In my New Years Resolutions for the past few years, I have always included something about how I wanted to start reading more books. Every year I would disappoint myself because I never ended up reading as much as I had wanted to. This year that finally changed for me, and I want to share how.
In 2021, I read 1.5 books in total. It is now October of 2022 and I have read 41 books so far this year. That’s 27x as many books as I read last year. (!!!) Nothing drastic changed about my schedule, the amount of time I had in my day, etc. Here’s what I think has helped me to actually start reading more books.
KINDLE
In January, my mother-in-law offered me an extra Kindle she had. I had tried reading on a Kindle a couple years ago and I think I read one book on it total. This time was different. Immediately I knew this was going to make reading much easier for me as a mom of 2 toddlers. I can’t tell you how many times last year I had a book sitting on the coffee table or my bed and 2 seconds later the bookmark would be on the floor, or the book would be upside down on the ground with bent pages. The Kindle has eliminated those problems entirely. Even if I leave it within their reach, they can’t lose my place or destroy the pages. It’s also much easier to take my books with me places, because the Kindle is so small and light weight.
I know the advantages of a good physical copy of a book. That new book smell, being able to physically turn pages. It’s great, and I love it, but for this stage in my life, the benefits of the Kindle far outweigh the benefits of reading a physical copy of a book.
LIBBY
When I got the Kindle, I immediately started looking up free books I could get. I didn’t really have a budget for books, but I knew I couldn’t let that stop me from reading entirely. We got a library card at our little local library at the beginning of the year, and while we were there they told us about some app called Libby. When we got home I got the app and figured out that I had access to virtually ANY ebook for FREE through Libby. All you need is a library card with a library that uses Libby. Then you create a Libby account using your library card number, and Voila! You have access to a huge collection of ebooks and audiobooks (including books that your local library doesn’t carry).
Some of the books do have long waitlists, but I find that the wait is usually shorter than the estimate it gives you. You get the book for 14 days exactly, and then it automatically returns the book for you. So you never have to worry about remembering when books are due, or paying late fines or lost book fees! If you finish the book in less than 14 days, you can just return it early. You can put holds on up to 10 books at a time. You can also create Tags for books. I have one Tag called “Wishlist,” and I just put any book there that I want to read. So when I have room to put more books on hold, I can just scroll through my Wishlist tag and put the books on hold directly from there.
BOOK CLUB
I thought joining a book club would help me to start reading more because I would feel some sense of accountability to other people to read, and also because I thought I’d be motivated by being able to discuss the books with other people. I love following Everyday Reading, and she does a free book club through Instagram. In December she makes a post of all the book club books for the year. And every month there are discussions in her IG stories. It’s been a great format for me because I can check in on the stories whenever it’s convenient for me, and I don’t have to physically be anywhere to participate.
Doing this book club has made me realize I would really love to be part of an in-person one in the future. But this one has been a really good intro to book clubs for me and I highly recommend it! I feel motivated to read the books and be able to be a part of the discussion and know what is going on.
FINDING THE RIGHT BOOKS
When I was in Junior High, I read the Twilight series. Loved them, no shame. And I read those books so fast. I felt like I didn’t really have a reading experience like that through high school or college. I read books I was supposed to read for classes, but I didn’t really enjoy them. And it took me forever to read them. There were a few other books I remember really loving and getting through in a few days. But it was very uncommon for me. I used to just tell myself and others that I was a slow reader, but looking back I think the real problem was that I just didn’t like the books I was reading.
This year almost every book I’ve read I returned before the 14 day loan was up. The more I read, the more I know what genres and authors and storylines I like (and don’t like). Reading books I actually enjoy has increased my desire to read. That sounds so obvious, but I think so many people force themselves to read books they don’t actually like, and that kind of sours the whole reading experience. It’s so worth it to just put down the books you’re not enjoying, return them, and find the ones that make you love to read.
SETTING REALISTIC READING EXPECTATIONS
One of my problems with my reading goals in years past was that I would set a specific number of books I wanted to read in a month/year. But once I started to get off track with that golden number, I would feel like I had already failed and just give up on the goal entirely. I found that I was focusing so much on reading a specific number of books, that I wasn’t actually enjoying reading. It just felt like a box I needed to check off. This year I didn’t set any specific number goal. I just wrote down “start reading more.” I feel like I took the pressure off myself and in doing so I ended up reading so much more than I ever have.
TRACKING BOOKS
I started this year with a new planner, and in the notes of each month I wrote down the book club book for that month. Each month I would write down any other books I read, and when I finished a book I would check it off with a green marker. I love having the visual of seeing what I’m reading, and being able to put a check mark next to the finished books. (I’m also not ashamed of the ones that never got a check mark because I didn’t like them and returned them early.) For whatever reason, turning my reading progress into something visual really helped me start reading more. I like being able to look back and see which books I read in which month.
GoodReads is another great place to track books. I decided to put my reviews of books here in my own space and that’s been really fun for me too. This is my review of my favorite book I’ve read so far this year.
AUDIOBOOKS
This year I learned something new about myself. I learned that I really love Audiobooks for certain genres, and I really don’t like them for others. Any books that are self-help, spiritual, informative (parenting books), I MUCH prefer to listen to. On 1.5x speed. But novels? I really would prefer not to listen to a novel. I find it’s harder to follow the storyline when I listen to it. And also I’m very bothered when authors do weird voices for different characters. So I’d prefer to listen to information and inspiration, and read stories. Learning that about myself has helped me to know which books I need to get the audio for and which ones I will be much better off reading.
At the end of the day, read because you want to and because you enjoy the content, as opposed to only doing it because you feel pressured or obligated to. Reading will start to come a lot easier.
