My Best Tips for Reading More & Making It Fun
This essay originally appeared in the Monday morning newsletter on 3/22/21.
Did you know that March is National Reading Month? I love that there’s a whole month dedicated to motivating and encouraging people of all ages to read every day.
I love reading and all the immediate and long-lasting benefits it offers like the ability to learn new things, increase your empathy, gain exposure to new viewpoints and different vocabularies, and decreased levels of stress.
I don’t know what I would’ve done in 2020 without reading. I read 43 (!) books last year and became reliant on reading as a necessary escape, distraction and comfort during a crazy year. But as much as I love the act of reading, I think reading can sometimes be like exercise. I know I love how I feel during and after I read, just like how I know I love running and the endorphins I get after a run, but there sometimes can be a few pesky roadblocks that make it hard to sit down and pick up a book or lace up my sneakers and hit the running path. After all, it’s a lot easier to scroll on Instagram or flip on the TV.
When thinking about this recently, I thought about the little habits, tips and tricks I’ve woven into my daily routines that help me (almost without even realizing it) mitigate those roadblocks and make reading even more enjoyable and fun.
So, without further ado and in the spirit of National Reading Month, here are my top five tips for experiencing the joy of reading – can’t wait to hear what you think!
My Top 5 Tips for Experiencing the Joy of Reading
- Find genres that you actually like to read
- Always have the next book standing by
- Rent from the library (physical books, e-books and audiobooks!)
- Don’t underestimate how much reading you can do in small increments of time
- Keep track of the books you read
Find genres that you actually like to read. This is huge. I think a lot of us can put pressure on ourselves to read certain types of books that sound academically ambitious and shy away from anything that could be considered too “lowbrow.” But you would be so much more willing to pick up a book if it’s something you are actually interested in vs. feeling like you have an assigned reading assignment.
This step takes some work and self-knowledge. Do you gravitate toward fiction or nonfiction? Young Adult or Children’s Literature? Thrillers, Romances, Historical Pieces? In my opinion, a great place to start is by reflecting on your favorite TV shows and movies. What’s the premise of your favorite programs? Does that information include a clue for what kind of books you would be interested in?
Always have the next book standing by. I think this tip has been most helpful for me. There have been so many times that I’ve been on a great reading streak, but if I finish a book and don’t have my next one already lined up and ready-to-go, I easily can slip into a reading drought. I think I sometimes get overwhelmed by all the options and decide it’s easier to just not make a decision. So, now I have a personal policy of starting to think about what I want to read next when I’m about 75% of the way through a book.
For me, this personal policy has done the trick and kept me reading, but I also think there’s a couple of other creative ways in for this one. For example, one of my colleagues at work recently introduced me to the subscription service called “Book of the Month.” With this service, you pay a monthly subscription fee and in return, get to choose a book from a selection of five titles each month. The book is mailed directly to you (so fun getting it in the mail!) and then when the first of the month rolls around again, you’ll pick your next book. Super easy and seamless!
I’ve also heard of someone who, at the beginning of the year, sits down and makes a long list of books to read throughout the next year. Then, she simply just works her way through the list, no decisions required!
Rent from the library (physical books, e-books and audiobooks!). Did you know that you can rent books from a library without even having to step foot in a library? All you need to do is fill out an application online with your local library and then you’ll receive your library card digitally. Then, thanks to an app called Libby, it’s super easy to borrow and read ebooks and audiobooks for free, all from the comfort of your own home! And of course, you can always decide to actually visit the library as well and rent physical books too.
Not only is renting from the library a financially-savvy option, but I also think it helps with tip #2 above. There’s so many times that the next book I decide to read is dictated based on whatever book becomes available for me to borrow from the library next.
Don’t underestimate how much reading you can do in small increments of time. One of the items on my 21 in 2021 List this year is to read for 21 minutes every day, which is an idea from author Gretchen Rubin. I cannot believe how quickly you can move through books with this small amount of reading time! Such a good reminder that you often do not have to make grandiose gestures to see progress.
I also love the habit of something small every day because it takes the pressure off the work of any one day. It’s not a question of will I read today? It’s when will I read today? Playing around with the time of day I read has been fun too. My personal favorite is to either read for 21 minutes right after I wake up with my coffee or as a lunch break during the work week. I don’t know why, but there is something that feels so luxurious about reading at those times!
Keep track of the books you read. Of course it’s fun to track your reading progress and give yourself an imaginary gold star each time you finish a book (just me…?), but I also recommend tracking your books because book amnesia is very, very real. Before I started tracking the books I read, there were a couple of times that I would start a book and then realize midway through that I had already read this book. It was always a frustrating feeling, but keeping a simple list of books read takes care of this pesky roadblock for me. Personally, I love the app Good Reads because I can also keep a list of books I want to read and interact with friends, but I know my mom prefers to simply keep her list in the notes app on her phone.
I also like to keep track of books because I’ve found that books and reading can make amazing conversation starters in almost any situation, and it helps me to have a list easily accessible to jog my memory of what I’ve read and loved recently. I’ve found that discussing books has helped me grow closer to colleagues at work and keep in touch with friends who don’t live close by. It’s no wonder why book clubs are so popular! It’s so fun to have a shared experience of reading a book at the same time as someone else and there is no better feeling than receiving or giving an awesome book recommendation.
What do you think? Any reading tips or tricks you are interested in picking up during this National Reading Month? And if you have a great reading tip or book recommendation, I would love to hear about it!
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