I have a confession: I am an imposter. I claim I’m a bookworm, but I never once got past ten books annually.
Bookworms are people who devour books. If I were a true one, eating just ten paperbacks a year would have starved me close to death.
But this year, I believe I’d finally shed my imposter syndrome and embrace my bookworm persona with brimming confidence. That’s because just this February, I completed five books already (and I’m on my way to my sixth)!
Voracious readers my senior might have read more in the same period, thanks to their advanced techniques or god-like reading speed. But if you’re like me who are starting with a clean slate, here are simple tips you can try to read more books this year and beyond.
1. Avoid Setting Unrealistic Reading Goals
Goodreads tells us to set an annual reading goal, specifically, our target number of books. And because I misconstrued the word “challenge” as something “impossible,” I always set my goal to 50 books. Of course, I never got anywhere near that total.
Worse, I didn’t have a plan. I regarded reading as a hobby, one so casual that I needed not to schedule time for it.
But, hobby or not, a reading goal is still a goal, and there are myriad methods I could use to reach it. One is the ever-reliable S.M.A.R.T. method — formulating specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound targets.
Now, I won’t bore you with the term’s definition, but the following steps I did, which echoed this concept, will help you see the picture.
2. Compute Your Target Number of Books Based on Your Reading Speed
My StoryGraph data shows that I usually read books with 300-500 pages or an average of 400 pages per title.
I set my daily reading to 30 minutes, translating to 15 to 50 pages each session, depending on the text’s difficulty. I arbitrarily set my average to about 40 pages per session (I slightly lean on the speed reader side).
I then divide 400 pages (average book length) to 40 pages (my average reading speed per 30 minute-session) and got ten. That means I need more or less ten days to complete a book.
I adjusted that total to 15 days per book because you’ll never know what will happen.
Next, I divided 365 days into 15 days and got 24.
In conclusion, if I stick to a daily 30-minute session and read close to 40 pages every time, I can finish 24 books in a year.
Accounting for untoward incidents, running out of book budget, or my phone dying, I decided to round off the total to 20 books. Not bad.
Side Note: You don’t need to read books with the same number of pages every time. I managed to finish more because I varied the lengths of the titles from 150+ to 500+ pages. Jump from one genre to the other, too! Variety excites the brain.
3. Define Your Purposes for Reading
When I was younger, I read for the sake of reading. I relied on my mood — I only open a book if I feel like it. But since my emotions fluctuate more than a normal person to the point of being unhealthy, “feelings” alone won’t motivate me to read every day.
I realized that I have to force myself to read. And I did it by reviving my book blog.
It was fun planning for the whole affair. I started by listing books I’ve read and choosing which merits a blog entry. I eventually decided on niches for my site and then filled my editorial calendar with titles that aligned with those.
To ensure reading won’t feel like a chore, I dedicated time blocks for recreational reading as well. Doing this allows me to consume books without worrying about writing entries.
Defining my purpose by forcing myself to read also helped birth more reasons for reading, like reconnecting with my Filipino roots through literature and figuring out why some books deserve awards.
Reading also reveals the limits of my knowledge, effectively increasing my desire to learn more.
It’s almost paradoxical — as I bite more into this hobby, the hungrier for it I become. Yet, I also feel content, knowing there are more than enough books to last me a lifetime.
Of course, not everyone will turn to blogging to find their purpose for reading. The point is to identify what will “force” you to read, preferably something you’re willing to do for a long time. Anything, as long as it suits you and it’s legal, is fair game.
4. Track Your Reading Progress Daily
Our brains like it when we see progress. For me, progress means shading my e-reader’s tracker light blue every session and seeing that I went beyond my old weekly streak.
It’s addictive. Sometimes, when I’m not feeling it, the prospect of seeing those little circles turn blue will push me to read anyway. The dangling reward tricks my brain every time.
If I’m reading a physical book, I’d set a timer or decide how many pages to read. My brain switches to focused mode once it hears the cue (the click of the timer or the initial page flip).
The technique with a physical book wasn’t easy, though. I had to repeat setting cues for weeks before my brain adapted. My head (or my surroundings) sometimes won’t cooperate!
Don’t get disheartened if you did this method once and then failed the next day. Do it every day for at least a month. Your brain will eventually deem the reading second nature.
5. Keep a Reading Journal
Keeping a reading journal might be additional work, but it’s worth doing if you’re like me who worries about whether your reading means something.
I use Google Keep to record my takeaways. But before the actual note-taking, I do (or try to do) a 30-second summary of what I’ve read. It’s a fun yet challenging way to ensure I’ve absorbed the material’s essence.
Next, I’d do a lengthier account, usually including an information recall, then my comments, feelings, and takeaways, as well as how the book relates to my experiences.
Once I finish the book, I read all my notes about it and decide if the takeaways merit a blog feature.
Taking notes is always a rewarding experience, regardless of whether the book I finished is feature-worthy or not. It makes me grateful that life allowed me time to contemplate and record the things that matter.
6. Make the Most of the Digital Format
Carrying physical books to accompany you when you’re out is sweet, but sometimes the tangibility makes room for excuses. Especially when it’s raining or you’re too lazy to carry a bag.
That’s when the digital books saved on my phone became indispensable. There are hundreds of books packed in this bad boy. With just a few taps, I can read anytime, anywhere. No excuses.
Also, I figured that requiring the right place and moment to read daily is not practical. The perfect reading setup: peace, coffee, classical music playing low in the background, and a reclining chair is best reserved for lazy weekends, not on hectic weekdays.
My digital books allowed me to squeeze reading in between busy times. I complete a page or two while waiting, commuting, or taking a five-minute break until they add up. Before I knew it, I had cleared my goal for the day, perhaps even beyond.
7. Stick to Your Habit, But Cut Yourself Some Slack
When my emotional state or the surrounding situation is downright awful, committing 30 minutes to reading becomes impossible.
I’m aware that no matter what happens, I need to put in the work daily. But what if 30 minutes feel like forever? That’s when I switch perspectives. From the daily target of 30 minutes, I revise the goal to just reading for the day.
When I tell myself I should just read, it wouldn’t matter if I complete two pages or put in five minutes. The smaller my goal, the less likely I’ll make up excuses.
Doing so also doubles as a gentle reminder to have some self-respect. I’d tell myself: “Only one page this day, girl, you can manage that much, right?”
I’ve learned this technique from a writing coach, and since then applied the reframing to reading, too. It works like a charm every time.
The Wrap Up: Read Daily; It Can Save Your Life
Sticking to a habit during the worst times provides a semblance of normalcy. When a day is close to falling apart, my reading habit is one of the few things that can tether me to reality.
Ironic, since most people deem reading as an escape or a distraction.
But clutching on something constant, like reading daily, can help root a person. If one is too unhealthy to look forward to another day, thinking there’s a book waiting can draw the line between fighting and surrendering.
In my case, reading has always resulted in pushing back and breaking through. I’m grateful.
Notes:
- I learned about the 30-second habit from Coursera’s Learning How to Learn online course. Try it. Sejnowski and Oakley are brilliant and the lessons are enlightening. Best of all, it’s free.
- I’ve read many books, but nothing’s as fascinating as The Bible, especially when you have someone wise explain its passages to you.
