How To Read More Books This Year

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I’ve gotten asked a number of times how I read so many books every year, so I figured it was time to answer the question and help you figure out how to read more in your daily life. The first step is to admit you have a problem.  Okay, I’m not going to actually get that serious on you. Instead, I’m going to share the things I do and hopefully you can implement one or two of them in your life.

How to Read More Books This Year

1. Abandon your social life

Just kidding!….kind of? Okay, not really. But I love taking nights or afternoons to just sit and read a book. I’m not saying do this all of the time (because friends ARE good), but every once in a while taking a night to yourself is amazing.

2. Install the kindle app on your phone (or iBooks or whatever platform you use)

You know that thing you’re always looking at? That thing that lights up and is about the size of your palm (or a small island if you’re a plus user), well surprise! You can do more on it than just play candy crush (does anyone play that anymore) or check instagram (unless you’re looking at my instagram, in which case, keep doing what you’re doing and ignore this step). You can read books on it too! I don’t recommend this for long reading sessions (that backlight will hurt your eyes), but it’s great for a quick reading session (see next reason).

I always make sure that I have a book downloaded to my phone that I can read on the go. Sometimes I have it synced with whatever is on my Kindle, but every once in a while I have a designated phone only book (I don’t really recommend that though). You can do this through the Kindle App, Overdrive App, or the iBooks App (I’m sure there are others, but I haven’t used them, so I can’t really recommend them).

3. Always have a book on you.

Extreme? Maybe, but you get caught on the metro or in a long line, you’ll be happy. You can have an actual paperback, your kindle, or a book on your phone (see above for how to do that), but having something with you will always be a lifesaver.

4. Read before bed

This is actually something I’ve done my entire life (regardless of circumstance). Even if you’re busy with work or school or life, take an extra 10 or 20 minutes to read before you go to bed. It calms you down so much and it’s a great way to get a few pages in. If I have a longer book, I’ll make it a goal to try to read at least 30 pages each night. Also, yes, I read my book in my bed so as soon as I can feel myself getting tired I can put the book down and go to sleep. (Note: hardcovers are great for this. If you use a device though, pick something like a Kindle E-Reader that doesn’t have that blue backlight which will actually wake you up and make it harder to go to sleep.)

5. Commute = reading time (audiobooks for cars)

Now for those who are about to tell me that they drive or walk to work so they can’t actually read a book, skip this step and jump to #6. For the rest of you, I don’t know what you’re doing on the bus or metro, but use that time to pick up a book! Even if it’s only a 5 minute ride, that’s 5 minutes of reading that you didn’t have before.

6. Audiobooks are your friend. Embrace them, love them, make them feel appreciated.

Now for those of you who are ready to start complaining because “I drive to work and I can’t read then” stop complaining because you can! It’s called an audiobook. But I don’t like audiobooks you say. Well hear me out. If you listen to radio or podcasts, you’ll like audiobooks. Now you may not like the first audiobook you pick up, but that’s okay! I’m really picky about my audiobooks and anything from the author to the genre can turn me off. I’ve discovered that I prefer memoirs and “self help” books to fiction (unless its read by Jim Dale) and you can bet I’ll turn a book off if I don’t like the reader’s voice.

Also, I tend to listen to them on 1.5x speed (all adjustable in whatever app you use) because the regular pacing is too slow. I tend to listen to audiobooks through the OverDrive or Audible apps, but don’t let me stop you if you want to pick up some books on CD.

7. Put it down.

Um, doesn’t putting a book down basically make everything I just said pointless? Yes. And no. I’m not telling you to put down your book and go do something else. Nope, I’m telling you to put down the bad book your reading and go read something better. I think it must have been all those years of forced reading in school, but I have good news for you: You don’t need to keep reading your terrible book! Yes, it’s 100% okay to put down a book you don’t like and stop reading! Many of us have a problem doing that because we were taught to slog through all books, but guess what, you don’t have to!

There’s a lot of social pressure to read those “books of the year”, but you aren’t going to like every single book of the year (talk to me about Fates and Furies if you don’t believe me). If you don’t like a book, you don’t have to read it just because everyone is reading it or someone you know recommended it to you. If someone tries to tell you otherwise, then just give them that gold star that they’re clearly trying to get by reading all of the books and walk away (or just say “no thank you” if you’re a politer person).

I’ve read so many more books this year because I haven’t wasted my time reading books I don’t like. I’ll give it about 20% of the book, but if I get that far and I don’t like it, I’m not going to bother finishing it.

8. Read more of the books you like.

Honestly, the best way to read more is to read more of the books you actually like. This goes back to #7. Embrace the genres and authors you love. I love young adult books, so yes, I’m going to keep reading them even if I’m not a young adult. You can (and should) still try new books, authors, and genres, but embrace the books you love and be proud of it.

Hopefully that was helpful! I think it’s a pretty comprehensive list of how I read more books in my life, so I hope you can grab at least one or two tips that can help you too!

And on that note, if you’re lost on what to read next, let me know what types of books you like in the comments below and I’ll give you some recommendations! I can also teach you how to use Kindle/Overdrive if you  need help (there’s no shame in asking).