7 ways to read more books
When I was younger, I used to read a lot. Hundreds of books per year. However, gradually, that number began to shrink. When I started university, that number dwindled to almost nothing unless you consider textbooks as reading material.
After awhile, I realized that I had completely lost the art of reading. And it was super hard to get back into it, let me tell you! I was used to spending a lot of time on screens due to my phone and online schooling. However, with some discipline, I have retrained myself to love reading again!
I downloaded Goodreads in 2017, and ever since then, I’ve tried to return to my childhood days when I would spend hours devouring stories. The progress is slow, but I have gradually increased my capacity and desire to read with several simple steps. Whether you want to read fiction or nonfiction, here are seven ways you can make the process easier and read more books!
Keep a book easily accessible
Here’s a scenario: are you more likely to read a book if it’s sitting on your coffee table or if it’s downstairs behind a pile of boxes? Obviously, you’re more likely to read if your book is easily accessible and doesn’t require a huge exertion of energy and motivation to get to. Here’s a little hot tip: if you have to perform acrobatics to get to your book, you probably won’t. Set your book in a place where you’ll see it often as a visual reminder to read.
Where do you usually scroll on your phone? Identify a place, like your bedroom, bathroom, or livingroom, and set your book there. It’ll be a cue to jog your memory to pick up the book and read it. Make it easy for yourself!
Read books you actually want to read
I can’t tell you how many times my desire to read has been utterly and completely quenched with a slow, boring, or downright awful book. Give yourself permission to quit books that aren’t great. Or, better yet, don’t pick up books you think you “should” read for educational purposes if it’s not something that interests you. You likely won’t finish and it will stall your reading progress.
My only qualifier on this is that if the Bible is the book that you’re struggling to read—loads of resources can make reading the Bible easier and more engaging. Try a different translation, read it with a friend, or pick out a good commentary.
Change up the medium
If reading a physical copy of a book is slowing you down, try listening to an audiobook while you fold laundry or do the dishes. Audiobooks still count, and you’re still learning valuable things or engaging your mind in interesting stories if you listen to it in lieu of reading words on a page. I honestly love to alternate between audiobooks and physical books because sometimes physically reading a book is very draining. Plus, you can’t really read a book in the car…
Use Goodreads to track your reads
I love Goodreads, personally. It was where I first started to keep track of what I was reading. Goodreads also has a fun option to set a goal for how many books you’d like to read in a year and will keep you updated with how far along you are and how many books you need to read per month or week to keep up with your goal.
Goodreads also connects you with friends so you can compete with your reading goal progress and get recommendations for good books to check out! Anything that adds an element of community is great in my books.
I’d love to connect with you on Goodreads! My profile is linked here. Let’s do this together!
Read in the margins
And no, I don’t mean the margins of your books, though if you annotate, maybe you’ll want to go back and read what stuck out to you during your first read-through. I mean identifying pockets of your day where you can read.
Maybe you have a ten minutes before you have to leave for work in the morning when you can sneak in a chapter. Maybe you can read seven pages while you’re waiting for an appointment. Maybe you can slip in some reading just before bed.
The point is, you don’t have to wait until you have an hour-long block to read. If you do that, you likely won’t get much reading done at all. But, if you find little moments in your day when you can fit in even just a few pages worth of reading, you’ll likely get hooked and notice yourself picking up your book more and more.
Get a library card
If money or book storage is an issue (or even if it isn’t), you can always get a library card. These are usually free or very cheap and give you access to thousands of titles. In Alberta, the Parkland Regional Library gives you access to dozens of libraries. If a book isn’t at your home library, your librarian can order a copy from another library and have it delivered for pickup!
Alternatively, you can also use your library card to connect to the Libby app, which houses hundreds of audiobooks, ebooks, and magazines. You can download them directly onto your phone within seconds!
Besides all of this, going to the library makes for a fun evening! There’s something magical about meandering through aisle after aisle of bookshelves, breathing in the smell of the books, and perusing titles. Getting to go home with a thrilling new read is simply a bonus!
Go on reading dates with friends
My sisters and I had a sleepover in September, and the next day we were all very tired out. Instead of playing a game or going for a walk together, we decided we’d spend the afternoon reading together. It was such a lovely time. The house was serene, each of us engrossed in a different world constructed of words. We were all together, enjoying each other’s company whilst simultaneously enjoying a different story.
I love reading. I love how you can’t really rush it. I love the weight of a book in my hands, turning the pages, breathing in the smell of the binding. And I love going to coffee shops.
For a fun activity with your friends, invite them on a reading date. Head to your favorite coffee shop or welcome them into your home. Have them bring a book or offer to pick one out for them. Make your favourite cozy drink and settle in with your comfiest blanket to read together. It’s easy. It’s fun. And it’s good for your brain, too!
