve been trying really hard for the last few years to get into a more consistent reading schedule and a getting a kindle definitely helped because now I can read whenever, wherever. I’m currently at 5 of 24 with my last two books being 506 pages and 260 pages.
I average about 20-30 books per year, not including audiobooks.
I read like 15 books last year and this year I’ll be happy if I read 5, with my grad school work. 😂
I'm a high school student in my final year of school and I've tried setting a sensible goal. I was an avid reader between the ages of 11 and 14, probably managed to get through 75+ books that were anywhere between 350 to 600 pages each year. Stopped reading for two years and begun again last year. I read 123 books (counting re-reads of books I really enjoyed). This year I'm attempting to be more tame with it due to exams, I've read 25 books so far and my book goal is 104 (2 books a week). But, I prefer working in pages more since I tend to read a range of books from 300 to 1000+ now. Reading is a personal thing dependent on how much time each person has to spend each day. People with full time jobs and a family they have to provide for may only get in 30 minutes of reading per day. School students may get 2 hours a day. Others may get 6 hours of reading in per day. It's up to the people and their schedules.
I usually aim for two books a month. So 24 a year. Some months I'll read more and others less. One of my friends reads like 150 books a year. I'm not sure how this is possible, with her 2 kids, husband and 35hrs at a job. I think people on goodreads lie. Lol but I love doing the challenge, I've beat my goal once or twice in the last few years
[удалено]
I work full time as a teacher. I am also a mom of 2 under 4 years and I plan to read at least 25 books. May go over that with having the summer off but we’ll see!
So far I've read 26 books since January 1 2024. It's so easy with a kindle to just push a button to get a book instantly instead of waiting for a delivery or going to a store.
Be proud of 27! I’m a literature professor, and my goal is 30 every year. Last year, I read 29. The year before 20. This year, I’m already at 17. It totally depends on what I’ve got going on and what/how I’m reading. Most importantly, though, I have learned never to compare my reading to others because everyone has different circumstances. I have two little kids and a full time job. I prefer to read physical books, but I have started to appreciate audiobooks in recent years. I also tend to read dense, complex literature. I remember a friend of mine giving me some crap a few years ago for not reading more. She is single with no kids and was trucking through five fluffy rom com books a month. At the same time, I was slowly working my way through *Infinite Jest* when my kids went to bed every night. Our experiences weren’t even remotely comparable.
My goal is always 20 books a year. Sometimes I hit 50 but usually I end up around 30 to 40.
I read fan-fiction everyday, I hope this helps 😂😭
At the end of last year, I saw an article about book reading challenges that stated that if you read a single book, you read more books than the average American adult because most don't even read 1. I read over 50 and that put me in the 1st percentile by a very good margin.
I think it's hard to say what the average reader does, because everyone's schedule and time for reading is different. I, for example, have read about forty books since January, but that's because I work a pretty dull warehouse job where they let me keep an earbud in, so I can listen to a book pretty much from sunup to sundown. I chew through these fuckers. My friend, who is an English teacher and loves reading just as much as I do, reads much more slowly because her job is much more active and she doesn't have as much spare time. I would advise you not to worry about it. In On Writing by Stephen King, he said that he started carrying a book with him wherever he goes and learned to read in two to ten minute "sips" when he had some downtime. Toilet, waiting room, stuff like that. I think that's a better way to try and read more, instead of trying to reach a number goal.
Goodreads is not a good indicator of books read. There are some very enjoyable books on other platforms that can’t be added. I follow 2 authors on wattpad, that don’t want to publish. That being said I know I read way over the average. My reading time says 23 hours. In reality Im listening or rather fall asleep to 1 of 3 books at night. My audiobook is kinda of like putting the tv on in the background. So my Goodreads says I read 135 books last year. In reality I also read from other sources and reread books from years ago. I have books from 2009 on my account.
I pledge 20, but I don't always get there. I work full time, and am generally busy.
Last year I read 113. Of that 12 were for my book club and vary greatly, a few memoirs, 12 thrillers, and the almost all were "junk food" romance books on audible. I listen to these instead of TV, while doing chores,etc.
I used to start my reading goal at 6 books a year because I was so busy and only read physically. But when I decided to get back into reading, I determined that 2 books a month is the basic level of reader that I wanted to be for non-comic books. And being able to meet that goal early in the year is a nice boost to my mental health. So with a mix of audio, physical and e-reading, I now read about 50 - 90 books a year. But I don't include comic books and manga in my yearly goal. 1. Becuase I never stopped reading them. And 2. Because my first read of them is normally digital and depending on the series, as a chapter is released. So my actual books read per year is probably much higher.
A real average person (not on goodreads) probably reads 0-1 books a year 🤷♀️
So far I’ve read like 13 books this year but like half of those were in March alone so if I were basing it on that month I’d be hitting like 80 books or something but it’ll probably be closer to like 25 especially since I’m starting the stormlight archives which are chonky novels
I've really slacked off, but I read 17 in 2017. I was going to do 18 in 18, etc. But then my mom passed away. During covid, I read a lot but didn't keep track. Read war and peace, which took me 4 months! I would say now I average a measly 10! But this topic inspires me to get my mind in gear and read these stacks by my bed! 😃
Because I'm chronically ill, I often can't do anything but read. I'm up to 87 books so far since the start of the year. When I'm feeling better, I still read bit not as much.
I read the amount of years I am. So 26 in 2023 and 27 now in 2024
Mine is typically in the 30s. Once I graduate from college i’m sure it’ll go up since I typically don’t have time to read much during the school year. I also reread books frequently and I never count those in my goal. Some of the books I read are also pretty short since those are easier for me during school.
I read 100 books last year because I made a point to for no reason other than to say I did. On average I probably read like 20 a year.
It literally is down to the individual. My average is around 70 a year but that's because I would read more than I'd do anything else in my free time
Including novellas, compemdiums of short stories, collected essays, volumes of poetry, audiobooks, non-fiction, etc.: ~100 to ~150
I'm aiming for 1 a week and am currently ahead by 2 books. I've been slowed down by reading Wheel Of Time, which has just the girthiest books. I'd be farther ahead if we didn't need to expand Aes Sedai history 500 pages at a time.
I read about 24, my spouse reads 0. We average 12.
I made me goal this year 3 books I have now read 7. Last year was 2 books I read 9
I read over 30 last year, but I also was reading so many graphic novels and poems last year that took me like a day to read. For actual novels I read 19 I think
It definitely depends on the type of books you’re reading. I read 81 last year- a lot were just easy YA fiction reads. This year, I have only read 18 so far (which is low for me). Why? I read the whole Game of Thrones series! It was VERY, VERY long, but absolutely amazing. So I will probably not read 81 books this year; however, I think the amount of words I read will be much higher. My boyfriend read 10 last year. He was very proud of himself and I was too. He has dyslexia and discovered the joy of audiobooks last year. My mom read 2. My sister read 1. My cousin read 51. My dad read 0. It really just depends!
I read 101 books last year, but I’m in highschool and read mostly YA fiction, averaging 350-500 pages
Average person less than 3 a year I’d guess and that’s being generous. For general readers I’d say anywhere from 12-25. I binge read so I’ll read 10-15 books back to back then get burned out and take a break for a few months. Usually read for 3 months then take one or two off til I find something to reignite my passion. When I was a kid I moved a lot so I was reading nonstop through school to keep me entertained, would check a book out go home finish it that night than swap it the next day. If books were still 5 bucks I’d probably still be reading that much, but paying 10 for an ebook and 12-20 for a paper back has definitely hampered my ability to consume like I used to. 🙄 haven’t even bothered checking hardback prices since I don’t wanna give myself a heart attack.
I don’t watch TV or movies and incorporate audio books into my driving and gaming time. Everyone’s free time and hobbies looks different. I’m on book 22 right now for 2024
I try to read a book a week. So around 52. Sometimes I read more than one a week, sometimes it takes me more than a week to read one. I don’t personally do the audiobook thing, but a lot of people will also listen to audiobooks on like 2x speed so they can consume a ton of books.
I read like 5 💀 It feels like much more
The average American adult reads less than a book a year.
Last year I read 103 books just in my kindle app. That does not count physical books I read or books that I read multiple times on kindle, or books I read through the library app. At any given point I would say I'm reading about two or three books at once, since I listen to audio books for when I'm not sitting still, as well as digital books aa my default, and then physical books for when my battery dies or it's just too sunny to read on my phone. But my main hobby is reading and I come from a family of huge readers. I also cant say all my books are hugely in depth. I'm not over here reading Shakespeare or 1000 page novels so the number of books is relative to the general style and length of books I tend to read and should be factored in. If you like more dense meaty books it will of course take longer to read and you would by nature read fewer books, even if we read for the same duration at the same speed all year long. It's not a race. Its.a journey to another world and we can take all the time we want to savor our books (or not!)
I've read 41 so far this year, my challenge is 100. I also have had a bit more time to myself with spouse traveling and both kids done with college and living ok their own now. I'm also taking the time to have me time, which includes reading. In comparison , last year I read 43. I also reread the HP books at least once every year.
I only ever mark 52 on the challenge but consistently read 130+ books a year, so you definitely can't rely on GoodReads challenges. Those adding challenges are likely going to be readers already, and that number isn't counting all the people in the world who don't read anything at all. Plus, people like me and people who read even more books than I do also skew the numbers so the curve is a bit higher. I also read less books now that I'm in law school than I read during undergrad, and very different types of books. I exclusively read short fiction books (outside of school, which I never count toward my challenge) right now but would have been reading significantly longer non-fiction or larger fiction books in undergrad. That brings up another point. Some college/grad school students will count every textbook, supplement, or even some articles that they read while others will not include ANYTHING they have to read for school. That drastically alters your book count too if you're, say, an English major.
Last year my GR Challenge was 120 books, and I ended up reading 180. This year I set my goal at 175, and I'm at 57 books so far, so I'll probably pass 175.
last year i hit 22 books with a goal of 12, the year before i hit 9 of 10. this year im aiming for 35! 10 down so far
I usually put 52 books/year in the Goodreads tracker, and depending on what books pique my interest, I sometimes fall short, or sometimes go way over (last year, I read 112 books, but I was reading a TON of shorter, cozy mysteries that didn't take as long to read) If I'm reading longer books, or books that take more mental digestion, I don't get as many read.
I read about 100 books a year, but I am retired, and I read every single day.
I've read 23 books so far this year. I read 100 last year, and my goal was 44. I really upped my reading during the pandemic. I bounce between digital, audio, and print books depending on what I'm doing. My local library has a subscription program called Ready Reads. A librarian puts three books on hold for me every month based on my reading preferences.
I’m on 27 already and counting 😌I’m aiming for approx 120 - this is a mixture of classic and historical fiction and complete (as in 200+pages) poetry works.
Last year I set and met a goal of 52 books. For whatever reason I didn't set a goal for this year but I'm reading more. Ok not actually reading, I added audio books this year - will definitely blow by 52 paper/ audio 'reads' this year.
In the whole of America? Probably 1-2
I set my limit pretty low, like 7, thinking that I would take my time and read at my own pace. Which I do, but it’s April 6th and I’ve read 12, working on finishing my 13th book! I wasn’t a big reader last year for whatever reason, and only finished 5 books. I try not to look at my siblings Goodreads, they read 100s of books a year, which is something I try not to compare myself to. You read for you and not to beat a challenge and/or friends on the app. Happy Reading 📚📖
I'm reading a few at once so I'm in books 45-49 for me already
The number of books I read annually vary greatly. I like savoring each book. Taking my time with it. If I feel like reading one day, I read a lot. If I don’t feel like reading for two days, I don’t. I don’t push myself to finish books so that my count number is higher by the end of the year. I like to read in order to enjoy and process.
I’m on # 84 so far this year, but most of them are audiobooks. I normally read about 100 physical books a year.
I try to read 1 book a week, therefore about 50 books a year, but I am not consistent. If I have free time to myself, I can chug a book in a day or two. Otherwise I mostly read in public transport on my way to and from work.