The Pressure to Read: A Personal Struggle

I recently found myself struggling with the pressure to read, and I wanted to share my thoughts on it with you guys. Usually, this time of year, the Ring link goes up to seven to ten books a month, which is a relatively small amount, maybe even three. I don't know how others deal with this pressure to read, but for me, it's constantly there in the back of my mind.

I feel like I'm not doing anything right now, because I said I was going to read this book and I need to read it because people are expecting to hear what I think about it. This is like an internal monologue that my brain goes through, where I'm always wondering if I should be reading instead of doing something else. It's like I have a constant sense of responsibility to finish books on time.

I don't know how others deal with this pressure to read, but for me, it's a fine line between enjoying something and feeling anxious about not finishing it. Sometimes, it can feel like a chore, particularly when I'm reading books that I just aren't interested in or caring about. I love reading, but there are times when it feels like I'm forcing myself to read something because everyone else is expecting me to.

For me, this pressure to read has become self-inflicted. It's not your fault if you're not enjoying a book; sometimes it's just not the right fit for you. I started a book recently that I'll be honest with you about - 20 pages in, and I'm like "no" I don't think I'm going to finish it. I might try to revisit it later, but I won't beat myself up if I don't.

This pressure to read can also lead to reading slumps, which can be really frustrating. If you start a book and then realize that you're not enjoying it, you might feel like you can't continue reading it because you'll just end up writing some half-baked thoughts about it. It's hard when you don't have a well-formed opinion on something because you didn't finish it.

I love talking to you guys about books and sharing my thoughts with them. But sometimes, I feel like I'm putting too much pressure on myself to finish all these books in a certain amount of time. That's why I've decided to try setting a goal for next year - maybe one book per month instead of trying to hit some arbitrary number.

The pressure to read can be overwhelming at times, but it's also what drives me to keep reading and sharing my thoughts with you guys. I love being a part of this community and talking about books that I love. If you guys want more content like this in the future, please let me know - I'd love to chat with you about other book-related topics or anything else you're interested in.

I apologize for the harsh lighting today; it's just something that happens when it gets colder here. Anyway, I'll talk to you guys later and see what you think about this whole thing. Please comment below and let me know if there's anything specific you'd like to hear about or any topics you'd like to discuss in future videos.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhello everyone today I'm here to talk about the pressure to read video I have no agenda for I just wanted to come and have a conversation with you about this so if you watch this video you're like wow she does not know what she's talking about you are correct and I have no way of knowing where I'm going this video it's just literally gonna be a conversation between me and the camera or you dear viewer talking about the pressure to reach different for each person for me I'm a very goal-oriented person I am a workaholic that is a hundred percent true about me it's a good thing and it's a bad thing about me I recognize that completely like I really like that I work a lot but then I'm like I really don't like that I work a lot so with that was being really workaholic and was was being work oriented and goal-oriented while those are amazing things they can also drag you down because you know I sent a certain number on my Goodreads goal my main focus to get to that Goodreads number when I put a monthly TVR about video and I say I'm gonna read these eight books I like really need to read I really want to read those eight books and I feel like it's kind of like a goal and it's like kind of an end game for me like I feel the pressure to read those books because I talked about them and I'm feeling as of lately with honestly these tasks almost that maybe I shouldn't be putting all of that pressure on myself because I read a lot like I think this year I really put the pressure on myself to read a ton like I feel also if you are a book reviewer a book - or just a person that enjoys reading and you have other people really wanting your feedback on books that even adds an other that even adds another layer of kind of pressure for me like I'm not like a professional book reviewer no like I consider it my job yes because I you know do get some money not by any means like a ton but she this as kind of a career and a way to help make money for my household so I do kind of consider it as a job technically but what I call myself a professional no pretty no I don't know why a lot of you guys like really honest like I don't know why I let even there's really like what to hear my opinion and like really care about it like I mean I love that you do but I'm like nobody be like boost me up no that's really how I feel like I'm like people really want to hear my opinions on these books like why no but anyway but with being that you know I consider it my job I feel another you know layer of pressure because you know I say I'm gonna read this one book everyone will come and be like I can't wait your thoughts we can do a review on it I can't wait to hear what you think we should I read it should I not and I'm like oh crap I need to read this book because so many people are relying on me to hear if they would like to read it themselves or maybe skip it so I feel like I'm kind of like it's such a I feels like I'm complaining I'm totally not I love you guys and for what you do for that it's just me like I know at the end of the day if I don't read that book you're not gonna come through the screen and beat me up I never spent aware of that you'll be like it's okay maybe another day you know it's not a huge deal I make it a huge deal for myself so how am i dealing with that lately so I felt like I said this month I was really gonna focus on you know not feeling the pressure to read and not but surprisingly this month already I've read like five books and it's midway through November right now as filming this so that's really good for me but I haven't felt the pressure me because I've been reading a lot of like two cherries and Chiclets which I love I can eat those like I could read those like eating candy okay I think it's for the element of like I only put five books on my TBR house I'm like oh I have you know room I can read whatever I want and I'm not beating myself up if I don't read a particular book on my TBR this month so I'm kind of like how do you deal with the pressure to read because I'll think a lot of people have different ways to cope with it and how even do you cope I don't like I said I don't know how long this is I have no rhyme or reason how to cope with it like I think I personally like as the mindset of lately like if I don't feel like reading I'm just not gonna read I will watch a TV show on movie and said I've been watching a ton of like um just chick flicks because that's what have been the mood for i binge watched your sings like nobody's business i just kind of embraced that or so them reading which i feel like has been my problem this entire year there have been so many movies i have been wanting to watch like on DVD and just rewatch or stuff like that but I'm like no I have to read because I told you guys you know I have a three-year-old son my husband I will switch nights kind of a who watches him for like an hour so the other one of us can have kind of like free time to do what we want and I usually use that free time to read and sometimes a lot of those times I've been reading and I've really had to force myself to read like I'm like uh I really don't want to read do I just want to lay down I kind of binge TV yeah I kind of do but I'm like no people are relying with me people want to hear what I have to say about this book I really need to read this book I need to add it to my goal I need to add it to my Goodreads and all that kind of stuff and like that's not healthy so that's this whole year for me yes I've read a lot of books like close to 90 right now maybe even 90 I might even hit a hundred who knows I was not planning on that at all and I think that's an amazing thing yes but I feel like I have been really pushing myself and pressuring myself to read so say you're a book reviewer you know just maybe just take a break like from reading and just read whenever you feel like it like I I don't know like I will say this month I have been wanting to read I've been actually very excited to read there's been only one book that I've read this month that I really had to push myself through and I push myself through it honestly because of the author and because I was like I just want to finish this book that's all the crooked statesmen angsty minor case you're wondering I did not really enjoy it and I could have probably stopped but I just kept reading and it got a little bit more enjoyable but again that's kind of the pressure like I pressured myself to finish that book is that healthy no I don't know usually I'm no prompt DNF and books honestly like if I have not captures in the first hundred pages I'm like I'll talk to you later so what was I saying oh my gosh this is why these let's shut videos are kind of just really insane so it also let's talk about reading slumps I've been watching a few videos that have been that have been kind of old what I've watched Rin C's book i watch rincey of rincey reads video talking about like the book slump as well as katie from chapter stack they're both kind of older videos but I just wanted to kind of I just wanted to find fresh perspectives on different things and I really liked the way they said you know reading slumps really kind of don't exist like if you don't read for a while that classifies is a reading slump I think it's okay to even take reading breaks like if you don't feel like reading don't read and I have to tell myself that constantly and I'm still not good at that guys I'm not good that's because I am such a goal-oriented person like I'm like I started this I need to finish this I said I was gonna do this I'm gonna do it and I don't know how to break that mold I just I'm not I'm also a person that does not relax very well I just don't like even if I'm binging a TV show more than likely I'm sitting down planning my week or planning like writing my grocery list or doing other things I never just solely sit and relax that's just my personality it's not as have a personally I don't know I've really bad anxiety and stress I don't know if that relates to that but I just don't relax and I just maybe I'm also asking for in this video for your advice like if you are a person like me what helps you unwind and kind of take a break from things that you know you love but you still feel like you need a break from like I love reading but honestly in December I don't think I'm gonna want to read a lot because it's December there's gonna be a lot to do so I'm honestly thinking about only putting four books on my TBR which is a little what that's small for me because usually this year of the Ring link upwards to seven to ten a month so that's a really small amount maybe even three I don't know know how you deal with the pressure to read it's constantly there I feel like in the back of my mind at the back of my heart of I what are you doing right now how's that you're not doing anything you probably should be reading because you said you were gonna read this book and you need to read this book because people are expecting to hear what you think about it and you just said you were gonna finish it so you need to finish it that's like the internal monologue and my brain um so I don't I don't know in this video so the pressure to read how do you personally deal with it like do you think it's a good thing to have pressure to read do you think it's a bad thing that pressure to read there's such a fine line there is between like doing something that you love but also feeling very anxious and pressured to do it maybe pressures are the right word am i using this in the wrong context I don't want to say oh i love i love love reading but sometimes it can feel like a chore particularly with books that i'm just not loving or i'm not caring about you know know what i'm trying to make this whole video about it's just i feel a lot of times pressure to read like it's my self-inflicted it's not you guys at all and I don't know maybe I'm just filming this to hear what your opinions are how you deal with it if you deal with it what do you think about it overall like the pressure to like read and you know the reading slumps if there's a reading slump so I think you know this month I've been very good and not pressuring myself like I'll be honest I started a book this month and with that 20 pages I'm like no I don't think I'm it was on my TBR - I might try to revisit but I'm not gonna beat myself up if I'm not gonna finish it you want to read it because you want to tell pew what you thought about it and it's hard when you don't finish it because you're like well I don't have a well-formed opinion on it so I don't know if I could tell people what I think about it and it's just so weird so bottom line I love you guys I love you guys so much I hope this video does not seem that guys complaining by any means because I'm not this is a hundred percent self-inflicted like this is my problem I put the pressure because I put pressure on myself that's the type of person I am I am a very much goal-oriented workaholic very very anxiety-ridden person um that just feels the need to do things constantly I can't ever let my mind just sit still I think that's even being a mom a quitter just being a person in general my mind is always whirling of things to do what to plan where to go what to read and it's just sometimes I think I need to take a break and I'm not taking a break buddy means on booktube because I love doing it it is a job yes but I love I have a passion for doing it she's like I'm a passion for reading and it's okay to have a passion for something to still realize that maybe I should just step back for a little bit and be cool off with my reading and I think maybe I'll do that like I think I'm gonna try that with December and see how I feel and maybe I'll go on there for January in the next year so I'm obviously thinking about setting my Goodreads goal to like one for next year that way that's pressure read I'm like I already hit my goal great so there's no pressure to hit a certain number put your feedback do you feel the pressure to read how do you deal with it and things like that this is a very Phyllis video is a complete failure it is what it is basically this is just me pouring my heart out to you hope that's okay if you'd like this video somehow please let me know and give it a thumbs up and hit subscribe so lady it's very very harsh lighting today because when it gets colder here the lighting gets harsh as mess so I apologize for that should probably work on it today I'm just not feeling well so that's why anyway I will talk to you guys later please comment and let me know if you want other any future kind of let chat videos talking about other book related topics or anything in general also please let me know I would love to hear your thoughts and what I can film because I'm always looking for something to film I'll see you guys later and sorry again for this horrible video byehello everyone today I'm here to talk about the pressure to read video I have no agenda for I just wanted to come and have a conversation with you about this so if you watch this video you're like wow she does not know what she's talking about you are correct and I have no way of knowing where I'm going this video it's just literally gonna be a conversation between me and the camera or you dear viewer talking about the pressure to reach different for each person for me I'm a very goal-oriented person I am a workaholic that is a hundred percent true about me it's a good thing and it's a bad thing about me I recognize that completely like I really like that I work a lot but then I'm like I really don't like that I work a lot so with that was being really workaholic and was was being work oriented and goal-oriented while those are amazing things they can also drag you down because you know I sent a certain number on my Goodreads goal my main focus to get to that Goodreads number when I put a monthly TVR about video and I say I'm gonna read these eight books I like really need to read I really want to read those eight books and I feel like it's kind of like a goal and it's like kind of an end game for me like I feel the pressure to read those books because I talked about them and I'm feeling as of lately with honestly these tasks almost that maybe I shouldn't be putting all of that pressure on myself because I read a lot like I think this year I really put the pressure on myself to read a ton like I feel also if you are a book reviewer a book - or just a person that enjoys reading and you have other people really wanting your feedback on books that even adds an other that even adds another layer of kind of pressure for me like I'm not like a professional book reviewer no like I consider it my job yes because I you know do get some money not by any means like a ton but she this as kind of a career and a way to help make money for my household so I do kind of consider it as a job technically but what I call myself a professional no pretty no I don't know why a lot of you guys like really honest like I don't know why I let even there's really like what to hear my opinion and like really care about it like I mean I love that you do but I'm like nobody be like boost me up no that's really how I feel like I'm like people really want to hear my opinions on these books like why no but anyway but with being that you know I consider it my job I feel another you know layer of pressure because you know I say I'm gonna read this one book everyone will come and be like I can't wait your thoughts we can do a review on it I can't wait to hear what you think we should I read it should I not and I'm like oh crap I need to read this book because so many people are relying on me to hear if they would like to read it themselves or maybe skip it so I feel like I'm kind of like it's such a I feels like I'm complaining I'm totally not I love you guys and for what you do for that it's just me like I know at the end of the day if I don't read that book you're not gonna come through the screen and beat me up I never spent aware of that you'll be like it's okay maybe another day you know it's not a huge deal I make it a huge deal for myself so how am i dealing with that lately so I felt like I said this month I was really gonna focus on you know not feeling the pressure to read and not but surprisingly this month already I've read like five books and it's midway through November right now as filming this so that's really good for me but I haven't felt the pressure me because I've been reading a lot of like two cherries and Chiclets which I love I can eat those like I could read those like eating candy okay I think it's for the element of like I only put five books on my TBR house I'm like oh I have you know room I can read whatever I want and I'm not beating myself up if I don't read a particular book on my TBR this month so I'm kind of like how do you deal with the pressure to read because I'll think a lot of people have different ways to cope with it and how even do you cope I don't like I said I don't know how long this is I have no rhyme or reason how to cope with it like I think I personally like as the mindset of lately like if I don't feel like reading I'm just not gonna read I will watch a TV show on movie and said I've been watching a ton of like um just chick flicks because that's what have been the mood for i binge watched your sings like nobody's business i just kind of embraced that or so them reading which i feel like has been my problem this entire year there have been so many movies i have been wanting to watch like on DVD and just rewatch or stuff like that but I'm like no I have to read because I told you guys you know I have a three-year-old son my husband I will switch nights kind of a who watches him for like an hour so the other one of us can have kind of like free time to do what we want and I usually use that free time to read and sometimes a lot of those times I've been reading and I've really had to force myself to read like I'm like uh I really don't want to read do I just want to lay down I kind of binge TV yeah I kind of do but I'm like no people are relying with me people want to hear what I have to say about this book I really need to read this book I need to add it to my goal I need to add it to my Goodreads and all that kind of stuff and like that's not healthy so that's this whole year for me yes I've read a lot of books like close to 90 right now maybe even 90 I might even hit a hundred who knows I was not planning on that at all and I think that's an amazing thing yes but I feel like I have been really pushing myself and pressuring myself to read so say you're a book reviewer you know just maybe just take a break like from reading and just read whenever you feel like it like I I don't know like I will say this month I have been wanting to read I've been actually very excited to read there's been only one book that I've read this month that I really had to push myself through and I push myself through it honestly because of the author and because I was like I just want to finish this book that's all the crooked statesmen angsty minor case you're wondering I did not really enjoy it and I could have probably stopped but I just kept reading and it got a little bit more enjoyable but again that's kind of the pressure like I pressured myself to finish that book is that healthy no I don't know usually I'm no prompt DNF and books honestly like if I have not captures in the first hundred pages I'm like I'll talk to you later so what was I saying oh my gosh this is why these let's shut videos are kind of just really insane so it also let's talk about reading slumps I've been watching a few videos that have been that have been kind of old what I've watched Rin C's book i watch rincey of rincey reads video talking about like the book slump as well as katie from chapter stack they're both kind of older videos but I just wanted to kind of I just wanted to find fresh perspectives on different things and I really liked the way they said you know reading slumps really kind of don't exist like if you don't read for a while that classifies is a reading slump I think it's okay to even take reading breaks like if you don't feel like reading don't read and I have to tell myself that constantly and I'm still not good at that guys I'm not good that's because I am such a goal-oriented person like I'm like I started this I need to finish this I said I was gonna do this I'm gonna do it and I don't know how to break that mold I just I'm not I'm also a person that does not relax very well I just don't like even if I'm binging a TV show more than likely I'm sitting down planning my week or planning like writing my grocery list or doing other things I never just solely sit and relax that's just my personality it's not as have a personally I don't know I've really bad anxiety and stress I don't know if that relates to that but I just don't relax and I just maybe I'm also asking for in this video for your advice like if you are a person like me what helps you unwind and kind of take a break from things that you know you love but you still feel like you need a break from like I love reading but honestly in December I don't think I'm gonna want to read a lot because it's December there's gonna be a lot to do so I'm honestly thinking about only putting four books on my TBR which is a little what that's small for me because usually this year of the Ring link upwards to seven to ten a month so that's a really small amount maybe even three I don't know know how you deal with the pressure to read it's constantly there I feel like in the back of my mind at the back of my heart of I what are you doing right now how's that you're not doing anything you probably should be reading because you said you were gonna read this book and you need to read this book because people are expecting to hear what you think about it and you just said you were gonna finish it so you need to finish it that's like the internal monologue and my brain um so I don't I don't know in this video so the pressure to read how do you personally deal with it like do you think it's a good thing to have pressure to read do you think it's a bad thing that pressure to read there's such a fine line there is between like doing something that you love but also feeling very anxious and pressured to do it maybe pressures are the right word am i using this in the wrong context I don't want to say oh i love i love love reading but sometimes it can feel like a chore particularly with books that i'm just not loving or i'm not caring about you know know what i'm trying to make this whole video about it's just i feel a lot of times pressure to read like it's my self-inflicted it's not you guys at all and I don't know maybe I'm just filming this to hear what your opinions are how you deal with it if you deal with it what do you think about it overall like the pressure to like read and you know the reading slumps if there's a reading slump so I think you know this month I've been very good and not pressuring myself like I'll be honest I started a book this month and with that 20 pages I'm like no I don't think I'm it was on my TBR - I might try to revisit but I'm not gonna beat myself up if I'm not gonna finish it you want to read it because you want to tell pew what you thought about it and it's hard when you don't finish it because you're like well I don't have a well-formed opinion on it so I don't know if I could tell people what I think about it and it's just so weird so bottom line I love you guys I love you guys so much I hope this video does not seem that guys complaining by any means because I'm not this is a hundred percent self-inflicted like this is my problem I put the pressure because I put pressure on myself that's the type of person I am I am a very much goal-oriented workaholic very very anxiety-ridden person um that just feels the need to do things constantly I can't ever let my mind just sit still I think that's even being a mom a quitter just being a person in general my mind is always whirling of things to do what to plan where to go what to read and it's just sometimes I think I need to take a break and I'm not taking a break buddy means on booktube because I love doing it it is a job yes but I love I have a passion for doing it she's like I'm a passion for reading and it's okay to have a passion for something to still realize that maybe I should just step back for a little bit and be cool off with my reading and I think maybe I'll do that like I think I'm gonna try that with December and see how I feel and maybe I'll go on there for January in the next year so I'm obviously thinking about setting my Goodreads goal to like one for next year that way that's pressure read I'm like I already hit my goal great so there's no pressure to hit a certain number put your feedback do you feel the pressure to read how do you deal with it and things like that this is a very Phyllis video is a complete failure it is what it is basically this is just me pouring my heart out to you hope that's okay if you'd like this video somehow please let me know and give it a thumbs up and hit subscribe so lady it's very very harsh lighting today because when it gets colder here the lighting gets harsh as mess so I apologize for that should probably work on it today I'm just not feeling well so that's why anyway I will talk to you guys later please comment and let me know if you want other any future kind of let chat videos talking about other book related topics or anything in general also please let me know I would love to hear your thoughts and what I can film because I'm always looking for something to film I'll see you guys later and sorry again for this horrible video bye\n"