10 tips to read more books
Just because you love to read doesn’t mean you always have time to do so. Do you want to change your habits and breathe a little literature into your daily life?
1 – Invest in an e-reader
For many people, the very idea of breaking away from the paper book is unthinkable. Some went so far as to see this gesture as a betrayal towards the author, the publisher, and all the librarians and booksellers in France. So yes, books smell good, books are beautiful and then it looks good. But the e-reader can be really useful, especially when you spend a lot of time on public transport to get to work. Light as all, it allows transporting the 3 volumes of Lord of the Rings in the metro without fear of elongation of the trapezoid. In short, whatever you think of it, it makes it easier to read. And since it can contain thousands of e-books, it’s rather motivating to tell yourself that you always have a stack of books near you to read from which to draw.
2 – Get started with audiobooks
Purists will pout, yet audiobooks can be extremely practical. In the car, during a session at the sports hall, on the train … they allow you to immerse yourself in a good book while practicing another activity. Audiobooks also come in handy when you’re tired. Rather than blinking and losing track, we turn off the light, snuggle up to the warmth under the duvet, and let ourselves be lulled by the words.
3 – Ignore Netflix
Computer, television, telephone … we tend to let ourselves be solicited by screens. It’s true that after a day’s work, sitting in front of Netflix with a pizza is both easy and comforting. But in doing so, we leave no room for reading, an activity that is known to calm us down and help us sleep better, where screens are rather famous for causing restless nights and insomnia. So once a week, we plan a reading evening.
4 – Set up (or join) a book club
This very American activity is struggling to develop in France. However, starting a book club is a great idea. This allows you to meet new people, to taste good pastries and tea (or a glass of wine depending on the hour), and of course, it forces you to read. Because when you are part of a book club, you have to read a certain number of books in a given time (generally one book per month). Knowing that other people are waiting for your opinion on the latest Simon Liberati is therefore quite motivating.
5 – Plan “reading breaks”
No time to read in the morning or in the evening before bedtime? So we give each other reading breaks. The idea? We take advantage of every free moment to immerse ourselves in his novel of the moment. At lunch, while you queue at the SNCF counter, when you are waiting for a friend in a cafe … as soon as possible, you catch up on your reading. Instead of wasting time, we save time.
6 – Read only the books that appeal to you
This is the basics. We don’t read for others, we read for ourselves. Are you all bugging your ears about the latest hottest bestseller? If the synopsis leaves you unmoved, if no one has managed to arouse your curiosity, then do not force yourself. At best you will have held up to half the book, at worst, it will have disgusted you with reading for a little while. So more than ever, we are betting on books that attract us. And even if you don’t step out of your comfort zone, that’s okay. Whether you are more into science fiction, sentimental literature, or autobiography, the key is to always have fun.
7 – Dare to skip pages
You might think that skipping pages is cheating. On the contrary, it is even more productive. By skipping long descriptions or lengthy paragraphs, you avoid getting bored and wasting time. We read for our personal pleasure and we set our own rules. Instead of feeling guilty because we are missing a hundred words, we tell ourselves rather that it will always be time to return to the page in question if we are missing some crucial information.
8 – Make this moment a pleasure
As we like to wrap up in a warm blanket to binge-watch series, we think of doing the same for our reading sessions. We create an atmosphere (soft music, candles that smell good), we offer ourselves some sweets (hot chocolate, cupcakes), and we put our phone in silent mode. Thus, we will associate this moment with calm and pleasure and we will quickly want to start over.
9 – Don’t force yourself
As on Tinder, it sometimes happens that we do not “match” with a book. However, it had everything to please us at the base: its genre, its author, its synopsis, etc. And despite all our efforts, we block. So we force ourselves, we balk, we postpone reading it until later. And because we have always been told that we have to read a book to the end, we refuse to abandon it on the side of the road. However, forcing yourself is the worst idea. We waste time, time that we could devote to a novel that we really like. Giving up does not mean that we are cowardly, only that this book was not for us.
10 – Dare to read several books at the same time
It may seem counterproductive, but reading several books at once can lighten the pile. In addition, it allows you to read intelligently. The big block of 700 pages? We keep it for our readings at home. The pocket novel? We take it in our bag. In short, this habit allows you to read two books at the same time, which is not negligible when you aim to read more.
You may also like to read this article, How to write a book in word