How many books should you be reading?

You should probably be reading between 35 and 50 books per year at minimum. Keep reading to see how I arrived at that number, then check out today’s writing prompt at the bottom of this post.

If you are in a reading rut or find yourself in reading ruts frequently, this might be a question you find yourself asking often: How many books should I be reading? 

But it's probably the wrong question to ask yourself first because at various points in your life the answer should probably be different. When you're studying college courses or starting a new job or becoming a parent [enter any other major life stage or change here], the number of books you read weekly, monthly, or annually will likely change. And that's okay. Plus, some books are physically longer and or simply just take longer to read. 

However, tracking the number of books you read can still prove useful and keep you reading on a recurring if not daily basis, so I highly recommend it. As long as you come up with realistic reading goals, enjoy reading overall, and fit reading into your lifestyle, then tracking the number of books you read can actually be fun. And as long as you don't allow others’ reading goals and habits to intimidate or overwhelm you either, which is one of the few downsides of online groups like #bookstagram where everyone posts about their reading goals often. 

Yet I still don't think tracking only the number of books you read matters, as you should also be tracking the types of books you're enjoying and engaging with the most so that you can find more and more of those books to read. Because the more books you read that you enjoy, the more you'll want to continue reading. 

Ultimately, however, I think what matters more than the number of books you read every month or year is that you read every day—yes, every single day—and that you make reading a part of your daily lifestyle. 

Even if you only read for an hour before bed or while you're on a lunch break or while you drink your morning coffee, or you decide to listen to an audiobook during your commute, you should make it a point to read every single day if you want to maintain a healthy reading habit and read more books overall. 

Make reading a part of what you do every day, no matter what, by fitting it into your daily lifestyle where it will fit in naturally, and you will end up reading more books than you can possibly imagine long-term. 

Just accept that you will never magically get time to read and that you need to make time to read. And if you read at the right time for you every day, reading won't ever seem like a chore but will be something you look forward to doing, and you'll eventually crave your reading time. 

Maintaining this daily reading habit is what will get you reading anywhere between 35 and 50 books per year, at minimum. How did I get that number? Well, the average person reads about 40 pages per hour. Multiply that (40) by the number of days in a year (365) and you get about 14,600 pages worth of reading done per year if you read for at least one hour per day. The average book is about 325 pages, so divide 14,6000 by that number and you get ~45— hence the range of 35 to 50 books per year, which also allows for various lengths of books and fluctuations in schedules over the course of that year.

Please don't let the math deter you. Basically, what I am saying is that if you maintain a daily reading habit of one hour per day, you should end up reading anywhere between 35 and 50 books per year. Just make your reading hour(s) convenient and enjoyable by ensuring it fits into your daily lifestyle. 

What do you think about this topic? Leave a comment to join this dialogue. And don’t forget to share this post with others who might also find it interesting. 

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Today’s Writing Prompt