On the Habit of Reading

Some thoughts on the Goodreads Challenge

I had it in my head that December was going to be a restful month of reading for me. Ha ha, what was I thinking?! Just because I’m between semesters and it was my first blessed year in a long time without an editing project during the holidays does not mean I’m exempt from all the general busyness of the holiday season.

Our Advent was truly good, full of the slow but full preparation for Christmas that I always hope for. Our Christmas season is, thus far, a little less merry thanks to fevers that just won’t quit. But all in all, we kept Advent and Christmas in their liturgical places, and we’ve had a lot of time for quiet game nights as a family.

My dream is that the week of New Year’s would be nothing but long days of cozy reading by the fire. I probably could have made some version of that happen given the absurd amount of screen time my kids have had this week. But for whatever reason, I’ve felt a block around reading for the past two months.

It’s not quite a concentration issue, but it does feel a bit like my attention is being drawn elsewhere. I sometimes have a tendency to use books as escapism in ways that aren’t healthy. As frustrated as I’ve been at my inability to sink into a book like I want to, I think it points to the truth that I’m spending more time being present in my real life.

Which brings me to my complicated feelings about the Goodreads challenge. My goal this year was 50 books. I read 45. That’s not a number to be ashamed of—it’s not even that far from my goal—but I don’t like how the challenge affects the way I see my reading life.

When the Goodreads challenge first became popular, I was reading maybe 15 books a year. I was fresh out of college and burned out from being an English major who was told what to read and analyze for four years. Setting a reading goal was a way to inject life back into my favorite hobby.

And for many years, that’s what it did! But this year I noticed that I was paying too much attention to the little sidebar graph telling me whether or not I was on track to meet my goal. More often than not, I was a book or two behind. Although I don’t think this was a conscious decision, I found myself racing through lighthearted books that allowed me to catch up.

This fall, when I decided to dive into heavier books, I fell behind for good. I knew by Thanksgiving that I wasn’t going to make my reading goal for the year. I was in the middle of two enormous Brandon Sanderson books, plus I had just started Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry. Those weren’t books I wanted to rush through! I especially wanted to take my time with Jayber Crow (and I have been—I’m still not finished, six weeks later).

There is a growing stack of spirituality and theology books in my home library, purchased secondhand every time a professor or peer recommends something. I haven’t cracked the spine of a single one. I have an entire shelf taken up by the beautiful Penguin Drop Caps series that my husband bought me for Christmas three years ago. They’re still in their cellophane wrapping.

These are the books I want to read in 2025 . . . and I don’t want the Goodreads challenge hovering in the back of my mind as I do.

I debated on not setting a goal at all this year, but in the end I settled on 35 books. I feel comfortable with this number. It’s enough to keep me reading, but not so many that I’ll pick up shorter, easier books rather than longer, more challenging ones.

I also decided to set some personal goals for what types of books I’d like to read this year:

• Finish Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series now that the fifth book has been released. (I’m halfway through the second book. Only hundreds of hours of audiobook listening to go!)

• Read two books from the aforementioned Drop Caps series.

• Gather together some of my theology books to make something of a study for myself on the topics of eco-theology and sacred time.

I won’t say I didn’t read much in December. I did! I just didn’t finish a lot. These were two standouts that are worth checking out.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Vivenna’s entire purpose in life has been to prepare to marry the God King of rival nation, Hallandren, to uphold a treaty and (hopefully) save her people from war. Her sister Siri’s purpose in life has always been . . . nothing. As the fourth-born child of the king, Siri’s life is one of comfort and ease. When the king surprises everyone by sending Siri to marry the God King instead, Vivenna sets out to Hallandren to save her sister and her people.

My reading lists this year have been full of Sanderson’s work, but I can confidently say that this is my favorite of the bunch so far. The broad plot reminded me of ‘Til We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis (which is itself a retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid)—my English-major heart soared at this connection.

That aside, Warbreaker is one of Sanderson’s few standalone books, making it a good entry point for anyone who doesn’t want to commit to a series with many thousands of pages. The characters are phenomenal. The plot is a little less “plotty” than most of his books; this is a negative for many readers, but it’s a plus for me. And the magic system! BioChromatic breath is far more interesting to me than the belabored physics of Allomancy in the Mistborn books. (IYKYK.)

If you’ve been at all on the fence about Sanderson’s work and are interested in reading more fantasy in 2025, this is where I’d start.¹

The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo

A group of five puppets—a boy, a girl, an owl, a king, and a wolf (with very sharp teeth)—belong together in a story. That’s all they know. But what is their story? They each know they’re destined for something great, something more than being shut in the trunk of the old sea captain who bought them from the window of a toy shop. DiCamillo’s original fairy tale tells how the puppets find their way into their story and beyond.

This first in DiCamillo’s trio of fairy tales is truly a delight. I read it as a read-aloud to our six-year-old, but the other kids were also happy to listen in if they happened to be around. It even inspired the eight-year-old to write her own version of the puppets’ story after she listened in to the last few chapters. An excellent choice if you need a new read-aloud to get your family through winter!

What have you been reading lately? Any bookish goals for 2025?

1. This is an unpopular opinion among hardcore Sanderson fans. Sanderson himself recommends Warbreaker first if you’re a fan of romance, but it’s definitely not romantasy in the sense of ACOTAR or Fourth Wing. The most common entry point probably remains the original Mistborn trilogy.