Setting reading goals for adults can be challenging yet rewarding. Over the years of reading 100+ books per year, I’ve learned how to set and achieve SMART reading goals for myself effectively, and I am here to share my strategies. Whether you are a newbie or an avid reader, you’ll broaden your reading experience and get printables to track your accomplishments. Your new and improved literary journey starts below!
25 Examples of Reading Goals for Adults to Set
For Beginners
If you’re new to focusing on reading and want to develop good reading habits, these goals will help you read more, discover books you’ll actually enjoy, and be more accountable about reading. These goals can be crucial to the success of new readers.
- Read more books.
- Keep a list of books to read.
- Read more of what you already like.
- Spend more time reading.
- Participate in a reading challenge.
- Join a book club.
- Buy a book subscription.
- Track your reading.
- Quit reading books you start but don’t like.
I recommend that new readers commit to a certain number of pages or books per day, week, month, or year. Alternatively, you can choose an amount of time to commit to reading. This was the first reading goal I set, and it sent me on a life-changing journey.
Reading Tip: A good daily reading goal is ten pages or minutes daily. It’s very realistic to achieve, yet it also sets you up to finish reading about one book per month.
As a beginner, you should also spend time deciding what books to read. To do this quickly, consider the books you already liked and search for similar ones. Or, let others do the work for you by participating in a reading challenge (like my Rory Gilmore reading challenge, winter reading challenge, and summer reading challenge), a social media community like Bookstagram, or a book club (like my Rory Gilmore Book Club).
I also recommend that beginners track their reading and use reading calculators because it both keeps you on course and feels satisfying. (Try The Literary Lifestyle’s Reading Journal or create a reading journal.)
Lastly, beginners should know that quitting the books you don’t like is ok! I’ve seen so many readers get in a reading slump because they feel like they “have to” finish a book, which causes them to procrastinate and fall behind. I’m here to tell you that quitting is for winners in this circumstance.
For Intermediate Readers
If you’re ready to move on to more diverse reading goals, these intermediate goals help you broaden your literary horizons and get outside your reading comfort zone.
- Read different genres.
- Read more diverse books.
- Read from more debut/indie authors.
- Read an entire series.
- Read the entire catalog of an author.
- Read more “backlist books” than newly published books.
- Read the books you already own.
- Read in a different format(s).
- Learn a new skill through books.
- Pair your reading with a real-life event, like watching the movie adaptation, traveling to a book location, or attending an author event.
Once you’re doing well with developing your reading habit, branch out by testing different genres and authors, formats (like audiobooks, graphic books, or Kindle ebooks), and books about different people, places, or things.
At this point, you may also be influenced on social media by flashy new books that don’t live up to your expectations, so instead, you can reel things in and commit to a series or older books. This was my favorite intermediate reading goal because I missed out on many excellent books released before I read so heavily.
Lastly, the intermediate level is a great time to incorporate reading into your real life more with literary travel and cooking recipes from your books. It makes reading a more holistic experience!
For Advanced Readers
Finally, if the above reading goals sound like a piece of cake, it’s time for a hard challenge. These goals force you to think of reading in new and different ways.
- Organize or declutter your bookshelves.
- Learn how to read multiple books at once.
- Read something that’s “hard.”
- Re-read your favorite books.
- Read fewer books.
- Buy fewer books.
Once readers reach the expert level, their shelves can get out of control, so it’s a good time to de-clutter, engage in less reading (and book buying), and/or learn to read more efficiently.
Reading Tip: An impressive reading goal is consuming long, hard classic books or books in another language.
Believe it or not, many readers of The Literary Lifestyle do this, and it amazes me! Personally, I commit to reading a big book each season because it forces me to pick it up yet feels less daunting over a few months.
Lastly, since you’ve already accomplished much in your reading life, it’s a good idea to revisit a book that sparked the most joy in your past reading life. This can be especially fun if you read it a long time ago. It’s one of those things that we say we want to do but never actually get around to doing. It’s almost guaranteed to make you feel good!
Importance of Setting Reading Goals
Setting reading goals first begs the question, “Why?” The answer comes down to the many benefits of reading, from learning something new to sharpening your communication skills and improving your mental health.
While this can be accomplished without setting reading goals, taking the time to do so can better set you up for success and push you further than you thought possible.
“Over 1,000 studies have consistently shown that setting high and specific goals is linked to increased task performance, persistence, and motivation, compared to vague or easy goals.”
– Frontiers in Psychology
I experienced this myself when I got back into reading several years ago. Halfway through the year, I noticed I was reading a lot and thought, “What if I could read 50 books this year?” It felt daring yet achievable, and once I vocalized this and started tracking it on GoodReads, I quickly and easily made it a reality.
Over the years, I’ve since reached many reading goals, including reading 100+ books per year for several years in a row. I can whittle my feelings about these achievements into one word: satisfaction.
That’s exactly why these reading goals are so important.
How to Reach Your Reading Goals
“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”
— Napoleon Hill
Once you set your reading goals, you need a plan to achieve them. To reach your reading goals, you can use the popular acronym SMART to get started:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time
Here’s how the SMART principles work for me in action. As mentioned at the beginning of this post, I first succeeded in reaching my reading goals when I:
- defined a challenging yet realistic numeric goal (52 books),
- broke my goal down to a definitive timeline (one year),
- and tracked my reading (GoodReads).
Here are a few more actionable tips that help me reach my reading goals and can help you, too:
Reading Tips
- Be accountable to someone. (For example, I publicly share my yearly reading goal on GoodReads.)
- Break big reading goals into small steps. (I read only ten pages a day of long and/or hard books.)
- Set a page and/or time goal every time you read to help you stay on track on a micro level.
- Prioritize your reading goal over something else, like watching TV or scrolling on social media. (I move my phone out of reach to avoid digressions.)
- Be positive about your reading goals. It’s hard to reach any goal with a negative mindset. (For many people, this means overcoming the sentiment, “I don’t have time.”)
Reading Goal Trackers
To help you be SMART in setting and reaching your reading goals, I created the following free reading logs for you to download and use:
Printable PDF Reading Goals Log
Instagram Story Template
Related Post: Free Bookstagram Story Templates
Final Thoughts
Setting these reading goals for adults greatly improves the chance of achieving them and enjoying all the benefits of reading, whether you are a new or advanced reader. Remember to be SMART in setting and reaching for your goals.
For more self-help, check out the best self-help books of all-time, especially and Atomic Habits, a massively bestselling practical book on sticking with habits), and these tips for reaching your reading goals.
remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
