Tips to read more books this year

Every year I ask myself the same question. 

How many books can I manage to read this year? Could it be more than last year, or less?

In 2019 I barely managed to reach my goal of 100 books and the reasons are many. The most important one is that in the middle of the year our baby girl came to our lives so reading wasn't at the front.  In 2020 I set my goal lower at 52 books, one for every week of the year and so far it is going very well.

I have many friends who ask me how I can read so many books , how I find the time for reading. The simple answer is that you do not find the time, you just simply make time for reading.

I always  liked to read articles with tips and tricks on how to read more books. That's why I decided to gather together in this post some tips that I found very helpful  and try to use in my own reading life. (For full disclosure I didn't think of those tips, I am just gathering them in one post for my and your convenience).

Let's start...

Fist, try to make reading a part of your routine. 

Integrate reading time into your routine. You can wake up a little bit earlier to read (I find this one a little difficult, because you know... sleep!) or you can dedicate half an hour before bed to read. That's what I am doing and it's working very well so far. You can also read during your lunch break or with your coffee in the morning.

Second,  try audiobooks.

With audiobooks you can multitask. You can read/listen your book while driving, working out, cleaning or cooking. Do not forget that listening to a book is not cheating. Audiobooks count as books obviously.  

Third, always have a book with you either physical or in ebook form. 

I think this one is the more helpful tip. You can squeeze some reading while waiting for the bus, at the bank or at the doctor's office.  

Fourth, try to mix the genres you read.

This way you won't suffer from book hungover after finishing a great book.  It will help you to avoid direct comparisons between books in the same genre and it will eliminate confusion between similar plot lines or characters.

Fifth, join a book club or buddy read books.

Book clubs are always a great idea because they will encourage you to finish a book by a certain date for your scheduled meeting and if it's a monthly one you will add 12 books towards your goal. 

Buddy reading books and discussing what you’re reading with a friend can give you encouragement to read through to the end. 

Sixth, read more books at once.

This is one I do all the time. Usually I read three books at once but I try to be of different genres so I won't confuse the plots. 

I have a dedicated post for this one. It's an older one. Check it out here.

Seventh, participate in readathons.

Readathons can easily help you to read more. Many bloggers and bookstagrammers host readathons throughout the year, where you read for a set period. Some readathons even come with a theme or book recommendations.

Eighth, dnf (did-not-finish) a book if you don't like it.

Forcing yourself to finish a book you hate is not a good way to reach your reading goals. Sticking with books you’re not enjoying will take all of the fun out of your reading time and will slow down your progress. 

These are some tips that I think will help you to read more books this year. I tried them all, except audiobooks  and I find that they do work.  Now I want to try listening to audiobooks as well to see if they suit me.

Have you got any other tips you can share with us?

See you in the next post and don't forget to keep reading!!!

Athina