I hit 50 books this year and it totally flipped how I pick my next read

For years I was the person who finished one book and immediately grabbed whatever was on the bestseller list at Barnes and Noble. But after number 48, a memoir about a guy hiking the Appalachian Trail, I realized I was just going through the motions. What convinced me was hitting that round number and seeing the pattern: I remembered almost nothing from the first 30 books. Now I actually look up reviews and ask my book club for recommendations before starting anything new. Has anyone else hit a specific reading count that made them rethink their whole approach?

2 comments

2 Comments

briannguyen7d ago

Got 60 books in last year and I actually remember the first 30 better than the last 30. The ones I grabbed on a whim from library displays stick with me more than the carefully curated book club picks. Number 50 to 60 were all planned out with reviews and recommendations and they just blurred together. Might just be me but overthinking the process made it less fun, not more.

simonreed7d ago

Yo I actually gotta disagree a bit here. For me, the planning and reviews help me stay excited about reading instead of just grabbing random stuff that might be a dud. I think the last 30 you read might of blurring together cause you were burned out from reading so fast, not cause of how you picked them. Like if you space out your picks more and mix in some planned reads with random grabs you might get more out of both. To me overthinking is just making sure I don't waste time on something that wont stick, but I get why you feel that way.