How I Plan on Reading 100 Books in 2019

Alright, folks. I’m starting the year with a big challenge for myself. I’m going to try and read 100 books. 

A few people noticed this goal and wondered how the heck am I going to read 100 books in a year?! Let me tell you about my plans.

I feel like the past few years has been an attempt towards this goal. Every year, I read a little bit more and last year, I read so much I almost touched the 100 mark. 2018 was probably the closest I got at 93 books. However, last year’s goal wasn’t my original plan, so I wasn’t prepared to hit 100 at a pace suitable for me. I could rush the end, but why do that when you’ve got the whole year?

So I did some math. Please indulge me for a second.

After looking over my years past, I noticed I can read about eight books in a month. That’s about two books a week. Not bad especially at the rate I read and what feasibly works for me. If I were to read exactly 8 books every month for the entire year, 8×12=96 books read in the year. Wow, I’d be four books from 100.

But I want to get over the 100-book hump, so if I add one extra book every month and read 9 books in a month, then I’ll be at 9×12=108 books. 

Since my goal is to get to 100 books, I decided to make monthly TBRs consisting of no more than nine books. And since I don’t have to hit nine books every month, I can easily take breaks if I’m feeling burned out. I could also technically assign one extra book every quarter and that would equate to 100 books in the year.

Math aside, you might be thinking that there are other factors going into reading 100 books. You’re absolutely right! So I put together a few tips on how I’m planning on reaching 100 books read and I hope these tips work well for you.

Take it a book at a time

Like they say with tasks, take it one at a time. Start with setting your TBR every month with books across your favorite genres. Don’t worry about the new shiny books coming out. Just worry about what you want to read and then read them.

Take time to recover if you’re feeling burned out

If you’re following my lead in reading nine books a month, take breaks. 2-3 books a week can be a daunting task especially if you like reading big books. If you’re feeling burnt out, perhaps you skip your last book and make it the first read next month. Why? Because if you’re burnt out, you’re more likely to resent a book you feel you have to read. Avoid reading as a chore and enjoy every moment of it. If you don’t like it, don’t read. You’ll be grateful for taking the break.

Don’t punish yourself if you can’t reach your goals

I’ve mentioned this in the past, but the reason why people don’t make reading challenges for themselves is because they aren’t happy with their end result. Trust me, I’ve been there. I’ve cried and thrashed just because I didn’t read all the books I assigned myself in a month. But these are just goals. Not reaching a goal at the end of the year is a good data point to assess. You can use that in the future to determine what worked and what didn’t work for you. Don’t stress if you can’t make the goal. It’s just a sign that you need to make adjustments to reach the goal next time.

It’ll take time

The last piece of advice I can give you is to give it time. I think it took me about four years to get to this point. I worked my way up slowly increasing my reading challenge every year. If this is your first attempt at reaching 100 books read in a year and you’re only reading about 25 books a year, don’t attempt it. Take it slowly and eventually you’ll be there.