Setting a Reading Goal You Can Reach

Good reading goals are specific, reachable, and about growing as a reader.

Reading goals help you grow, but the best ones are specific and reachable. 'Read more' is too vague to measure. 'Read for 20 minutes every night before bed this month' is specific: you know exactly what to do and can check whether you did it. Goals don't have to be about numbers.

You might aim to try a new genre, finish a series, read a book recommended by a friend, or read a longer book than ever before. Here's how one reader built a goal. She noticed from her log that she hadn't read any biographies. Her goal: 'Read one biography of a scientist by the end of the month. ' She picked a book, planned 15 pages a day, and checked off each day on a chart.

When you set a goal, write it down, decide how you'll track it, and celebrate when you reach it.

• 1Make goals specific and measurable.
• 2Goals can be about genres, series, or time, not just numbers.
• 3Write it down, track it, and celebrate.