How to Read more Books — The Beginner's Guide!
how nerd am I for having taken this photo in the World's Book Day in 2019
I've always loved reading. Every time I go to a friend's house, I take a look at their books. The money my grandparents gave me when I was younger was spent on books. I also remember waking up at 6 a.m. to finish the last book of Harry Potter, before going to school. Oh, and I still do every yoga position to see what book people are reading on the bus. Is it possible that I'm currently writing this on a bus and found myself doing it? It's that problematic. It's a book by Lovecraft, btw.
Although I love words, I also love numbers. And I can count with ease that the number of books I read before has nothing to do with the number of books I've been reading for the past 5 years. I'm not suggesting quantity equals quality. But it's quite satisfying to expose the mind to so many different ideas.
Perhaps I was lucky to be given a reading gene. But I can't hide it takes discipline and will to make it happen. After having multiple conversations, I've noticed that reading more is one of the most common New Year's resolutions. Because of it, here a couple of steps that will help you reach your Reading Goal.
How to Read More Books!
1) Sit down, with no phone — I don't mean this as a joke. Most people don't read because every time they sit down, which potentially could mean reading time, they have another distraction at their disposal — a phone, or a TV. Instead, try cultivating the habit of sitting down without any of those distracting objects. Then, place a book near you. And see the magic happens. It's difficult to replace a smartphone, full of dopamine kicks, for a book. So, simply, leave your phone in another division, or inside a bag, and you will end up grabbing a book.
2) Set a daily goal — If you ever tried implementing a new habit in your routine you know it's important to consistently perform it, even if just for a couple of minutes. The same goes for reading. If you block a period of 15-30 minutes every day to practice a habit, in this case, reading, not only will you be reading more books in the present, but also building a habit that can last for years. A great way to see if you have 15-30 minutes to spare on reading, is checking your smartphone usage.
“Discipline has within it the potential for creating future miracles.” ”
3) Listen to Books — Audiobooks were a game-changer for me. All the commutes I take are usually followed by a click in the "Play" of the audiobook I'm listening to. Listening to audiobooks is a great way to turn unproductive times, sometimes even stressful, into reading time. But commuting is not the only spare time in which you can incorporate audiobooks — exercise, cooking, and cleaning are also activities in which you can benefit from audiobooks, as they don't require much concentration. Right when I found audiobooks, I would purposefully iron clothes just to read more. A pro tip is increasing the audiobook speed to 1.5x or 2x — strange in the beginning, addictive after getting used to it, as you can read 8-hour books into 4 hours, without any understanding loss.
4) Read the books you enjoy — The people I know who claim not to enjoy reading, usually refer to the mandatory High-School readings. Seriously, there are so many interesting books out there, that I don't believe it's possible to hate reading. Whatever you enjoy, you can finds books on the topic. Don't start your reading journey by picking a classic that everyone asserts to be a must-read: "profound, complex and intense". Pick what you like.
Reasons to make Reading a Habit for Life:
When you choose to read a book, you have access to a collection of thoughts, ideas, experiments, and imaginary worlds. When you read a book by Brené Brown, Tim Ferriss, or George Orwell you have the opportunity to download a piece of their mental software, that you can use to improve your life. It does not matter if you go for a fiction or a non-fiction book, you will always be in the mind or imaginary world of a brilliant thinker (depending on the author you pick, of course.)
“I find television very educating. Every time somebody turns on the set, I go into the other room and read a book.”
― Groucho Marx