The end of June means we’re already halfway through 2025! An ideal time to review my reading goals and see how well (or badly) I’m doing so far.

I’m not going to deny that I’ve read quite a bit. I know I read more than the average person, but I still like to set myself a few extra challenges each year. For 2025, I set myself five concrete reading goals, and today I’m taking you along on an interim evaluation – goal by goal!

Note: The screenshots included are from my personal reading spreadsheet. While I read mostly in English, I use my native language for tracking and notes. Apologies if some parts aren’t readable to you! I’ve done my best to explain everything clearly in the text, but if anything’s unclear… Google is your friend. 😉
P.S. The language is Dutch!

Reading goal 1: Read 100 books

As has been the case for a few years now, I set my Goodreads goal at 100 books. It has become a bit of a tradition. Some years I reached it with ease, other years I just missed it. Not a must, but a nice target.

So halfway through the year ideally means: 50 books read.

Expand image text translations:

Leesdoel 1 = Reading goal 1
Aantal te lezen boeken = Number of books to read
Doel halverwege jaar = Goal midway through year
Status leesdoel? = Status reading goal?

Gelezen boeken = books read
Gelezen bladzijden = pages read
% t.o.v. vorig jaar = % compared to previous year
gem. blz/boek = average pages/book
gem. boeken/maand = average books/month
gem. sterretjes = average star rating

I’m just under that target, with 49 books – so just one short. Funnily enough, that’s exactly the same number as last year around this time. What did strike me in the numbers: the average book I read this year is a lot thicker. A whopping 30 pages more per book than in 2024. That means I’ve read one book less, but more pages – and that will certainly play a role in other goals.

Another side note: I also started 5 books that I didn’t finish, bringing the total number of books started to 54. This will be important to remember for some other goals, for those who are checking my numbers 😉
The pages I read in the books I DNF’ed add up to another 664 pages – or, another thome in terms of volume.

For a visual overview of all the books I’ve already tackled in 2025, click here!

Reading Goal 2: Read 40% of books purchased before 2025

This goal helps me not only read new books, but also give some love to older purchases. Last year I had a goal of 30%, and I easily reached that – so this year I increased it to 40%. I’m also counting DNF’s, because the goal is mainly to be able to check those books off my reading list.

Since this goal is a percentage, it doesn’t matter how many books I read in total. At (49+5) 54 books, 40% comes down to about 22 books from my pre-2025 bookshelf.

Expand image text translations:

Leesdoel 2 = Reading goal 2
Lees uit boekenkast <2025 = Read from bookshelves <2025
Doel halverwege jaar = Goal midway through year
Status leesdoel? = Status reading goal?

Boekenkast <2025 (resp) = Bookshelves <2025 (resp)
Boekenkast nieuw = Bookshelves new
Ander (e.g. bib, geleend) = Other (e.g. library, borrowed)
n/a (e.g. audio, e-boek) = n/a (e.g. audio, e-book)
TOTAAL BOEKENKAST = TOTAL BOOKSHELVES
waarvan boekenkast DNF = of which bookshelf DNF

And yes, I achieved this goal: 23 books or ±43% of all the books I started reading.

Notes on this:

In total, you see 25 books on the list, but two of them were rereads (marked in yellow), which I did not count for this goal, because they were previously checked off.

Six other books (marked in blue) also come from my bookshelf, but were bought in 2025 – so they are not included for this goal.

I did not finish four of the 23 books (shaded rows). Still, a useful reminder: my taste changes, and leaving books on the TBR for too long increases the risk that I will eventually no longer have any interest in them. That makes this goal extra valuable to me: it keeps me aware and ensures that I do not continue to procrastinate.

Reading goal 3: Read (start) 6 books of more than 600 pages

Last year I read 5 of those thick books, so for 2025 I decided to raise the bar by one book. So by mid-year, I was aiming for 3 books over 600 pages.

Expand image text translations:

Leesdoel 3 = Reading goal 3
Lees (begin) boeken van meer dan 600 blz = Read (start) books with more than 600 pages
Doel halverwege jaar = Goal midway through year
Status leesdoel? = Status reading goal?

jaardoel = year goal
% tov jaardoel = % compared to year goal

And that turned out to be absolutely no problem, because I have now read no less than 8 books of more than 600 pages, more than my entire annual goal!

I didn’t finish one of them, but since my main goal is not to be put off by thick books, I count DNF’s as well. Clearly I succeeded in this goal and there were even two books of over 700 pages!

Remarkably, I read over 60% of these thick books together with others via online read-alongs such as the FaithFallAlong and the Suneater Readalong. Definitely motivating!

Reading goal 4: Complete, DNF, or catch up on at least 14 backlist series

Anyone who reads a lot of fantasy knows how quickly you get caught up in countless series. By the end of 2024, I had 48 ongoing series, 27 of which had books still unread. My goal this year: tackle at least 14 of them – by finishing them, catching up, or consciously DNF’ing them.

So halfway through the year, I was aiming to tick off 7 of those series.

Expand image text translations:

Leesdoel 4 = Reading goal 4
Backlist series : Voltooi, schrap of been bij met = Backlist series: Complete, DNF or catch-up with
Doel halverwege jaar = Goal midway through year
Status leesdoel? = Status reading goal?

jaardoel = year goal
% tov jaardoel = % compared to year goal
Backlist verder in gelezen = Backlist continued reading
waarvan voltooid = of which completed
waarvan DNF = of which DNF
waarvan verder te lezen = of which to continue reading
waarvan up-to-date = of which up-to-date
Volooid, geschrapt of bij gebeend = Completed, DNF or caught-up
Backlist NIET verder in gelezen = Backlist NOT continued reading

I also achieved this goal convincingly: 10 series.

I finished 5 series. With two of them it is not certain whether there will be sequels.
With one of those series (Molly the Maid) I have decided not to read any further, even if something else were to be published – so in that case I’ll consider it a DNF.
Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner by Peter Swanson I do want to continue reading, if there is ever a new book.

All in all I am well ahead of schedule for the series.

Reading goal 5: Read 25 bookbox books (DNFs count)

Since I tend to hoard my subscription books instead of reading them, I set this specific goal for the first time this year: (start) reading 25 subscription books.

So, for the halfway point, I was aiming for 13 books.

Expand image text translations:

Leesdoel 5 = Reading goal 5
Lees/DNF abonnementsboeken (voor het eerst) = Read/DNF bookbox books (for the first time)
Doel halverwege jaar = Goal midway through year
Status leesdoel? = Status reading goal?

Totaal = Total
waarvan DNF = of which DNF

And I just managed it: I read 14 books from my book box subscriptions.

Compared to last year, that is clearly an improvement. It really helps to consciously pay attention to this. Moreover, I notice that many books that I did not finish also came from a book box. That is why I also started explicitly keeping track of when sequels are released. In this way, I try to have read the books before a special edition of a sequel is released. In this way, I was able to save myself the purchase of 5 unnecessary sequels already this year!

Summary: My Reading Goals for Mid-2025

Read at least 50 books – ❌ 49 books
Read at least 40% of older purchased books – ✅ 43%
Read at least 3 books over 600 pages – ✅ 8 books
Update at least 7 old series – ✅ 10 series
Read at least 13 subscription books – ✅ 14 books

So I’m clearly doing well! I just missed the first goal – but that’s also the least important to me personally. What matters is that the goals help me to make more conscious choices from my large pile of books. In the end, it’s not about the numbers, but about reading pleasure, peace of mind and having fun. And those are good!

How is your reading year going? Is there a book that you definitely want to read before the end of the year?

Cheers,
Charlotte