I've been struggling with how much I read for about a year now, I would say? University has definitely had an impact on this- an English Literature degree means reading a lot of books you wouldn't necessarily pick for yourself, or just plain don't want to read in addition to the ones you're excited to read and learn about, and the surprise gems. It's a bit of a pick 'n' mix. Over the year at uni I stopped reading for fun because I just didn't have time, and then when the year was over I was out of the habit of reading because I didn't have any course books to read. So while I was on holiday I read a couple of old favourites (one of which I wrote about last week) to remind myself how much I enjoyed reading, and seem to be getting back on track a little bit. I've realised that most of 'reading more' is just convincing yourself that you do have the time to read, and then actually making that time. Here's a few tricks you can use to get back into reading, read more, or regain your enthusiasm for reading. Read old favourites, short books and graphic novelsPick a book that will ease you back into reading, whether it's because you've read it 60 times before, because it's a children's book, because it's ridiculously short, or because it has pictures. Whatever you think will boost your enthusiasm and entertain you! Diving in with War and Peace or Les Miserables might be bad for your morale, so start easy and fun. Be precious about itIf you've been out of the habit of reading for a while, make a treat of it. Celebrate your return to books! When you've got a good space of free time, get yourself a drink (tea is always a relaxing reading classic), find a comfy chair or settle in bed, put on some music if that's what you like, and get reading. Obviously you can't always read in perfect conditions like this, but it helps every now and then to remind you of your enjoyment of reading, or to immerse yourself in that 500 page fantasy you've been meaning to tackle. Don't be precious about itThis seems to contradict the last point, I know, but it's just a slightly different tactic. Read anywhere and any time you can- if you have a train, tram or bus journey to go on, take a book, Kindle or e-reading app on your phone. If you have 15 free minutes in the kitchen while you wait for the oven to warm up, use them to read. Many people (me included) put off reading because we feel like we need to dedicate huge amounts of time to it, but small amounts of time add up too. And trains are usually nice, peaceful places to read! Read book reviews, watch YouTube videos about books, wander round a bookshopMuch like the first couple of points, this is about building your enthusiasm for reading. Go to the internet and do your research! Reviews and videos like book hauls do a lot for me in this respect, making me add a lot of books to my want-to-read list on GoodReads. Similarly, wandering round a Waterstones and drooling over the books makes me want to read more. Make a pile of the books you plan to read next , in orderEven make a list if you want to! Having something visual that tells you what you're going to read next makes it easier to get excited about reading them, and drives you to finish your current book. This is especially helpful if what you're reading is not your own choice- the next book on my list is for uni, and I wouldn't necessarily choose to read it, but seeing the two books under it in the pile, both of which I'm excited to read, is going to help me get though it. Set yourself deadlinesI am a big fan of lists (see previous point), and so I make a lot of to-do lists of what I need to achieve in a day. What I've started doing now is putting reading on the list- for example today underneath 'write blog post' there is 'read 100 pages of Son of a Witch', which is what I'm currently reading. As I said earlier, mostly the goal of reading more just means finding the time, which means prioritising reading. By making it a task, I am ensuring that it gets done, which a) means I have the time for it, and b) means I don't feel guilty for spending time on it because it's on my to-do list! I also like to set deadlines for when I want to finish books. Saying 'I want to have finished this book by x day' makes reading no longer just fun, it's also part of a challenge, and encourages you to spend time on it. It's also practice for if you have to read a lot of books by deadlines or in a short amount of time (for example, if you're a literature student.) Hope some of these helped! Happy reading.
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"After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world."- Philip Pullman Archives
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