With a new year comes new goals, and for a lot of people that includes reading more books. There are many ways that you can incorporate reading in your life. Here are some tips that can help you to read more books.
1. Be very intentional with your time.
I would say a part of reading more is actually wanting to. With that said, I suggest setting aside at least thirty minutes to an hour out of your day to read a book. Studies have shown that the average reader reads about 30 pages an hour. For me, it really depends on the content and writing style of the book, so I may read more or less than 30 pages an hour. But taking it an hour at a time, even if it's just one hour a day, will get you further than you realize.
2. Bring a book with you everywhere.
If you're like me and prefer the physical books to ebooks, I would suggest to try and bring a book everywhere you go. Ebooks work too and might be easier for you to carry around, but I find that having a physical book with me everywhere prompts me to read it more.
3. Try audiobooks.
You may not be an audiobook fan and thats okay. Some audiobooks are harder for me to get into than others. But some audiobooks can actually enhance your reading experience, for example audiobooks that are narrated by the author (Trevor Noah's Born a Crime for example is narrated by him and it's an awesome, engaging read), or one with a full cast of narrators (thats usually a fun and exciting way to experience a book- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders and Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid have a full cast of narrators). I mostly listen to audiobooks while I'm driving, cooking, cleaning and doing laundry. Doing this really takes the edge off of doing chores and it gives you more reading time, which in the end allows you to read more books.
I would also suggest audiobooks for books that I found hard/annoying to read. For example, the lack of punctuations in Normal People by Sally Rooney was difficult for me to get used to and quite frankly, it's just not my preferred writing to style to read. So I listened to the audiobook instead and found it to be really well done and much more digestible. Normal People is now one of my favorite books!
4. Read short books.
This tip may seem obvious, but for me, reading short books helped me to read more not only because I complete more books in a shorter amount of time due to their length, but because whenever I finish a book, I feel very accomplished and it motivates me to pick up another book right after. So, if you read a short book, it might help with that productive feeling that will prompt you to pick up another book. I consider books under 200 pages to be on the shorter side, and there are so many short books you can read from all genres. Here's a list of short books you can read in a day.
5. Read different genres of books.
This helped me a lot with reading more. I jumped outside of my comfort zone of mostly reading fantasy books and started reading more classics, thrillers, non fiction etc. I found that reading romance and thrillers/mysteries helped me to read more, as these books are typically fast paced and easier to read than some other genres. For me, I pick up a thriller or a light romance book whenever I feel like I am in a reading slump and it really helps. You also should never feel pressured to read only a certain type of book...I read books from most genres and I find that I've learned so many things from every book I've read from the various genres. No genre shaming around here!
6. Join a book club.
This is a more active tip, but if you have the time I would suggest doing this. It doesn't have to be a big book club, it could just be you and another person, but having that accountability partner really helps with maintaining a consistent reading life.
7. Social Networks
Another fun and interactive tip is to join a reading social network like Goodreads or Story Graph. These sites help you to track your books, set fun reading goals/challenges and it enables you to review and see reviews for books you are interested in or have read.
I would also suggest watching Youtube videos from the "Booktube" community. There are many booktubers who recommend and review books, and even have a book club thats easy to join by simply reading the book they pick each month! I have read so many good books because of Booktubers' recommendations. I also love watching their videos and seeing some of their fun reading challenges, and their takes on books that they either love or or don't. Watching these videos also helped me to find books that weren't on my radar but sounded so interesting I had to get them.
Creating a "Bookstagram" (an Instagram page dedicated to books) also helped me with finding great reads and connecting with fellow book lovers. Immersing yourself in such a community can really inspire you to read more. If you don't want to create an account solely dedicated to books, you can also just follow different book accounts on Instagram, Tik Tok, or any other social media platform.
8. Reading Challenges
Join or create your own reading challenge! There are many reading challenges that you can do. I've set many reading challenges for myself over the years, some of which are Reading a Book from Every Country in the World, Reading all the Booker Prize Winners, and my 2023 Reading Challenge where I read one book a month from a specific prompt. There are so many other reading challenges you can do that will help to make reading a more engaging and fun experience for you.
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