I read 50+ books a year (which I list here with my honest and pithy opinions), and I know plenty of people who read that many books or more. However, I often get strategy questions from those who want to read consistently, but can’t make the time. I don’t have one easy answer to the question of “How do you read so much?” but the 6 tips below represent the ways I manage to read a book a week on average.
#1. DOWNLOAD AN EREADING APP TO YOUR PHONE
If picking up your phone while you’re waiting for anything is an impossible habit to break (no judgement), then download the free Kindle app or your local library’s app (I use Overdrive) and make sure to have a book ready to go on one of those apps at all times. It can take me two months to finish a novel on my phone, but I feel accomplished when I’m finished and even more so when I think about the repetitive Facebook headlines I would have been reading instead.
#2. AUDIOBOOKS COUNT
I listen to about four audiobooks a year. I’d do more, but I’m attached to too many podcasts and there’s only so much audio time in my day. I usually get my audiobooks through my local library. I used to rely on Audible.com, but I found it hard to keep up with the one-book-per-month membership. I listen to audiobooks (and podcasts) while driving, working out, or doing stuff around the house. If you want to try Audible.com free for 30 days, there’s often a good offer, and the site very is user-friendly. Amazon Prime members now get free Audible.com content (podcasts but also books) on Amazon’s Audible Channels, which changes month to month. It’s a worth a look if you’re already paying for Prime, but remember Channels is a streaming service so it’s only good while you’re somewhere with a wifi connection.
#3. READ MORE THAN ONE BOOK AT A TIME
Related to tips number one and two, I find it helpful to have several books going at a time: one on my Kindle app (or my actual Kindle), one on audio, and one in print, which I read before bed. Speaking of bed . . .
#4. NO ELECTRONICS (other than an e-reader) IN THE BEDROOM
This tip is simple. No TV, no iPad, no laptop, and absolutely no smart phones in the bedroom. As for e-readers, I recommend getting the cheapest, most basic Kindle or Nook and not using the versions that connect to the internet. My husband and I charge our phones in the kitchen. And we really do not have a functioning television in the bedroom. I do most of my reading at night so without this rule, I’d read half as many books a year. Or less!
#5. LIMIT THE BINGE WATCHING
I’m a fan of Netflix and Amazon Video, but I force myself to keep the binges to 3-4 shows a year. There are other shows I record and watch weekly like This is Us and Scandal, but a reading life is manageable with episodic weekly watching. Binge watching makes it impossible to read or do anything else for that matter. On a recent vacation I hoped to read two books and instead watched about 15 episodes of Bravo’s Girlfriends’ Guide to Divorce. It was a nice brain break, but I’m regretting all that time glued to the screen. People who binge on series after series do not have time to read. Period.
#6. IF YOU’RE NOT LIKING A BOOK, PICK ANOTHER
Who said you must finish every book you start? I give a book no more than 50 pages to keep me interested. I believe in the concept of “the wrong book at the wrong time.” So perhaps you can put the book aside and try it again later. OR, give yourself permission to move on.
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12 Responses
AMEN to these. WE don’t have a TV in our bedroom and I watch very little and I’m certain that’s a big contributor to my reading. I stick with one book at a time though. I always carry a book with me (which is sort of lame and old-school when you consider I don’t use e-readers) which helps. I had a friend many years ago in business school who carried the paper for her 6 flight elevator ride down from her apartment, and I always think of her. xox
It’s the binge watching (and I use “binge” very loosely) that is killing my reading these days. So. Much. Breaking Bad. I like the tip about having one on your reading app for when you are out and one in print or audio. I’ve been loving reconnecting with my public library for “real” books, but the downfall is not having it available when I find a few minutes out somewhere. Thanks for the tips!
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I need to get better at #6 … I am slowly allowing myself to stop reading a book if it doesn’t grab me. I usually can get through 25-30 books a year (mostly because I spend so much time studying novels and taking detailed notes). And I wish I liked audio books, but for some reason, I’m not a fan. May need to give it a try again! (Boy do I also love THIS IS US… so good!)
Great tips, especially #1! I should do that. The attraction of Twitter or IG while waiting for school pickup or taking XYZ out of the oven etc. is too great and a missed opportunity. And yes to #4 — we do not have TVs in any bedroom (which is why I love the occasional “luxury” of hotel stays where we do!) and though I charge my phone there with it all on silent, I don’t do anything but paper books in bed before falling asleep. I’m also a longtime multiple-books-at-once reader, which a few of my friends don’t get, but I always say that you don’t watch the same TV show all the time so it’s pretty similar.
What switched for me was to give myself a page goal rather than a number of books goal. Reading The Count of Monte Cristo was a big accomplishment, and I realized I had been shying away from big books because I had this number in my head of reading 50 books. I also have multiple books going. I can’t read on a screen, but I have a book in the car, the swim bag, by the bed, in my everyday bag, etc.
My Gilmore Girls obsession last year really took me off my reading game. I always have at least two books going at a time, a paper one and an audio 😜.
Great tips, Nina. I like the idea of incorporating audio books as an option, as well as downloading the Kindle App. I also read multiple books at a time.
What book should I put on my must-read list? (At least of the ones you’ve read so far in 2017. . .)
Great tips. My sister keeps recruiting me to audiobooks and overdrive. I download those for my mom constantly. My biggest problem, though, is I’m a HUGE highlighter! As I read, I highlight passages that jump out to me, and I refer to them later. And I can’t do that with any other format. I could take notes, but I can’t read my handwriting later on. So, not sure I can get on board with anything other than hard copies!
The amount of reading you do is incredible and very inspiring.
Great tips, Nina. These days I struggle to keep up with my reading. Thank you for this.
Number 6 was SO HARD for me to learn! Why is that?! I guess I hate giving up or not sticking with it, but I think that is a wonderful tip that we don’t think about.