I wanted to create a set of guidelines for my 2025 Reading Challenge, which is to read 52 books in 2025. I have decided that I am not going to give myself strict rules to follow, but I wanted to create a rough framework to give context to this challenge. As I look at these rules, they seem comically vague. But with further thought, I see the value behind this indetermination.
Here is my tentative list of rules:
- Audiobooks are acceptable
- Graphic novels are acceptable
- No minimum page limit
In general, I gave myself these very generous rules because I don’t want to limit the type of books I read. After all, if I read 52 books this year I will want a lot of variety both to keep me feeling motivated and for the different perspectives that different formats of books bring.
Let’s look at each rule specifically:
- Audiobooks are acceptable
The reasons behind this rule are extremely practical. I am not sure if I can reach my goal without being able to make progress toward it while multitasking.
- Graphic novels (and art books) are acceptable
A twinge happens in my soul every time I think of talented people being told that the medium of their creativity is inauthentic. Like burgeoning comic book writers being told they should craft stories in the “normal” way or “audiobooks” not being considered “real” books. How much creativity is lost when people are forced to conform to the standard we (currently) view as normal?
So I intentionally want to explore the limits of this creativity. Partly because I haven’t really done so. I am hoping that the expanded perspective these books give is of genuine value to me not only from their content but also their format. I want to be more creative as a result of this reading challenge and I hope these unique books will help me to do so.
Another reason why I chose these first two rules is I am trying to get ahead of any potential loss of motivation. I think reading the same type of book format might cause the pages to blur together and cause me to get into a rut. Varying the medium of information will hopefully keep things feeling fresh.
- No minimum page limit
Similar to the above points, I want to vary the books I choose with my current mood or the timeframe of my schedule. If life gets busy, I would rather pick up a short book to read instead of putting off reading a book until I know I will have the time to finish it. I think with a book project like this, practicality is key.
The only way I can move forward with such open-ended rules is to trust that I will stick to the essence of this project, which is finding improvement in my life. I need to trust my future self not to take advantage of these relaxed rules so that I can get value from the books I read, not just check them off my reading list. As of right now, I believe such self-responsibility is possible but maybe I will have to adjust as time goes on.
So these are my starting rules. I’m interested to see how they evolve over the course of this year but I think for now, this is a good place to start.
Messy Bun Book Lover
(Originally posted on Feb. 28, 2025)