Hi everyone! I'm a writer who blogs about reading and writing, and I just published a blog post on massive reading goals and those of us who plow through books nonstop (it's pinned in my profile if you want to see the whole thing). There's obviously a lot of chatter online about huge reading goals, whether they're good or bad or made up or the new "pick me" behavior. IMO, as with any 21st-century behavior, the root of the issue is over-gamification, and there's nothing wrong with trying to read 100+, 200+ books in a year--however, I'd worry about burnout if someone doesn't have a non-competitve reason for doing so (edited to remove the moral judgment-ness of the previous phrasing!). In fact, one of the best parts about reading so much is you get to cultivate your own taste! Some people find it disingenuous if people rate books too highly too frequently, but it really can be a great sign that you're learning what you like and don't like. Maybe you love books written by members of the Asian diaspora after 1980. Maybe you won't read anything in the NYT book reviews. Maybe you automatically avoid any cover with a women in period clothes standing with her back to the viewer. Or maybe you just get a better sense of whether you prefer "atmospheric" versus "fast-paced," or "grand and sweeping" versus "intimate and personal." I'm probably rambling because I just had an organ removed and I'm a little out of it. But I think what I'm trying to say is I'm interested in other people's "why" for reading piles of books, and what you've noticed about your own taste over time. Plus any advice for readers looking to develop their own literary palate more! submitted by /u/LeftHandRedHair [link] [comments]