Reading in Public No. 25: Are we over-optimizing our reading?

My thoughts on efficiency, data, and success in the reading life

One of the best pieces of cultural criticism I’ve read is Jia Tolentino’s essay “Always Be Optimizing” in her wonderful collection Trick Mirror. You can read a version of that essay published in The Guardian in which she describes and laments the practice of self-optimization. Tolentino analyzes a culture of constant self-improvement that becomes impossible to opt out of and a decision making framework that emphasizes efficiency and effectiveness over everything else.

Tolentino’s insights are constantly running in the background of my mind and, this year, I’ve wondered if a culture of optimization has seeped into the book world. Are we approaching reading with an attitude of effectiveness and efficiency? Are we too focused on success and improvement? And, if so, are these the best paths for developing a satisfying reading life?

These questions popped into my mind during the influx of end-of-the year best of lists and sharing of reading stats I encountered online. I don’t use a spreadsheet to record my own reading metrics, so I’m always blown away by the data some readers have about their own books and reading. In addition to knowing how many books they’ve read, I’ve seen readers who know their average star ratings for books depending on genre, publishing house, book recommendation source, and method of reading (audio, print, etc). I know readers who track the settings of all of their books, the backgrounds of the authors, whether a book was chosen by a celebrity book club…the list goes on. As someone who recognizes the need to keep better track of my own reading (I was not pleased with the diversity of my own reading this year and I know tracking that is the best way to change it), I admire the effort that goes into this kind of detailed record keeping. It’s truly impressive stuff, and I want to find a way to channel some of that into my own tracking. But I worry (for myself) about the bigger picture effects of this level of data collection.

Much of this intensive metric tracking is done out of pure curiosity or a desire to actually remember what we read, but it’s also about optimizing reading. Tracking the minutiae of our reading lives can become an attempt to make reading more effective, efficient, and successful. It can help us home in on key factors that may help determine whether or not we will like a book. On the one hand, I get it. Who doesn’t want to read more books they like? Focusing on what’s working and what’s not working in our reading lives, keeping track of who recommends our favorite books, and not spending too much precious time on books that aren’t serving us, can all absolutely lead to reading more enjoyable books. That’s a really good thing!

But on the other hand, I wonder if there’s a tipping point where thinking too much about how to find our next great read leaves us feeling dissatisfied with different types of reading experiences. I never considered reading a so-so book to be “unsuccessful” until I got caught up in the bookish corner of the internet. I didn’t think about reading just okay books as a waste of time; I recognized that as part of being a reader. Stumbling upon the standouts was part of the joy. But when I let myself believe that the goal of reading is to only read books that I love and adore, reading as a whole can start to feel like one big disappointment.

Plus there are so many reasons I enjoy reading books I don’t love. For me, successful reading isn’t about how many five-star books I read in a given period of time. My most successful reading experiences are the ones that make me think, get me talking, lead me down rabbit holes, and surprise me. And it’s difficult to pinpoint both how to measure and how to find these types of reads. If I tried to optimize my book selection process, I know I would miss out on many of my most fulfilling reading experiences.

This is not to say that we shouldn’t be tracking our reading or paying attention to the patterns we notice in our favorite literature. Although I want to reassure you that if you don’t do any of those things, that’s okay! You don’t need a reading journal or a spreadsheet or a tracking system to have a satisfied reader. You can randomly pick up books that catch your eye and still have an extremely “successful” reading life. And if you do love tracking or you are an optimizer, you do you! Fine tune that book selection method and maximize those five-star books! We all have our own reading styles and motivations, and only you know what successful reading means to you.

But as I personally venture into the waters of more deliberate book tracking, I’m going to cautiously avoid over-optimizing. I don’t need to enhance the efficacy of my book selection process to feel deeply satisfied by my reading. I don’t need to prove that my reading life is improving through a metric of star ratings or a tally of loved books. Reading is valuable in and of itself, and the constant pressure to make our reading lives EVEN BETTER misses the point.

This year, let’s give ourselves permission to make reading one part of our lives that isn’t consumed by a culture of optimization, efficiency, and self-improvement. Let’s allow ourselves to be surprised. Let’s waste time with imperfect books. Let’s take risks on genres or authors that have proven unsuccessful for us before. Let’s pick up a book we know nothing about because we like the title. Let’s be okay with books that don’t dazzle us and celebrate what they did do for us rather than deeming them unsuccessful. Let’s allow our reading to be driven by curiosity rather than data and see what happens.

I’d love to know how you approach this balancing act! How do find books you love without obsessing over finding books you love? How do you track your reading without becoming consumed by the data? Do you enjoy optimizing your reading or are you okay with a less deliberate reading life?

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-Sara