i think part of the book consumerism (and pardon me if the article you link discusses it; i just opened it in a new tab) also has to do with the proliferation of publishers in community spaces. when you're reading a ton of books with friends and having intra-community conversations, it doesn't burn you out the way constantly being shilled to does. the consumerism plays a huge element in that, and we should read more backlist more diversely more mindfully, but making an active effort to move our reading communities out of spaces of advertising and "influencing" will also massively help. i think.
I really needed this newsletter today, Deedi! I've been so obsessed with reaching my goal of 50 books this year that I haven't let myself enjoy the amazing email newsletters I normally love reading - because I've been so obsessed with hacking down my TBR! I don't like how my goal of 50 books is changing the way that I feel while reading. I think what you wrote will help me reframe things for the rest of the year. Thank you for that and thank you for your incredible content!
I first noticed this trend around the start of last year, I'm sure it even predates that, and it seems to be even more common this year. I think we're all becoming burnt out on overconsumption across the board. Slap on a layer of many of us becoming disillusioned by social media generally and it does feel like something is coming to a head. While I still intend to read way too many books this year 😅 I too am forever working to slow down, be more intentional, and resist trends and marketing. This is true with my reading and any other consumption in my life, really. I love seeing others embrace the same, I also fear the way this is something so many of us desire bc I think it's a symptom of something bigger. Appreciate your thoughts on this topic!
I think the pandemic, learning to use the audiobook format, and vastly increasing my exposure to people talking about books led me to double my reading in just a couple of years and, of course, exploded my TBR. At the end of 2023 I was excited to finally be able have a volume of reading that would allow me to read so so many of all the great books I was hearing about. In 2024 I executed it and I did not enjoy the pace at all. I stopped enjoying something like 80% of the books I read. It wasn’t to meet a numbers goal because I let that go last year, but it was to get to ALL THE BOOKS. I hit the floor running in 2025 to do it again. Finished 4 books in week one. All of them I rated 4 stars or greater but only one swept me up. That getting swept up and transported into a story is really the only thing I want out of my books, so I’m recultivating that. I’ve finished 3 books in the three weeks since. It’s been nice.
Thank you so much for this post - it articulates something I've been feeling, too. I've been intentionally trying to prioritize backlist since 2023 -- in 2022, I prioritized what was buzzy and had some of the most disappointing months of reading I've ever had, and that was enough for me!
I've also noticed this sentiment becoming more and more common (or perhaps more and more articulated; I have to imagine that seeing readers with larger platforms, like you, make this point helps others to reflect on their own experiences and feel empowered to share them).
For me, I can't untangle this question from the larger question of social media. Keeping up with all the latest releases feels tied to keeping up with all the latest content. And that's just exhausting. I can't keep up with everything! And on days when I manage to view a lot of stories and read a lot of posts, I'm not retaining anything. I'm skim reading reviews because it feels like I need to be moving onto the next thing. I'm rarely leaving comments. It's so easy to hit like and move onto the next thing. That's not new, but I have to think that larger conversations about social media (especially in the lead-up to the TikTok ban) and overconsumption generally are leading people to reevaluate their book habits and ask if there's another way. That's why I'm here, on Substack, on my computer (not my phone!), writing a long comment.
One last thing: learning to love DNFing has made me a lot happier as a reader! I love sampling books assuming I *won't* finish them, then being pleasantly surprised when I find myself turning the pages quickly. I request a lot of books from the library and then just see what holds my attention.
I think you covered how I feel in this almost exactly. If I am reading more than 10 books in a month, my other responsibilities may not be getting the right amount of attention. I also find that the more books I read, the less I actually enjoy each one. I don’t like the pressure of a reading goal - it sucks the joy out of savoring a particularly dense or long book - AND it makes me rush through books that may deserve more time. Makes reading less a hobby and more of a chore which no one wants.
I really love the idea of a reading cap. It’s not something I’ve considered before but I feel like it could really help that “never enough” feeling. Thank you!!
i think part of the book consumerism (and pardon me if the article you link discusses it; i just opened it in a new tab) also has to do with the proliferation of publishers in community spaces. when you're reading a ton of books with friends and having intra-community conversations, it doesn't burn you out the way constantly being shilled to does. the consumerism plays a huge element in that, and we should read more backlist more diversely more mindfully, but making an active effort to move our reading communities out of spaces of advertising and "influencing" will also massively help. i think.
An excellent point (as always) and something I hadn’t really considered!
Lovely introspection 🫶🏻
I really needed this newsletter today, Deedi! I've been so obsessed with reaching my goal of 50 books this year that I haven't let myself enjoy the amazing email newsletters I normally love reading - because I've been so obsessed with hacking down my TBR! I don't like how my goal of 50 books is changing the way that I feel while reading. I think what you wrote will help me reframe things for the rest of the year. Thank you for that and thank you for your incredible content!
Ohhhh I know this feeling. Be free!!
I first noticed this trend around the start of last year, I'm sure it even predates that, and it seems to be even more common this year. I think we're all becoming burnt out on overconsumption across the board. Slap on a layer of many of us becoming disillusioned by social media generally and it does feel like something is coming to a head. While I still intend to read way too many books this year 😅 I too am forever working to slow down, be more intentional, and resist trends and marketing. This is true with my reading and any other consumption in my life, really. I love seeing others embrace the same, I also fear the way this is something so many of us desire bc I think it's a symptom of something bigger. Appreciate your thoughts on this topic!
I think the pandemic, learning to use the audiobook format, and vastly increasing my exposure to people talking about books led me to double my reading in just a couple of years and, of course, exploded my TBR. At the end of 2023 I was excited to finally be able have a volume of reading that would allow me to read so so many of all the great books I was hearing about. In 2024 I executed it and I did not enjoy the pace at all. I stopped enjoying something like 80% of the books I read. It wasn’t to meet a numbers goal because I let that go last year, but it was to get to ALL THE BOOKS. I hit the floor running in 2025 to do it again. Finished 4 books in week one. All of them I rated 4 stars or greater but only one swept me up. That getting swept up and transported into a story is really the only thing I want out of my books, so I’m recultivating that. I’ve finished 3 books in the three weeks since. It’s been nice.
Thank you so much for this post - it articulates something I've been feeling, too. I've been intentionally trying to prioritize backlist since 2023 -- in 2022, I prioritized what was buzzy and had some of the most disappointing months of reading I've ever had, and that was enough for me!
I've also noticed this sentiment becoming more and more common (or perhaps more and more articulated; I have to imagine that seeing readers with larger platforms, like you, make this point helps others to reflect on their own experiences and feel empowered to share them).
For me, I can't untangle this question from the larger question of social media. Keeping up with all the latest releases feels tied to keeping up with all the latest content. And that's just exhausting. I can't keep up with everything! And on days when I manage to view a lot of stories and read a lot of posts, I'm not retaining anything. I'm skim reading reviews because it feels like I need to be moving onto the next thing. I'm rarely leaving comments. It's so easy to hit like and move onto the next thing. That's not new, but I have to think that larger conversations about social media (especially in the lead-up to the TikTok ban) and overconsumption generally are leading people to reevaluate their book habits and ask if there's another way. That's why I'm here, on Substack, on my computer (not my phone!), writing a long comment.
One last thing: learning to love DNFing has made me a lot happier as a reader! I love sampling books assuming I *won't* finish them, then being pleasantly surprised when I find myself turning the pages quickly. I request a lot of books from the library and then just see what holds my attention.
I think you covered how I feel in this almost exactly. If I am reading more than 10 books in a month, my other responsibilities may not be getting the right amount of attention. I also find that the more books I read, the less I actually enjoy each one. I don’t like the pressure of a reading goal - it sucks the joy out of savoring a particularly dense or long book - AND it makes me rush through books that may deserve more time. Makes reading less a hobby and more of a chore which no one wants.
I really love the idea of a reading cap. It’s not something I’ve considered before but I feel like it could really help that “never enough” feeling. Thank you!!