my reading points system

call me crazy, but it's working!

Dear Bookish Friend,

I recently decided to create a “points system” for my reading. The whole idea behind these points was to reward myself for reading the kinds of books I keep saying I want to read but also tend to keep putting off.

Now, let me just say, there is nothing wrong with just reading for fun. But while fun is one of the reasons I like to read, it is not the only one.

I personally also want to read to push myself to learn and grow. I want to read difficult classics and non-fiction books. But if I’m not intentional I will just read books as more of an escape.

In some seasons I’m fine with leaning into some escapism type reading, but for the most part I want some balance in my reading life, thus, my points system was created.

The general idea behind my system is to reward myself for reading the types of books I say I want to read. And “punish” myself if I don’t reach my goal.

THE DETAILS

My goal is to read ten “points” each month. I get points for each book that I finish that fulfills one of the categories I’ll highlight below.

If a book can check multiple categories I can only take one of the point options, so if it were able to check a box in the three and two point categories, I would only take the three points, I wouldn’t add them for five.

THREE POINT BOOKS

The books that fall in the three point category are as follows:

• a classic over 200 pages

• a book over 500 pages

These are the ones I tend to avoid the most, hence the highest points.

TWO POINT BOOKS

These are books that I want to prioritize but aren’t that difficult to finish:

• a classic under 200 pages

• non-fiction

• a new-to-me indie author

ONE POINT BOOKS

These ones are pretty easy to read but I need to award myself points for them otherwise I’ll just get distracted by all the library books I check out:

• a series continuation (NOT the first book in a series)

• ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) or books authors have sent me

• fiction from my TBR (I share these in videos each month, I will also count books that were on my TBR from any month in 2026 that I didn’t get to yet. So, if I have some leftovers from January’s TBR, I can read them in February and still get points for them.)

THE PUNISHMENTS

The punishments are not all that terrible. If I don’t reach my ten points I will need to draw a punishment card which include things that I want to prioritize in my reading, such as: read a book over 500 pages or read a daunting classic.

The true punishment here is that I won’t be able to start any other books until my punishment book is done. I think that will be good motivation for me.

Being the evening of the 28th, it’s the crunch time of the month. I’m currently one point away from my goal of ten points and I’m hoping to finish Frankenstein and maybe even another book. February may be a bit harder since it has less days in the month, but at least I don’t have a Dickens book on the docket like I did for January!

I will be sharing in my monthly reading wrap ups how I did with my points and if I need to draw a punishment card I’ll do so then!

Have you tried anything similar with your reading? What have you found works for you?

Chantel (who wishes she actually could Read All Day)

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