[The article intro goes here].How to read more starts with getting a book closer to you than your phone, picking one book that you want to read, finding a repeatable 10-to-20-minute part of it, and clearing out whatever the main thing using up your time was. You do not have a perfectly planned program or a lofty goal. All you have to do is set up a few bookish defaults for yourself: where you sit, what you read, how you pick the next book, and when you stop.
Sections
My goal with this chapter is to help you absorb the book into your life as naturally as possible rather than forcing it to squeeze itself into a pocket of time when your day is done. If you’re here for how to read more books, the friction reducers, environment, time, what to read, and formats, are a great place to start.
Next you will find some advice on how to deal with stalls, busy weeks, and screen time temptations. This shelf full of options can be a fine starting place. Try one or two of them first. Usually you will find that simpler is easier to maintain over the long term than a more demanding system.
Introduction
Almost certainly, all of the people who research this topic don’t do so out of some idle curiosity. They have stacks of books, a constant buzzing from their smartphone, an ever-increasing list of things to do and they are hitting an afternoon slump right about when they need it the least. The goal here is to not to turn another reading more into yet another challenge in the marathon. Rather it is to make picking up a book as simple as possible.
However there’s a problem. Since there’s no such thing as a normal day, any kind of quota could easily become a meaningless concept. Tonight I may finish thirty pages, tomorrow I might only get five. And both of those would be acceptable as long as it involves really reading the book you’re intent on finishing.
Build A Reading Space You Return To
Your best reading space doesn’t have to be a complete re-model; it might be a plush arm chair with a reading lamp, a stack of books next to your bed, a peaceful nook at home, or a tote bag filled up on the commuter train to work. Basically, when the next 2-minute free time slot rolls around, the book will be waiting for you.
Create a reading nook that’s calmer than your phone. Turn off your notifications, or leave your phone in the other room; put a physical book where it’s in easy reach of your normal resting hand (or maybe you prefer a Kindle that allows for a single-handed reading experience with adjustable type). Reading more often starts with making it easier to start.
Make Time To Read More
It’s rare to run into a free opening, so carve out small chunks of time daily. You can eventually read a good book in ten minutes drinking coffee, fifteen minutes while at lunch, twenty minutes while before you sleep, or even while in the waiting room for ten, or a chapter, of a book. These little increments will do the trick because they do not ask that you upend your lifestyle.
What we must recognize now are the most apparent times: the times we would have been sitting around anyway. If we’re going to read, then why not during the times that we were going to do this and that. If we open up our Twitter to check it, let that be our opportunity to read the article that our Facebook friends have shared on Facebook or to read reading more, or our favorite book that we want to start on. We should have a novel next to the couch in which we sit and relax. In a purse we should have a small book ready to be read, and at least we should download a book on our phone before we start our work day for that day.
Attach Reading To An Existing Routine
Habits are not sustainable, but signals are. You must link this new habit of reading books each and every day with a routine that you already do each and every day. Read during your morning coffee, before you go to sleep at night, or when you go home after you finish work for the day and before you have dinner. Do not put the book somewhere in your house, but rather somewhere where you will see it every day. And do not wait for you to “want to “ read more to do so, rather let this routine be the one to take the lead.
Plan Your Next Reading Slot
Before you close the book, write down when you will open it up. Write a reminder in your phone calendar to do this tomorrow, request a library hold on the next book in your library list, or take the novel you are currently reading on the trip you are going on. By taking these measures, you are doing the right thing. You won’t be faced with the eternal question of each night, you “want” to “ read more, but the book is in the corner of the room and your phone is in the bed.
Set A Bookish Goal That Motivates You
Ideally, your goal should be something you want to reach rather than something that you should reach. It shouldn’t feel like it belongs in a school setting. Try aiming for an annual goal, a “to be read” each month, or maybe a target page count for a season of your year when life is especially packed. If you’re interested in reading more books, find a system to help you follow that. If figures give you anxiety, focus only on logging the books you’ve loved.
Both Goodreads and StoryGraph give you the tools to record the books you’re reading, note what moods you had while you read them, and guide you as you plan your reading goals. Think of them as mirrors rather than harsh examiners. During a slow month of reading, try cutting back on the goal, changing the format, or tallying your reading time in minutes instead of finishing books.
Choose Books You Actually Want To Pick Up
So if you’re saying to yourself i want to read more yet everything feels like work, maybe it’s your reading list that’s off. Consider your mood! Go with mystery, romance, memoir, fantasy, history book, essays, pick whatever sounds good on this specific day instead of what you think you should be reading.
And if you’ve already given it an honest go, stop reading books where you drag it out for way too long. Go get a recommendation from a librarian or friend; check out NPR’s summer reading tips; scroll through a well-argued Reddit conversation; or ask favorite authors for their recs.
Keep A Short, Ready-To-Read List
Also, don’t forget you can get tired just from having to pick between books all the time, and that is avoidable. Keep a list of 3 to 5 titles: a comfort pick, a challenge pick, something you’ve sampled and liked, and another from a source whose recommendations you trust. A sensible tips to read more is to have your upcoming book already decided. Set up library holds or ebook samples, keep your own notes of titles to explore, so there’s a transition to your next read.
Keep More Than One Book In Rotation
It’s okay to just have one book going, but you’ll find yourself in a better spot having a small rotation of titles. Have a print book on your nightstand, an audio book ready for you as you commute to work, and an ebook for whenever you have moments of free time. This is the best way to find the how to read more in most cases, since each one can be consumed in different situations.
Mix up fiction and nonfiction, something weighty with something lighter, etc. Don’t read two heavy hitters. One of the titles you’re working on shouldn’t have you craving something else, and it’s a good thing when the book in question is too much at the end of the day to read. Having another option will help to keep the energy from dwindling and make it less of a struggle to push through a chapter you’re just not getting into.
Use Formats That Fit The Moment
That said, ideal circumstances can be scarce. It can be a challenge to have the right conditions. Go for the format that matches the situation that you have at hand. Audio can accompany you during the commute, chore time, or a walk. Ebooks allow for easy portability while traveling, in lines, and in waiting rooms. Reading from print can be an excellent way to wind down during the evening, when you want to end the day in a no-screen way.
So what does this mean, concretely? Switching formats doesn’t make you a cheater. When you are using Libby to borrow a book from your phone and it keeps playing as you are folding your laundry, that book can still count as part of your reading practice. We are just aiming to keep the book in motion.
Reduce Screen Distractions
In order for digital reading to be effective, we also have to think about whether the device is a distraction. If you are going to read off of your phone, you might put it in another room, put on airplane mode, or enable a Do Not Disturb mode for the duration of your reading. If you read off of an e-reader, you can enjoy a sort of digital detox for reading by removing the distractions of your browser tabs, your messages, and your feeds from this activity. Protecting your reading focus is more important than having the right device.
Talk About The Books You Love
Reading is far more approachable when it’s something you can talk about with other people. Start a book club. Text your friend an excerpt that knocked their socks off. Send a quick message after a plot twist takes you off-guard. It’s making the conversation part of the habit that transforms reading into a pursuit you actually look forward to.
And you don’t have to write a polished review before updating your Goodreads, StoryGraph, Instagram, or Reddit feeds. For a bigger picture of what’s possible, read what some other readers say about the subject, like on Goodreads’ super-reader tips, Armed with A Book’s TBR Tales guide to reading more, or Ryan Holiday’s essay on “reading a lot more”.
Count Reading That Is Not A Traditional Book
It’s about the essay, the longform, the poetry, the graphic novel, the reread, the short story collection, the newsletter; all of them also train attention. And all of them can come in handy when a book in novel form feels like too much but you still want those things, language, ideas, stories, in your day-to-day.
Take that in, too. Listening counts, rereads count, shorter work counts. The same for TIME’s ways to fit books into life and Psyche’s guide to making reading part of your daily habits, insofar as both are more about routines that fit how we actually live than they are about making you feel bad.
Refresh Your Routine When You Hit A Slump
Slumps can indicate your reading habits are out of step with your mood. You can try a different genre, change how you are reading, reread a beloved book, or pick a short book you will finish today. Often it just takes a small win to get back going.
There is one reaction you should avoid, though: scrapping your routine. You will have a hard time restarting it. Lower the bar for the moment. 5 pages before bed, one poem at lunch, a chapter on Sundays is often enough to keep things going.
Final Reflections And Next Steps
To truly get started, it helps to choose one book, one time, and one spot without distractions. All that is required is to find a place to put your book, to determine when to begin and to keep the book closer than your phone.
Please offer your best book-reading practice in the comment section for someone stuck in a rut; or link the above advice to books lists, seasonal books, posts about re-reading, or tips for establishing a calming evening routine.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest way to start reading again after a long break?
That depends. Pick a compelling, short book and sit in the same chair with it for ten minutes every single day for seven days straight. Don’t start with the big unread classic unless that’s what your heart is set on, because it can get demoralizing; instead, try rereads, novellas, essays, or even the best genre fiction you can grab.
How many minutes a day should someone read to finish more books?
For many, ten to twenty minutes a day is all that’s needed, which is enough to complete a lot more books over time (the more consistent the time, the better). A single chapter a day, consistently, is a far better way to do it than an occasional few hours here or there. If you skip one day, that’s okay, but resume the following day without trying to make up the time.
Is listening to audiobooks as effective as reading print books?
Audio books work as well as anything, if your main goal is just consuming the narrative and the ideas (or if you just need to keep up with reading during a jam-packed day) while a print copy would be better for heavy study or annotations, depending on your purpose, your attention span, and your situation.
Should readers quit books they are not enjoying?
And be sure to stop a book if it keeps making you not want to read it every time you pick it up again, and set yourself a rule beforehand, like, fifty pages or three chapters. You won’t have the time to read an unfavorite book that you won’t be reading ten other favorites because you won’t want to.
How can someone read consistently with a busy schedule?
Read it at any time you do anyway in your life: breakfast, during your commute, lunch break, before bed, waiting for your kid to get out of school, waiting for the doctor. And just leave your book by you all the time, and set a time to next read. Prioritize regularity if your schedule is packed (not necessarily length).
What should someone read when they are in a reading slump?
If you feel stuck, choose a less demanding book (maybe a reread, maybe a quick mystery, maybe a graphic novel, or a short book, a poetry collection, or something by an author you already know you love). If you still don’t know how to read more books, maybe choose something simple (like you should anyway!) to get into the swing of things again, which usually happens that way.
Reading more isn’t about an open schedule, a huge target, a “correct” type of book; it’s about the book you can see, the recurring time you can do the same thing, and less clutter competing for your attention. Read books you want to revisit; be flexible (about your choice to read print or audio, essays, rereads, graphic novels, etc.) if you’re super busy.
How to read more isn’t about finding one right answer; it’s about the series of little, repeatable choices you’ll make tomorrow. If it doesn’t suit your life anymore, fix it, don’t quit; the best reading habit is one you can stop for a while, pick up again in an instant, and still enjoy.
