5 Reading Trends to Ditch in 2025

Here are five things I would like to change, both about my own habits, as well as trends i see in the reading community.

I think on the whole, things like Booktube/Gram/Tok have been positive for readers. Afterall, it's a space where you can discover new books, connect with other people who like the same kinds of books as you, and it's been awesome for indie writers and publishers to get their books seen by larger audiences....

But if we're being honest, it's not ALL positive. So with that in mind, here are some trends I'd like to see go away. Make sure to add your own down below.

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[crwinters.guitar]

The best alternative to book consumerism is the public library.

[bencordwell]

I have found a 'total number of books' goal helped develop my reading habit, it pushed me to pick up one book after the other, getting that muscle moving. I'm talking about a total number of like 10 to 20, nothing too intense. Now that I've developed a good reading habit I don't use this type of goal anymore. My goals now are tailored to subjects, genres and connection with the books.

[XZeroDragoonX]

I think reading as a competition needs to stop...there's way too many folks out there with the opinion of "I read 299 books this year, but anyone who reads more than 300 isn't even reading at that point." Like it's so asinine, that's like saying "I ran 100 miles this year, but anyone that ran 101 isn't actually running at that point!" . Reading is like any hobby; people are allowed to engage with it at different skill levels. A big reason I can't bring myself to make a booktube or bookstagram account is because everyone treats it like a competition and I'd rather that trend stay in 2024 more than anything...

[loganplonski]

Before I started a reading journal, I wrote in-depth book reviews on Goodreads. The only people who read the reviews were my friends on Facebook and a handful of other bookish people, and they got almost no engagement. There's this idea that everything you do has to be "content, " that you have to have a marketable personal brand and tons of online engagement. But the reality of the situation is that I wrote Goodreads reviews because I liked reading and I liked writing about the things I read.

[MattKaramazov]

"Going shopping from my own bookshelf" haha love that. Great video man.

[Partyofone]

Overconsumerism! Yes this is becoming a strong point in many areas like knitting, quilting etc.All these huge haul videos crazy! We need to take a long look at what we already have, slow down and enjoy the project we're working, the book we're reading.So glad you brought that up

[kenzievances]

i love how you discussed the number of books reading goal and how we don’t watch movies in 2x speed to finish as many as possible. we watch for the story and the experience, not to add to a tally. thank you for the reminder to stop and smell the flowers. i set a 100 book goal in 2023 and i found myself reading shorter books. since then i’ve set a 52 book goal (one book a week) and i naturally surpassed it in 2024 and read multiple 500+ page books

[Azami-Kurotani]

I set a goal of 75 books this year I reached it. But I found around October that I didn’t care if I reached it because I had been reading such good books. I was gravitating to huge books 700+ pages consistently. Getting lost in just amazing writing and stories. The only goal I have for next year is to finally read “1984” and “one hundred years of solitude”

[PensAndPigWings]

2024 was the first year I made a “number of books” reading goal. I enjoyed my reading this year, but not as much as I usually do. Wanting to reach that goal meant I was engaging with books less, was focused more on just finishing them.

And like you said, the world is already focused on consuming as much as possible; let the reading space be a haven away from that.

[davidjardine]

I listen to different music in each ear so I can get through more songs

[rphitheta]

Instead of number of books, I have a goal of hours read a day or a week. It can be a bit inconvenient to track, so I tend to track with the heavier books. But it helps with slowing down and also unplugging enough to read, knowing this 30min-1hour is dedicated toward enjoying this one book.

[ericgeneric]

This year I switched from buying books on Amazon to purchasing them on Thift Books and it's been a great experience. Thanks for the info about Abe Books. I didn't realize they're owned by Amazon.

[corsivapurpleus]

I love the "getting out of your comfort zone" idea with books! I am part of a book club with people who like a variety of genres/types of books and we each take turns picking a book for everyone to read. I've generally been an adventurous reader but it was a great way to get out of my comfort zone with genres I don't normally read and be doing it with other people!

[thomasmoore]

I’ve never read more than 40 books a year until 2024 I read 90 books by trying mood reading. What I found was that while I was reading the current book, I was too excited about the next book and as a result I had a palate of about 75 mediocre reads that I barely remember with only about 7 of them being phenomenal.

This year I’m going so much slower and I’m far more enjoying it. As Donna Tartt says, “It’s better to know one book intimately, than a hundred superficially.”

[KayAteGummyBears]

I have a goal of 20 books a year. But it’s not my main focus. Just to get myself to read more. I’m a slow reader and a full time job. But my goal this year is to be more consistent, play less games.

[seannyhan]

My only goal for this year is to read books I already have. Realistically, I could read for 3 years without running out of stuff I haven't read yet.

[GenreBlenderPodcast]

Important video, and articulated well. Thanks for making it. I agree with all of these points, and it's the surface-level book reviews that really get to me the most. I'm here for the dialogue and the debate, and on more than one occasion have turned to the booktube/bookstagram community and have been met with the opposite. When people eschew the thinking and discussion about a book for the pure numbers game of mentality, that's a big red flag. I'm convinced short-form video content contributes heavily to this, and I've fallen into that trap myself. This was a nice reminder to be true to myself and my own values. Happy reading :) -R

[brassteeth]

I wasn't aware of any trends. I just now started looking at videos regarding my reading and writing enthusiasm.
I think I'll just keep doing my thing.

[zunfdo]

What an excellent list! This was extremely refreshing, I've just suscribed to your channel (which I wasn't aware existed). Have a great reading year!

[mematl]

I feel you on the limiting of Amazon purchases. It’s gonna be hard, but my goal is actually read the books I’ve bought :)