Reading is Not a KPI

“Whether you’re going for 1 book or 100…” — Goodreads

There it is: the annual reading challenge.

A little number sits quietly on your screen, waiting to be conquered. Goodreads encourages readers to set a goal, track their progress and see how their friends are doing. You can even collect digital achievements along the way.

It sounds harmless.

But when did reading become something we have to achieve?

I love books. I love the weight of them, the smell of them, the feeling of reaching the final page. I love getting lost in a story so completely that I forget to check the time.

But there is something strange about watching a hobby become another number to chase.

Suddenly, reading 50 books is impressive. Reading 100 is extraordinary. Reading 10 can somehow feel like falling behind.

The numbers tell a different story. According to a 2026 Pew Research Center survey, 38% of U.S. adults read between one and five books in 2025, while only 14% read more than 20.

So why does 20 suddenly feel like failure?

Perhaps it is because reading has become another form of productivity. We track pages, set targets, count books, and watch the little progress bar inch towards completion.

We have turned something wonderfully unproductive into something measurable.

There is even a strange guilt attached to slowing down. A 600-page novel might take weeks, but if your reading goal is ticking away, those weeks start to look like lost progress. A book that once asked only for your attention now seems to ask for your efficiency, too.

Even Goodreads describes seeing friends’ reading progress as either “mutual support or competition.” Goodreads

And perhaps that is the problem.

Reading was never supposed to produce anything.

No deadline. No promotion. No quarterly review.

Just a chair, a book and somewhere else to be for a while.

But a book is not a treadmill.

You do not have to read faster to have enjoyed it more.

Maybe the rebellious thing is not reading 100 books this year. Maybe it is reading one magnificent book slowly, putting it down when you want to, and refusing to feel guilty about the number beside your name.

Read more. Read less. Just remember why you started reading.