---
aliases: ["Books Per Month"]
Is A: Measure
Belongs to: "[[responsibility-learning]]"
Unit: "books"
---
# Books Per Month

Books per month tracks the rate of deliberate learning through long-form reading. Reading is the primary input for original thinking and content ideation across [[responsibility-content-production]]. This metric exists because reading is easily deprioritized under business pressure, and tracking it ensures [[responsibility-learning]] maintains its share of time and attention.

This measure is a leading indicator for content quality: months with higher reading volume tend to correlate with more original newsletter essays and stronger engagement on those essays.

## How it's tracked

Each completed book (physical, Kindle, or audiobook) is logged in the monthly tracking spreadsheet. A book counts as "read" when finished or when at least 80% has been consumed (for reference books where cover-to-cover reading is not the goal). Audiobooks count fully. Re-reads count if substantial new notes are taken.

## Targets

- **Minimum**: 1 book per month. No month should pass without at least one completed book.
- **Target**: 1.5-2 books per month (18-24 per year), as set by [[2024-read-24-books]] and [[2025-read-20-books]].
- **Stretch**: 2.5 books per month, achievable when audiobook consumption during cycling training is high.

## Notes

- Audiobooks during cycling rides are the most reliable channel for volume. In 2024, roughly a third of all books were consumed this way. This channel scales with [[measure-cycling-km-per-month]].
- Non-fiction relevant to the newsletter (engineering, business, leadership) should represent at least 50-60% of the mix, but fiction and unrelated reading have value for creative cross-pollination.
- Track this alongside [[measure-evergreen-notes-created]] to ensure reading translates into lasting, reusable knowledge rather than passive consumption.
- Months with zero books are a red flag for burnout or unsustainable workload distribution.
