how to read more.
My reading journey has been a pretty common one, I was a super deluxe bookworm as a kid, reading non-stop all the time and then around the end of high school and start of college (and around when I also got my first smartphone, hmm), I almost stopped reading books all together, maybe finishing two or three books a year. Now for the past three years, I've been reading around 30-60 books per year since 2020.
My re-ignited love for reading was inspired by this YouTube video, BOOKSTORES: How to Read More Books in the Golden Age of Content. This single video that found itself on my YouTube recommended has probably been the most influential video I've ever watched and something I keep coming back to and something I recommend everyone watch. Ever since watching this video, I made an effort to read as much as I can and started out with a goal of reading 30 books in 2020, then going onto reading 50 books in 2021. It reminded how I loved reading when I was younger and how magical it felt and by reading a little bit each day, it can really add up.
Tracking your reading
Keeping track what I read has helped me know exactly how much I'm reading (and what I'm reading or have read) and it's been very motivating seeing all the different books I've read in the past three years. I read 60 books in 2022 but then I set my goal back down to 50 books for the year of 2023 (we'll get to that later) and if I hadn't been tracking how much books I was reading or even which books I was reading, I don't think I'd really put much effort into reading as much as I do now.
I like to use Goodreads to track my current and past reads, set my reading goals for the year, and find more recommendations of what other books I should read. I also have some close friends and BookTubers I follow on Goodreads to see whatever everyone else in my circle is also reading.
I feel like tracking and setting goals is definitely a good first step to encourage more reading and to help you find more books to read.
What/how to read?
Now that you've set off to read more books, what should you read and exactly how do you go about it? The previously mentioned YouTube video BOOKSTORES says to read multiple books at a time when getting started and I couldn't agree more. I would even take it a step further and recommend reading in different formats at the same time as well.
Explore different genres and read those different genres at the same time. I usually have a self-help book that I read while also reading a fantasy/fictional book during the same period. For me, I usually have around 3 books I read at a time and it's usually 1 physical book, 1 ebook, and 1 audiobook and sometimes I'll been reading more than one physical book, where one is a self-help type and the other is some kind of fiction or I'll have two different types of self-help books or a non-fiction in the mix. The combinations and possibilities are endless!
And if you're not vibing with what you're reading, stop reading it and pick up something else. Or keep reading it as a hate read and just make fun of for the rest of the book!
Yes, audio books do count
I really don't understand why people tend to discount audiobooks and think of them as cheating or not really counting towards your reading goals. If you exclusively only listen to audiobooks for your reading, that's totally fine! There exist people who can only listen to audiobooks due to being unable to see or just not having the attention/ability to focus on written words. Reading is such an amazing experience and is a wonderful way to learn and see the world through a different lens and if the only way for you to do that is to listen to someone else reading it for you, please do so!
I was a little skeptical of audiobooks before I got back into reading. I was mainly worried about my listening comprehension and thinking that I would retain nothing from listening to them but that turned out to be the opposite for me. I love to versatility of audiobooks and I honestly prefer them over to listening to music or podcasts. They are essential for doing chores or mundane tasks around the house. When we first moved into our house and had to paint all the walls, audiobooks were my greatest company and I still can remember what book I was listening to in certain rooms of the house. Sometimes I'll listen to an audiobook while working out instead of music and almost start breaking out in tears while lifting weights (thanks Crying in Hmart and Mad Honey)
Quality over quantity
As I mentioned before, back in 2022 I read 60 books and for the year of 2023, I set my reading goal back down to 50 books for the year. The reason for this is because I started noticing that my sole focus was ONLY to read as many books as possible and as quickly as possible. I would set my audiobook speed to 2.5x and blaze through books to check them off as read in Goodreads and quickly move onto the next new book so I can read more.
Then one day, my partner asked me what the book I had just finished last week was about and I really couldn't remember all that well and with all these fictional books I was reading, their stories and characters were bleeding together and I couldn't tell them apart or really remember what I thought or felt about certain books. I was so focused on the quantity of books I was reading that I was no longer really caring about what I was even reading. This may no apply to everyone but definitely something to keep in mind if you have any sort of competitive streak.
So for this year, instead of trying to read 70 books, I went back down to 50 and listening to all my audiobooks at the default speed. I'm no longer trying to speed run through my books and I'm trying to truly sit down and enjoy the reading. And even re-reading some of my favorites this year too!
Why read more?
It boils down to reading a bunch of different books in different genres and different formats and just taking some time each day to read a few pages. Listen to an audiobook while folding your clothes or washing your face in the morning, read a book before bed or even that little bit of time you brush your teeth or during your morning coffee. Instead of reaching for your phone to fill the void of time, reach for a book.
Now, if you don't really care much about reading books or find it hard to make the time, I still recommend giving it a try (maybe a little challenge, eh?). Reading a book hits different and there's a reason why people often say the book was better than the movie. To me, a movie shows what's like to be someone else but a book makes you live what it's like to be in someone else's head, hearing someone else's inner monologue like it's your own. During the end of the video, BOOKSTORES, Dr. Ruth J Simmons describes reading as "forced meditation" and that really resonated with me.
I remember back before the pandemic, I was actually trying to read the Harry Potter series for the first time (surprising, I know) and I would read it on the train to work. It was about a 30-minute train ride, loud and cramped with other morning commuters but when reading my book, I would get so swallowed up in reading that the world around me disappeared. I didn't overhear people's conversation, I could only hear and see the words from the book and scenes playing out in my imagination. I'd get so transfixed, I was worried I'd miss my stop and I did a couple of times. But I'm rarely ever able to obtain that state of mind and I've always found regular meditation a bit difficult but reading really does feel like a state of meditation and a way to be transported elsewhere.
(NOTE: I totally understand how being neurotypical makes this easier for me and how my neurodivergent friends struggle to get to this point, so definitely recommend audiobooks, at the slowest speed, with noise cancelling headphones and directing your vision away from all the visual noise to try and replicate the sense of forced meditation.)
So why read more? To enhance your life and slow down a bit. If you give it an honest try and still find it's not for you, then so be it but give it another chance in a few year.