How Do People Read 100 Books In A Year R Nostupidquestions Reddit
This article was co-authored by Grant Faulkner, MA. Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story, a literary magazine. Grant has published two books on writing and has been published in The New York Times and Writer’s Digest. He co-hosts Write-minded, a weekly podcast on writing and publishing, and has a M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. This article has been viewed 65,434 times.
One hundred books in a year may seem like an impossible accomplishment. Where will you find the time? If you really examine your daily life and your schedule, you’ll probably find that you actually have quite a bit of time that is spent on activities that can easily be turned into reading... If you truly have a passion for reading and want to achieve the goal of at least 100 books in a year, you can definitely do it. "Audiobooks are a great option if you want to read more classics. Shakespeare’s plays, for example, are meant to be performed or read aloud, so audiobooks truly enhance the experience.
Hearing the narrator’s tone of voice and emotional performance also makes the language easier to comprehend and more accessible for a modern audience." I’ll be honest, I used to think reading 100 books a year was only possible for people who had endless free time, no jobs, and definitely no Netflix account. But a few years ago, I challenged myself to try, and surprisingly, I actually managed to pull it off. It wasn’t about speed reading or skipping sleep, it was about building smart habits, staying consistent, and knowing how to enjoy the process. If you’ve ever dreamed of hitting that magical number, here’s exactly how to do it without burning out. Before diving into the “how,” let’s talk about the “why.” For me, it wasn’t about bragging rights, it was about growth.
Reading this much changed the way I thought, expanded my vocabulary, gave me new perspectives, and honestly, made me more creative. And let’s face it, if you read 100 books, you’re basically carrying a mini-university in your head. When I first saw “100 books a year,” it felt impossible. But then I did the math: That’s it. Suddenly, it didn’t feel so scary.
It’s not about racing, it’s about steady progress. 2021 was a pivotal year in my reading career. It was the year I set a challenging reading goal — 100 books. And for the first time, I was committed to achieving it. Most people’s impression of people who hit reading goals like 50, 75, or 100+ books a year is that those people have always been avid readers. That wasn’t true for me.
I read ten books in 2020, the year before my 100 book challenge. And in the years prior, I’d read even less. So, what happened? In 2020, I was already around five years into my career as a freelance writer, primarily writing content for IT and cybersecurity companies. I was writing a lot but barely reading. The thing is, I’d always been decently good at English and English literature, consistently scoring high grades in school despite dedicating little time to reading or diving into those topics in any significant way.
Then, in my early 20s, I secured an apprenticeship in Marketing and Communications, where I developed those skills further (primarily due to colleagues who’d rip apart my work, for which I’m now grateful!). However, my lack of reading (beyond a few books a year) became a significant point of insecurity for me over time. I remember reading Stephen King’s On Writing, where he says, “If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and… As the end of the year approaches, many of us begin writing down our New Year’s resolutions. Among these goals, reading more books often makes the list—but it’s also one of the hardest to accomplish. Why do so many people struggle to reach their reading targets?
Let’s break it down and discover practical strategies to help you read over 100 books in just one year. The first reason we fail to meet our reading goals is that the goal itself can feel overwhelming. For my 2024 resolution, I ambitiously decided to read 100 books. It sounded impossible at first, but I made it happen by breaking the goal into smaller steps. I began by setting a much smaller target: just 10 books. Achieving this felt manageable and gave me the motivation to set another goal of 10 books—and then another.
By focusing on incremental progress instead of the big picture, I was able to maintain my momentum and end the year with over 100 books under my belt. A common mistake when setting a reading goal is sticking to one genre, author, or type of book. To keep things exciting and avoid burnout, explore different genres and styles. Don’t limit yourself to bestsellers or the works of a single writer—give lesser-known books a chance, too. You’d be surprised how much variety can make reading feel like an adventure rather than a chore. Even if you're someone who reads regularly, it can be hard to keep up your reading goals.
Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption Even if you're someone who reads regularly, it can be hard to keep up your reading goals. Trying to read more can be a hard habit to stick to – even if you're someone who regularly reads a lot. Just ask Nadia Odunayo, the founder and CEO of The StoryGraph, a book recommendation website with over a million users. Odunayo said that when she started The Storygraph in 2019, reading more felt like an essential goal. "It felt like it very much became part of my identity as a reader, " Odunayo told Morning Edition.
"Like, I run a books company, I need to make sure I'm reading."
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This Article Was Co-authored By Grant Faulkner, MA. Grant Faulkner
This article was co-authored by Grant Faulkner, MA. Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story, a literary magazine. Grant has published two books on writing and has been published in The New York Times and Writer’s Digest. He co-hosts Write-minded, a weekly podcast on writing and publishing, and has a M.A. in Creative ...
One Hundred Books In A Year May Seem Like An
One hundred books in a year may seem like an impossible accomplishment. Where will you find the time? If you really examine your daily life and your schedule, you’ll probably find that you actually have quite a bit of time that is spent on activities that can easily be turned into reading... If you truly have a passion for reading and want to achieve the goal of at least 100 books in a year, you c...
Hearing The Narrator’s Tone Of Voice And Emotional Performance Also
Hearing the narrator’s tone of voice and emotional performance also makes the language easier to comprehend and more accessible for a modern audience." I’ll be honest, I used to think reading 100 books a year was only possible for people who had endless free time, no jobs, and definitely no Netflix account. But a few years ago, I challenged myself to try, and surprisingly, I actually managed to pu...
Reading This Much Changed The Way I Thought, Expanded My
Reading this much changed the way I thought, expanded my vocabulary, gave me new perspectives, and honestly, made me more creative. And let’s face it, if you read 100 books, you’re basically carrying a mini-university in your head. When I first saw “100 books a year,” it felt impossible. But then I did the math: That’s it. Suddenly, it didn’t feel so scary.
It’s Not About Racing, It’s About Steady Progress. 2021 Was
It’s not about racing, it’s about steady progress. 2021 was a pivotal year in my reading career. It was the year I set a challenging reading goal — 100 books. And for the first time, I was committed to achieving it. Most people’s impression of people who hit reading goals like 50, 75, or 100+ books a year is that those people have always been avid readers. That wasn’t true for me.