My Slow and Gentle Reading Goals

slow down & dig deeper

It has been five years since I started setting yearly reading goals. It started with just 20 books every year, then 30, then 40, and last year was 45. I mostly met my goals, except for last year. So I should say having concrete goals has significantly enriched my reading life. Although having goals in number motivated me to always put reading on the top of my mind, I often went from one book to the next, taking little time to pause and think about the book I just finished, because time was ticking and I got to meet my goals.

How I decide what to read is pretty ordinary. I relied on recommendations from friends, podcasts, and online magazines. I’d place a hold at my local library whenever I received a good book recommendation. Often, a few holds at a time. I scramble when I receive multiple pick-up notifications while still holding an unfinished book.

I want to take my time on each book. I want to get more out of them. And I want to venture into literary territories that I’ve not been on before. So I started to rethink what my reading goals are for this year and beyond. I jotted down ideas as they came to my mind over the last few weeks and patterns started to emerge: my brain wants to slow down, dig deeper, and quality over quantity.

Here they are.

Finish what I have started

I want to hit a pause on placing holds at my local libraries, or at least, for the time being. I want to focus on finishing the books I already have at home and the e-books I already started through NetGalley. Last year, I started many books that I did not finish, for various reasons, and I want to finish at least some of them this year and clear out some of my shelving space. Constantly placing holds at the library and receiving pick-up notices when I still have unfinished books can feel like a never-ending cycle of rushing through books.

Be more selective

Maybe 2023 was the last year of my twenties, it finally hit me that the amount of time I could spend on reading, or anything in life, was limited. Therefore, I cannot and should not just pick up any books that come my way.

This year and on, I want to be more selective about what I read and how I spend my limited time reading. I want to read more books that will bring the most value and impact to my reading life. Rather than being at the receiving end of recommendations, I am committed to proactively finding books that will challenge me and diversify my reading selections. This means learning more about the literary world, both past and present, and researching more about the book and the author before picking it up. But this does not mean only reading serious books and no spontaneity, it means I want to be more protective of my time. It means even for fun books, I want the most fun possible.

Dig deeper and be more reflective

In 2022, I started writing short book reviews on my phone and posting them on Instagram when I was spending two hours each day commuting on public transit. Looking back now, I can recall the books much better when I wrote a review, even short ones. Because I took the time and mental space to think deeper about the book, the characters, the plot, or the research, instead of quickly moving on to the next one.

This year, I am committing to writing a summary and a reflection (short is okay) whenever I finish reading a book, before moving on. I want to engage with my books at a deeper level, and in return, enjoy a richer reading experience.

Pay attention to the writing craft

I want to become a better writer through reading. I want to pay more attention to writing as a craft itself. This means noticing how the authors write, the choices of words, the ordering of sentences, the use of language, the sequencing of the dialogues, and the description of scenes. This also means taking notes and reading and thinking over a sentence or a passage more than once before moving on to the chapter. It means slowing down and noticing.

Everyone says we become a better writer by reading more, and I want to do it more attentively.

Read more books in Chinese

Before moving to California, I used to ask close friends and family to bring books in Chinese over in their suitcases whenever they were coming from Asia. Even for books originally written in Korean or Japanese, I still prefer the Chinese translation, because there are more similarities and overlapping expressions among these Eastern Asian languages. Books are heavy, so it was always a difficult ask. By getting one or two books at a time this way, I slowly built up a small collection of books in Chinese or translated into Chinese. I cherished the handful I had at home and reading them was always a luxury.

Thanks to the convenience of living in the Bay Area, several of my local libraries carry a sizeable collection of Chinese books across different genres. Reading books in Chinese brings me closer to who I am, where I came from, to my roots. It feels like going home, and I want to do more of that this year.

Don’t be afraid of the big books

I used to be scared of reading big books and the classics, not sure how to start, and worried about getting lost and giving up. This year,

Simon Haisell

inspired me to change that. I joined his War and Peace Read Along this year, along with a whole community of people who are also slowly reading War and Peace over this coming year. We read only a few pages every day, discuss the plot to help each other understand better, sympathize and make fun of the characters, and admire Tolstoy’s ingenious writing together. It’s a very slow, kind, and gentle reading community, and the world needs more slow-read book clubs like this one.

If I could finish reading one big book a year, I’d call it a win.

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My 2023 in Reading