The secret to reaching your reading goals: get yourself a Quick Stack

This time of year I often read social media posts or run into actual, in-real-life people who wish they had more time to read or who worry about reaching their yearly reading goals. As someone who has read around 200 books a year for the last three years, I am happy to let you in on my secret -- I call it the Quick Stack.

I mean, it could technically be called The Short Stack, but that just says pancakes to me and pancakes are a very specific and sacred thing.

It's simple, but so effective

The Quick Stack is basically a stack of books (or shelf, I suppose, if you have enough of those around, or collection on your eReader of choice) that you keep on hand at all times full of books that are, um, quick to read.

I said it was simple, please stop looking at me like that.

Poetry, graphic novels, plays, novellas, kids' chapter books, middle grade novels, novels in verse, heavily illustrated coffee table books, manga, short nonfiction, and comic books are all great things to have in the quick stack and yes, if you're asking, they absolutely all count toward your reading goal. The person who told you they don't count was sitting on a throne of lies and I'm sorry they hurt you.

It's not just a quantity thing

While I initially created my Quick Stack to make sure I reached my incredibly self-imposed reading goals, I soon learned it has reading life benefits far beyond the numbers game.

• Are you in the middle of a big, honking book and even though you love it, it kind of feels like you've been reading one thing for a thousand years? Take a tiny break from it and grab something off the Quick Stack.

• Have you been in a reading slump for what feels like months (or maybe it's really been months) and you're starting to despair? The Quick Stack is full of things that will make you feel like you're still a reader (because you are.)

• Has your reading been feeling a little one-note with all the Christmas romances you've been reading (100% talking about myself here) and you need to branch out? Grabbing poetry or a graphic novel off the Quick Stack can help you stretch your comfort zone and feel like you've had a reading reset.

• Did you just read something amazing (or terrible, I suppose) and you're not sure you can ever read anything else ever again? Quick Stack titles can serve as a kind of palate cleanser. Something small to help you move on.

And then, of course, you can add the books to your Goodreads challenge because that's what really counts. Kidding! Yep. Kidding.

Recommendations for your very own Quick Stack

Here are 10 titles from my Quick Stack this year to help you get started:

1. Little Weirds by Jenny Slate - The title for these essays is very fitting in the best possible way.

2. Where to Begin by Cleo Wade - Read it whenever you need a little hope.

3. Dear Justice League by Michael Northrup & Gustavo Duarte - Kids write to the members of the Justice League for advice. So cute.

4. Art Matters by Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell - Because sometimes you need to hear that your imagination can change the world.

5. The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark - African orishas working through a teenage girl in an alt-history Civil War New Orleans.

6. A Quick & Easy Guide to Queer & Trans Identities by Mady G & J.R. Zuckerberg - A ton of important information in a tiny, graphic novel package.

7. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff - 20 years of correspondence between a writer in New York City and a bookseller in London. Delightful!

8. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata - A quirky book about a quirky woman trying to figure out her place in the world.

9. The White Card: a Play by Claudia Rankine - A one-act play that uses a conversation about art and racial representation to move beyond white politeness and uncover true intentions. Incredibly powerful.

10. The Test by Sylvain Neuvel - A Black Mirror-esque, horrifying look at citizenship and the refugee experience in near-future Britain.

If you're trying to get a few more books in before the end of the year or you're looking for a way to read more in 2020, I highly recommend giving this Quick Stack idea a try. Grab some awesome shorter books, put 'em all in the same place, and watch how your reading life grows and stretches in all kinds of great ways.

Happy Reading!