Are you looking to up your reading game in the coming year? Is this the year you’ve vowed (again) to re-read all of those Hemingway books you only skimmed to get through high school? Are you trying to avoid becoming part of the literacy statistic in the country? Then you’re in luck.
There’s nothing like an internet challenge that carries no prizes whatsoever to motivate you to make a change. Perhaps it’s the sense of accomplishment from tracking your progress on screen, or the sense of shame instilled when all of your connections are moving forward while you’re still stuck in chapter two. Whatever the reason, there’s no point in skipping out on the Goodreads 2017 Reading Challenge.
Fortunately, the Reading Challenge is completely driven by the participant. There’s no minimum number of books you have to list at signup–other than one, presumably–and there’s no prize for being the top dog. It’s all about accountability, and tracking your book success on your own Goodreads page.
While registration has started recently for 2017, a look at last year’s numbers are enough to intimidate any uncertain participant. In 2016, more than three million participants pledged to read over 142 million books. That was just their goals, of course. The actual number of books read came in at well over 39 million, with 30,318 people actually completing or surpassing their stated numbers of books for the challenge.
It’s not all for nothing, though (as if reading a book ever amounted to “nothing”). To help you reach your goal, Goodreads is once again reminding readers in the Challenge that they can subscribe to the free Goodreads Deals newsletter, which promotes titles and offers readers discounts of as much as 80% on ebooks from multiple retailers, including Amazon, B&N, Kobo, Google Play, and Apple.
To sign up for this year’s challenge, check out the Goodreads 2017 Reading Challenge page, but be warned…48 readers have already signed up and met their book goals. You’ve got some work to do to catch up to them.
Mercy Pilkington is a Senior Editor for Good e-Reader. She is also the CEO and founder of a hybrid publishing and consulting company.
