January 28, 2019

Six Tips on How to Read More Books!

Hey there!

Are you a book lover but don't have the time to read? Or someone who wants to read more books but don't know how to get started? As a young child, I LOVED reading, so much that I read almost all the novels in our house at least twice over! In adulthood, I do enjoy reading, but finding the time (and sometimes energy/motivation) to read has been a bit of a struggle. However, in the past 2 months, I have been able to increase my reading dramatically! I read 4 books in December, and I'm on my 5th book for January. My goal/intention for the year is to read 2 books a month, so I think I'm off to a great start! See my tips below on how to read more books this year.




  1. Audio Books. For a very long time, I had a misplaced disdain for audio books. It felt like cheating on real, tangible books to me. I like to hold the book in my hands, and I was not sure I would be able to concentrate while listening to an audio book (sometimes I worry about having a short attention span). That all changed, while reading a post on Kachi's blog, and on a whim I decided to place holds on both the CD and hard copy versions of Gabrielle Union's book, 'We're Going to Need More Wine.' I don't know if it helps that she's an actress, but I was hooked! I would listen to the CD on the way to work, catch up with the hardcover book during my breaks at work, and resume listening to the CD on the way home. I finished the book in 3/4 days! It felt amazing to finish a book so quickly (even if I didn't care for the cussing), that I tried another book, 'Girl, Wash Your Face' by Rachel Hollis - this one had me so pumped up, that I was shouting in my car, "YASSS GIRL, YASSSS! PREACH IT SISTER!"
    You can do like me and mix reading the audio and hard copy versions of the same book if you
    want to finish reading faster, or you can simply go the audio book route.
  2. Wake up earlier. The truth of the matter is that if you really want to do something, you should not complain about not having time, and instead make that time. If you don't mind, you can set your alarm to get up 20 to 30 minutes earlier than normal, and use that time to get some reading into your day. OR
  3. Read before bed. For some people, this is a more relaxing ritual for the end of the day. When you get back from work, or if you're done with everything you do at home, set aside an hour or two. You'll be amazed at how quickly you can read books if you take time out at the end of the day. Some books may be so interesting that you end up staying up till very late because you want to reach the end! Been there, done that!
  4. Read at your breaks. Another trick I used to read more books is using my break and lunch times at work to get some reading done. It's not as satisfying to be honest, as I prefer to have longer stretches of time to get into the books I'm reading. But guess what? Those 15 to 30 minute blocks of time add up. Before you know it, you've added almost an hour worth of reading time while at work!
  5. Set (and follow) a reading schedule. I don't mean penciling in some time to read, like in the previous points. What I mean here is determine how long you want to take in finishing a book and give yourself a realistic plan. For instance, if the book has 4 parts made up of 3 chapters each, you can decide to read one part per day and finish the book in 4 days. Or you may want to read 2 chapters a day, and finish the book in 6 days. You can also choose to read in blocks of pages, eg. reading 50 pages a day until you finish the book. It really depends on you, but you have to make sure that it's realistic. Don't set out to read 200 pages of a tiny print book, if you have only 30 minutes to read per day.
  6. Pick genres or authors you like! Let's be honest here, if you don't like to read Fantasy books, chances are that you would struggle if you attempted to read any of the Game of Thrones novels or similar books. Likewise, if you prefer reading more wholesome books, then you should definitely stay away from steamy romantic novels with scenes that would make you blush!
I found this tip particularly useful from Two Night Stands, and I intend to put it into practice this year. The categories of books I intend to read on a rotational basis are:
  • Finance Books - Easy to read and understand
  • Faith-based Books
  • Lighthearted Fiction
  • [Auto]Biographies
  • Self-Help Books
  • Topical Books on Digital/Social Media
Do you like reading? What books can you recommend for me to put on my reading list? What reading goals do you have for the year?

4 comments:

  1. Thanks dear for these tips. it's one of my new year goals to read books this year

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for this! I also loved reading as a child and I'm trying to get back into it. I'll definitely use these tips :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Best wishes with it. I think the easiest one for me was trying audio books.

      Delete

Reading your comments ALWAYS makes me smile. I hope you smile when I reply :)
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