In fairness, Authority and Acceptance do have pretty drastically different stylistic approaches. The shift from Annihilation to Authority (with its more grounded, office-intrigue style) in particular can be pretty jarring.

Not that I'm complaining -- I think each book fits with the others, and books 2 and 3 each build to their own forms of weird horror (for lack of a better term!) that are only possible in the contexts they build. I love each book and the trilogy as a whole. But books 2 and 3 aren't just "more Annihilation", and I can see why some people might be put off by that (even if I think they should approach those books on their own terms!).

God Emperor is, after the 1st book, also my favourite in the series!

Yes, for me setting a reading goal has also really helped me get back into reading, after a long break thanks to professional life and stress etc. For me it's the opposite though -- I set my goal low on purpose (I hit it in September this year). That takes the pressure off and makes it so I'm not stressed about meeting the goal, have the flexibility to read longer books and so on, but I find just having the goal and keeping track of what I've read is fun and helps motivate me. I also really enjoy going through my list of what I've read at the end of the year!

I think the point is whatever works for someone -- there's no "right" answer!