A realistic goal for most adults is 12 to 25 books a year: that’s 10 to 20 pages a day with 300-page books. There is no single right number, so instead of starting from a round number on someone else’s list, work it out from the other end: pages a day times 365, divided by the length of the book. The calculator above does the sum for you.
How many books does the average person read a year?
Fewer than book lovers tend to think. In a Pew Research Center survey of 1,502 US adults in early 2021, the typical (median) American had read five books in the previous 12 months. The average was about 14, pulled up by a smaller group of very keen readers. Three in four adults had read at least one book in any format.
A Gallup poll from December 2021 found an average of 12.6 books a year, the lowest it had measured since 1990. In the same poll, 17% of adults said they hadn’t read any books in the past year and 27% had read more than ten.
So a dozen books a year already puts you around the average, and five is a perfectly normal year.
A formula that replaces guessing
Example: 10 pages a day is 3,650 pages a year. With 300-page books that is about 12 books. Do not count it to the day: you will have a slower week, a shorter book and a long weekend, and the result will come out similar anyway.
A table: what each daily goal gives you
The table assumes you read every day for a whole year. If you read five days a week, multiply the result by 0.7.
| Pages a day | Pages a year | 250-page books | 400-page books |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 1,825 | 7 | 4 |
| 10 | 3,650 | 14 | 9 |
| 20 | 7,300 | 29 | 18 |
| 30 | 10,950 | 43 | 27 |
Results are for 250-page books, rounded down.
Set your goal in three steps
- Check your pace. Read for a few days and see how many pages fit into a typical session. We explain how in how many pages a day to read.
- Pick a number of pages you are not afraid to do. If you could hit it on a bad day, that is a good sign.
- Convert it to books and write it down in one place. Add a buffer: if the result is 14, set the goal at 12. The reading goal calculator does the sum the other way round, from books a year to pages a day.
Is 12, 20 or 50 books a year good?
12 books is one a month and about 10 pages a day with 300-page books. It’s close to the average in the surveys above and fits into about ten minutes a day.
20 books takes about 16 pages a day, roughly 17 minutes at an average pace. A good goal if you already read most days.
50 books takes about 41 pages a day with 300-page books, or around 43 minutes. That’s a lot for most schedules unless you read shorter books or count audiobooks.
When 52 or 100 books makes sense
Numbers like that sound impressive, but they are constraints, not values in themselves. Fifty-two books a year is one a week: at 300 pages each, about 43 pages a day. It fits if you read many shorter books, listen to audiobooks, or have a big chunk of time to read each day. If the goal tempts you, see the 52 books in a year challenge. If not, you can happily read four books and call the year a good one.
The same sum scales up to a whole life. See how many books you can read in a lifetime at your pace.
Books, pages or minutes: what to count
A goal in books is easy to remember but uneven: a comic and a thousand-page tome count the same. Pages even that out better. Minutes work if you mix paper, ebooks and audiobooks. You can also combine them: a yearly goal in books and a daily one in pages or minutes. More on choosing a unit in how to track reading progress.
Before you set next year’s goal, look back: the reading year in review is 10 numbers and 16 questions about what and how you read.
How to keep to a goal without pressure
- Check it once a month. Counting daily how much you are “behind” takes the joy out of it.
- Let yourself change the goal mid-year. A change is not a failure, just better information.
- Leave room for books you will not finish. A book you put down still taught you something.
FAQ
How many books should I read a month? One a month (12 a year) is a calm, realistic pace for most people. Two a month means about 20 pages a day.
Is reading 50 books a year a lot? Yes, compared with the surveys above it’s several times the typical year. It’s doable with short books, audiobooks or a lot of free time.
Do audiobooks count? If you decide they do. Pew’s 2021 figures count books in any format, audiobooks included.
What if I fall behind? Lower the goal. A goal that you change mid-year still did its job: it got you reading.
If you want your goal, progress and friendly competition in one place, see how Talemi works and join early access. For choosing an app, see our guide to reading trackers. To see how long a particular book will take, try the reading time calculator.
Sources
- Pew Research Center, Three-in-ten Americans now read e-books, 6 January 2022 (survey of 25 January to 8 February 2021), checked 28 October 2026.
- Gallup, Americans Reading Fewer Books Than in Past, January 2022 (poll of 1 to 16 December 2021), checked 28 October 2026.
