For many people who inspire me, counting what they read is a thing on a personal or professional basis. Just like the \u2018read 100 books in a year\u2019 challenge, many of my friends and colleagues track, share, catalogue and analyse what they read. And I enjoy their reflections. I often find inspiration in what others read, and I have bought many books on the recommendation of a friend who loved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I enjoy it when others share their reading habits, but I don\u2019t track what I read and I\u2019ve been wondering why. Here are my thoughts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like sleep, I don\u2019t desire to track what I read. I don\u2019t feel that there is anything I need to know that I don\u2019t already know without quantifying what I read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since I started being able to track steps, I feel like untracked steps aren\u2019t real. Given that I leave my phone at home a lot, my digital step count does not reflect reality at all, and thus all the ways in which my devices could be \u2018helpful\u2019 or \u2018insightful\u2019 doesn\u2019t really work. I find it mildly annoying, but not enough to start tacking a device everywhere I go. I really don\u2019t want reading to follow that pattern.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I read a lot, and counting how much wouldn\u2019t act as encouragement to read more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Across different media (print, audio and digital) and several different platforms I would need to track my reading manually, which seems tedious. I am sure there is an app that can help\u2026 but then I would have to keep that up to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sharing headlines like \u2018this week I\u2019ve read six trashy romance novels!\u2019 or \u2018my bedside table is drowning in sci-fi\u2019 would be of no interest to others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I love books, I love reading, I always have. I always read for enjoyment first and foremost no matter what the subject matter. Somehow tracking it would make it feel like work to me. Like I need to have goals, or consider whether what I read reflects all the things I should care about. I would probably start to self-censor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the greatest pleasures in my life is getting lost in a story for hours or even days at a time. Sometimes I walk around reading, because I can\u2019t put the book down. Those times are precious to me and personal. I am not sure what I would want to share that would be meaningful to anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Enjoy your reading (and please keep sharing your recommendations so that I can read more).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For many people who inspire me, counting what they read is a thing on a personal or professional basis. Just like the \u2018read 100 books in a year\u2019 challenge, many of my friends and colleagues track, share, catalogue and analyse what they read. And I enjoy their reflections. I often find inspiration in what others read, and I have bought many books on the recommendation of a friend who loved it. I enjoy it when…<\/p>\n