Do you think of yourself as a book lover…even though your book reading has slowed down to a trickle? Here’s my advice for becoming your happy bookworm self again! Schoolchildren in the United States are back in school again, and I figured this was a good time for a “how to read a lot” post. 🙂
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For most of my life, I’ve been a voracious reader. In the past few years, though, my day job in publishing made it more difficult to make reading books a habit (other than the ones we publish!) I’m happy to say that I’ve really been getting back into reading books over the past summer.
Check Your Book, Not the Internet
This first one is a big one! We all have these little intervals throughout the day where we have a few minutes to kill, whether we’re waiting in line at the store, waiting for a doctor to see us, or waiting for a meeting to get started. For those of us who work at computers all day, sometimes we take a little break between finishing one task and completing the next one.
A lot of us use social media or news sites to fill these little breaks in time. We check what’s happening in the world or on Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram. It’s such a common habit…but it can turn into a toxic one that makes us miserable! If we’re willingly subjecting ourselves to multiple doses of depressing news or the Twitter outrage of the day, we may be wreaking havoc on our mental health.
All those “little” breaks add up to a lot of time. You’re likely to feel much happier if, instead of checking in on the news five times a day, you check in on what’s happening with the characters in a good novel. And it’s a great strategy for building your reading habit!
Don’t Finish Everything You Start
A lot of us were raised to not give up on things, and sometimes that’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s not. If you’re not really getting into your book—for any reason—drop it and pick something else up instead. I don’t care if you feel like it’s a book you “should” read…a book that’s “good for you.” It’s better to read something you enjoy, especially when you’re getting back into the habit of reading.
Embrace the Benefits of Audiobooks
Here’s why audiobooks are great: they allow you to multi-task, increasing your reading exponentially. You can listen to them while driving, walking, doing the elliptical at the gym, knitting, or cleaning the bathroom.
If you have a stressful job, try doing this on your lunch hour or break: take a walk or (if you work at home) lie down and listen to an audiobook. It’s harder for your body to hold on to stress when you’re walking or you’re lying down, and the audiobook will be the complete distraction from worry that you need.
I’ve seen some people argue about whether listening to books counts as reading. I think this argument is too silly to spend much time on. Of course it counts!
Power Down with a Book
Lots of us are guilty of screen time before we go to bed. I’m bad about this, too! But the blue light of a screen can confuse the body and make it harder for us to go to sleep. Try a print edition of a book or an audiobook instead. You may find it’s easier to unwind.
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If you do all of the things above, that’ll be enough to turn you into a real reader again! You’ll enjoy books, and you’ll probably feel a little less stressed out, too.
If you have other advice for how to get back into reading, please share it in the comments! I know everyone else will appreciate it, too. Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy reading!
Great tips! I’m guilty of most of these. What I started doing is listening to audiobooks (instead of music) while I work out in the morning, and it’s had the added benefit of motivating me with my own writing.
Hi Tom! Yes, listening to books while working out is my favorite hack. 🙂 Although, I do have to switch to some fast music to give me a little extra kick at the end! Haha. Hope you’re having a good week!
I think all writers have difficulty finding time to read. I know I do. I find that scheduling an hour a day really helps me. Also, I love books now that I have decluttered my house.
Hi Naomi! It’s true—it’s a struggle for a lot of writers! But it helps so much with writing too, of course. You’re so smart to schedule the time in. Congratulations on decluttering the house 🙂 Ours isn’t too cluttered, but moving a few times in as many years is a great way to cut down on clutter, haha. Hope your week is going well!
It’s funny, today I was trying to solve a personal issue and I went to the local library, where I just paid off $40 in late fees, and afterwards went to the park for a long walk on a trail.
I wasn’t sure what kind of book I was looking for; I started off looking in the area around my problem, but I didn’t find what i wanted. What’s funny is that i have a substantial library at home, and similarly on my Kindle.
I’m a book hoarder. When it comes time to read, I kind of have spurts of long focus on digesting a few at a time, switching back and forth between the two or three until they’re all done. And then I’ll go on a long stretch reading nothing…but still thinking about what I read.
I’ll go months at times and not read anything at all but news/politics and Medium.com or YCombinator News articles, but not a single book. And then switch back to reading books.
Thursday I’m interviewing for a supervisor position at work that I’m not sure I even want as it will take away from my reading time and other goals, like writing, as I’m guessing the Postal Service will be dealing with what my gut says will be another crazy end-of-year.
I like the idea of audio books and may look further into that. Thanks for all the great suggestions Bryn!
I hope things work out for the very best for you with the interview and your employment. May you have the creative space within yourself to reach your dreams and pay the rent.
Thanks for the well wishes Jessie!
Chris, way to support the library 🙂 I am always paying fines, myself! Sending you good wishes on the job front!
It may sound crazy, but I love to re-read my own books. I get back into the flow of stories that have been snoozing for a long time. I feel what I felt when I wrote it. Like visiting an old friend.
I was not an avid reader when I was young. The book-mobile didn’t come often and we didn’t have a library at home or at school. That, coupled with visual difficulties, limited what I could read.
I guess I am an auditory learner because I had to read every word and hear it in my head. It was a slow and tedious process.
Trying to make up for past non-reading sins – as I was aiming at getting published – increased my anxiety over reading. Finally, one of my mentors told me not to force myself to read. She said if I read, it should be for enjoyment.
“You mean I can do that?”
Yes.
I’m beginning to read for enjoyment.
One thing that helped me read faster (at age 50) was the art class I took when I was at Marylhurst University finishing up my Bachelors degree. I found that learning to truly see and reproduce what my eyes saw helped me to use my eyes better when I was reading. Wow! That would have helped so much in all of my education!
Jessie, I have NEVER re-read my own books, and I might try it! I’m afraid my inner critic will have a meltdown, though, haha. I am a big proponent of reading for enjoyment 🙂 Hope you’re having a great week!
I am so bad about this! I don’t know if it’s b/c I’m fast approaching my mid-fifties or what, but it’s become harder and harder for me to just sit and read a book. There are too many distractions (TV, internet, etc) and yet some places like restaurants and my car and at work (during down time) are perfectly okay. I have started making a conscious effort to concentrate on reading rather than my phone but sometimes the temptation is too great. I did manage to read a very long book this past weekend in only four days. That is a huge accomplishment. The only reason it took that long is because life got in the way. I started a new one today and made myself read 100 pages of it before I put it down. I and going to try to finish it tomorrow since it’s only a 250 page book. Probably won’t happen but we’ll see. I have a crazy amount of books checked out from the library right now-probably upwards of 25 so I am trying to finish them as quickly as possible before I have to renew them. I’m definitely not normal when it comes to checking out books from the library. Long gone are the days when I’d go to the library and check out ONE book and then bring it back and check out another. Always have to have a backup, just in case!
Andrea, I *know* you’re not alone in this. I’d heard similar things from a couple of my fellow Gen Xer friends…that’s one of the reasons I posted about it! It can be so hard to clear the mind of distractions. It’s always hard to build new habits or rebuild habits, but it gets easier the more we practice the new habit, right? Congratulations on getting through a long book in 4 days!
I check out a ton of library books too, haha. Thanks for commenting! I hope you’re having a good week!
I read before bed, whether it’s for five minutes or an hour.
denise
Glad I found you! I teach YA Literature in a small college, and I am always looking for inspirational ideas to share with my students. Your lists are wonderful, and I think I am going to challenge my class to start their own novels…. Thanks!