12 Tips to Read More Books

Have you been setting the same New Year’s resolution to “read more books” for years now? Are you wondering how you can possibly find time to fit reading into your already extremely busy life? I had set the same goals and wondered the same thing for years. I finally found a rhythm in 2018. Some of these tips may apply to your personality type and some may not. Take what you can and leave the rest.

1. Read more than one book at a time – If you ever have FOMO or wonder what else you could be learning, what goal to attack next, what knowledge could change your life, then read more than one book at a time. If sitting still is difficult and your foot is constantly tapping, then read more than one book at a time. If you have many interests, many hobbies, many passions, then read more than one book at a time. If you have a job for 1 year and immediately begin wondering what you could learn next, do next, how you could grow and develop, then read more than one book at a time. If you bore easily, then DEFINITELY read more than one book at a time. I remain motivated and eager as I switch from spiritual to career development to self-help to memoir to psychology to a fiction that can take me away from it all.

2. Have a bathroom book – For goodness sakes, leave your phone in another room and if you have kids, lock the door! A bathroom book allows for guaranteed reading time. Depending on how many cups of coffee or tea you drink throughout the day, you may have more reading time than others! A little time is better than no time.

3. Set a goal for each time you pick up a book – I am goal-oriented and easily incentivized. Deciding an end point and reaching that end point creates a little hi-five party in my head. If a book has short chapters, I decide that every time I pick it up I will read 1 chapter. If it’s a book with long chapters, I’ll read to the next page break. If it’s my bathroom book, I read 2 pages. Side note: Thank you to all the authors of books with short chapters. Your books allow me to celebrate often and make me feel so capable!

4. Write a review when you’re done – Writing a review of the books you read is like keeping a list of your accomplishments. I find it fun to write reviews on social media and/or goodreads.com, but it feels just as good to write them in a journal or in a document on your computer. If you’re a list-maker, this is an action that feels like you’ve crossed something BIG off your list and at the end of the year you can see just how much you accomplished.

5. Read books recommended by people you love – Sharing the love of books with friends and family is an excellent way to connect. I have found that discussing books with others often helps us to dive deeper into each other’s lives. Conversation with depth leads to relationships with depth.

6. Wake up earlier – I recommend doing this in small increments so that it feels less challenging. I began the year waking up just 15 minutes earlier so that I could do a little reading before the kids woke up and now I’m up 30 minutes earlier. My goal is to be awake an hour earlier by the end of the year. This has been the biggest and best habit I have changed so far this year. This routine has absolutely changed how I feel when my kids wake up after me. I’ve already had my quiet time and I feel more prepared for the chaos of the morning. I am a more patient and present mom when I give myself this time.

7. Choose and create an inviting space to read – I begin my mornings by making myself a hot chai tea that smells like cinnamon and vanilla and all things lovely. I turn on enough light to read by and I light 3 candles in different areas of the house so there’s just a flicker of light wherever I look. I am not exaggerating when I say that there are moments I feel like I’m on a retreat. These magical moments of relaxation help me to remain grounded throughout the day.

8. Underline, highlight, write in the margins – I’m a note-taker and have always enjoyed the study required in school settings. I’m more likely to remember what I’ve read and have more take-aways when I engage with a book the way I used to when I was a student. With my highlights and notes, not only am I more likely to remember the content that I valued, but I can also easily re-read it, search for quotes I loved, and write my review.

9. Buy a book you can hold – I know many people (including my husband) will laugh at me and call me old-school, but I love the feel of a book in my hand. I love being able to see the layout as I flip through the pages. I love the cover. I love the way a new book smells. I love that a new book goes from firm and clean to worn and seasoned expressing how loved it was in coffee stains, highlights, notations, dog-ears, etc. I love being able to look at my bookshelf and quickly pull something out to refer to when I’m writing or having a conversation or working on developing a skill. In addition, tip #8 is easier for me to do in a real book.

10. Bring a book with you – Almost anywhere we go these days, waiting is involved. I get a lot of reading done in airports, planes, Urgent Cares, waiting rooms, restaurants, etc. I’ve found myself changing my chronic habit of being a few minutes late everywhere I go, to being a few minutes early all in the hopes that I will arrive before the others and get a little reading done while I’m waiting.

11. Put the iPhone away – If you’re sitting down to read, put your iphone in a place it cannot be easily accessed. Increased distraction will inevitably come with increased accessibility. I am amazed how quickly the minutes disappear as I scroll “real quick” through Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. If I put my phone out of reach, I easily get 10-15 minutes more of solid reading in.

12. Make reading a must – On the Happier podcast, Gretchen Rubin recently said that if you feel like you “must read,” then you will. This is what it feels like to me now that I’ve been doing it every day for over a year. It’s as natural as, “I must eat something” or “I must use the restroom.” It’s just a thing that must be done during my day because it’s as much a part of my routine as any other necessity.

    I hope you find at least 2 or 3 of these tips helpful. Reading has brought me so much joy and I hope you’ll find the time to let all those amazing books out there do the same for you! I wish you all the best in making reading a must and may you throw many mental hi-five parties!