{"id":15,"date":"2026-02-25T11:35:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T11:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/annasdt.com\/?p=15"},"modified":"2026-02-25T11:35:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T11:35:00","slug":"why-i-stopped-trying-to-read-more-books-and-started-reading-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/annasdt.com\/?p=15","title":{"rendered":"Why I Stopped Trying to Read More Books and Started Reading Better"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For a long time I measured my reading life by a single number: how many books I finished in a year. I kept a running list, set annual targets, and felt a small thrill each time I added another title. The goal seemed virtuous, the kind of self-improvement no one would question. But somewhere along the way I realized that chasing the number had quietly ruined the thing I loved. I was reading more books than ever and remembering almost none of them.<\/p>\n

The Problem With Counting<\/h2>\n

The trouble with a reading target is that it optimizes for the wrong thing. When the goal is quantity, every book becomes an obstacle between you and the next one. I caught myself skimming, rushing through final chapters, choosing shorter books not because I wanted to read them but because they would move the counter faster. A difficult book that might have rewarded slow, careful attention became a liability, because it threatened my pace.<\/p>\n

Worse, the number created a strange anxiety. A book I was genuinely enjoying started to feel like it was taking too long. I would glance at my progress and feel guilty for lingering, as though savoring a good book were a kind of inefficiency. That is a deeply backwards way to relate to reading, and once I saw it clearly, I could not unsee it.<\/p>\n

What Reading Better Actually Means<\/h2>\n

When I abandoned the target, I had to figure out what I was reading for in the first place. The answer, I decided, was not to accumulate finished books but to actually absorb ideas, to be changed in some small way by what I read. That reframing changed almost everything about how I approached a book.<\/p>\n

I started reading more slowly and deliberately. I allowed myself to stop and think mid-chapter. I reread passages that struck me instead of pushing forward out of momentum. Most importantly, I gave myself full permission to abandon books that were not earning my time. Counting books had made me a completist, grimly finishing things I disliked so they would count. Reading better meant accepting that a half-read book I learned from was worth more than a finished one I forgot.<\/p>\n

The Practice of Engaging<\/h2>\n

Reading better is more active than reading more. Passive reading slides past you; active reading leaves a mark. The methods that helped me are unglamorous but effective:<\/p>\n