How I Read So Many Books
If you follow me on social media, especially on Goodreads, you know I read a lot of books. I've always loved to read, and I'm rarely out and about without a book in tow. I used to read, on average, about 24-36 books a year. That averages to about 2-3 books a month, which felt like a good pace to me. Starting last year, however, I upped my average significantly. Last year I read 132 books (108 paper/kindle books, 24 audio books) and today is July 1st, halfway through 2018, and I'm already on my 80th book of the year.
Whenever the topic of books comes up, the question I am most asked is, "How do you read so many books?!" I will happily tell you how.
But first.
I feel the need to say the following: this is not a competition. Social media can be a force for good or a force for ill. One of the most negative effects of social media is the way we compare ourselves to others and think we fall short. "We're supposed to have perfect homes and perfect bodies and perfect relationships and perfect children and now we're supposed to be reading all the time?! 132 books a year?! I can't compete with that!"
Here's the thing: first of all, like I said, you don't need to compete with that, because this is not a competition. I follow plenty of book nerds on social media who read way more than I do, and good on them. Some people read faster, some people have more leisure time, some people are in a season in their lives that lends itself to more reading. I am certain I will have years in my future when I read far less than I'm reading now. So be it. Circumstances may change, or maybe I just won't want to spend my precious leisure time reading so much. We're in the Golden Age of Television right now, and I know I'm missing out on quality storytelling on the small screen. I may find myself turning away from books and turning toward Netflix at some point, and I will not judge myself harshly for it. Once you're out of school, reading should be for pleasure, not another chore on the never-ending perfectionist to-do list. Do you want to feel like you're speed reading in order to keep up with your fellow readers on Instagram? Because I do not.
So, with that out of the way, let's get down to it. I suspect that if you are reading this post, it's because you are someone who enjoys books, but you wish you had more time to read. I feel you. So many books and so little time and all that. I will share with you the few small but impactful changes I made that really changed my reading life; maybe you will find it easy to incorporate a few of these into yours. Sadly, it does not include one of those time turner thingys Hermione Granger had in Harry Potter so she could take two classes at the same time. What a nerd.
Tip #1: Find Your Golden Hour. I believe every reader has what I call the Golden Hour for reading. The usual cliche here is the hour or two before bed: picture the person staying up way past their bedtime because they can't put down the latest best seller. I am not this reader. I cannot focus late at night and when I do read before bed, I rarely make it past two pages. But if this is you, USE THIS TIME. If you want to add more reading time to your day, you can't add more to the 24 hours allotted. That means setting a time each night to turn off your screens and pick up your book. The specifics of this will look different for each person but the idea is the same: do not zone out in front of your multiple screens until you're nodding off at 11:37pm. Set your alarm for 90 minutes before you need to go to bed, turn off your screens and read. You will have 90 minutes of straight reading time every day. Or 60 minutes, or whatever makes sense for you. This will significantly add to your reading tally and your reading quality, I promise you.
My Golden Hour is early in the morning. Really early in the morning. I wake up between the hours of 2-4 am every day. I do not do this on purpose, I just do. I've been doing this for about 4 years now, but it was only in 2017 that I set an intention to read. I used to wake up and endlessly scroll through my phone, then flip on the TV and go through my DVR. It was technically my "quiet time" but it left me feeling depleted. Reading leaves me feeling recharged. When I made this connection, it was easy to make the switch. I now have a rule that I don't look at my phone or turn on the TV until I'm getting ready to go to my exercise class at 5:30. This gives me a good chunk of reading time every day. This has significantly added to my reading tally and my reading quality, I promise you.
I call this the Golden Hour because it's when I can focus the best. When I start a new book midday, say, in a doctor's office waiting room, I have a hard time getting into it. I know I have to wait until the next morning to give it a fair shake. The Golden Hour is when a reader can really sink into a book. Maybe for you this is during your toddler's afternoon nap. Maybe it's on your morning commute on the Metro. Whenever it is, once you identify it, do your best to protect that time and think of it as your Reading Time. Put your phone in another room if possible. I'm serious.
Tip # 2: Bring Your Book With You. This one is kind of obvious, but it's worth saying anyway. Never leave the house without your book. There are a surprising number of stolen moments during the day when you can read a few pages. Doctor's office? Oil change? DMV? Epic line at Costco? This is especially easy in the age of Kindles. You don't even need to own a Kindle; you can read Kindle books using the free Kindle app on your phone! I mostly read actual books, so I carry one around, but if for some reason I find unexpected time to read and I forgot my book (the horror!), I find a Kindle book on my phone and get started. Which leads me to my next tip. Unless you're reading a book on that thing....
Tip # 3: Put Down Your Phone. This one is also obvious, but also worth saying. I am as addicted as the next person. I recognize that I compulsively toggle between email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and back again. I keep doing it even when it's only been a few minutes since I last looked and there's nothing new. I still have to stop and say to myself, "Denise, put down your phone and READ YOUR BOOK!" If you want a real dose of truth, you can download apps that will track how much time you are spending on your phone, particularly on social media sites. If you see you are spending 1+ hours each day mindlessly scrolling, you now know you could be spending 1+ hours each day reading a book.
Tip #4 Use Audio Books. Some people consider this cheating. I think it's because you can do other things at the same time, while a paper book requires your undivided attention. Okay. But again, this is not a competition, and no one is handing out blue ribbons for how much time you spent focusing on the written word. Well, maybe they are in elementary school, but I think I'm talking to adults here. And science is on my side! They say listening to a book is the same as reading one on the page! So if you are someone who simply does not have time to sit for a hot second to read a book (I'm looking at you, toddler moms), then give audio books a try. They have the added bonus of making you actually look forward to tedious household tasks because you need to know how that book ends. I once actually folded all the laundry AND made the beds AND did the dishes in one go because I was listening to The Woman In The Window. This was an unusual series of events; without that book we'd be wearing our usual wrinkled clean-from-the-laundry-basket clothes that week while bemoaning the lack of clean spoons.
So as you can see, there's no magic here. I set an intention at the beginning of 2017 to read more, made a few simple changes and ended up nearly quadrupling my reading totals. My goal wasn't in the numbers, my goal was to step away from my screens in order to feel less crazed and depleted. Less scrolling, more reading.
And that is how I read so many books.
