Have you ever wanted to be one of those people that puts their phone down and picks up a book? I’ll be honest, I’m still guilty of this, and I actually really like reading. I came up with a few things that have helped me increase my book count over the years. I posted earlier this year that I read 59 books in 2021, and you don’t get to that number without picking up a few tips and tricks along the way. That’s what I’m sharing with you today.
Audiobooks
Say it with me: Listening to audiobooks is reading. I am a huge fan of the Overdrive/Libby apps that connect to your local library. You may have to endure wait times for more popular books, but you can get right in and listen to older titles pretty instantly. I utilize this app 100% of the time.
Another audiobook avenue to use is Audible. I have the version that gives you one credit per month, which is how I get a lot of new books for $15 a month.
Finally, there is another audiobook destination called Libro.fm, which is a subscription service much like Audible, but you support your favorite independent bookstore. This is something I’d like to support this year. I’m just trying to not lose my Audible credits. Time to speed listen.
Speaking of Speed Listening…
That leads me to another component of audiobooks- the speed setting. I started out listening to audiobooks on the regular speed of 1.0x. But when you’re in a time crunch in the Overdrive app with a day and a half to finish an entire book, you learn that listening to a book at 1.5x or 1.75x speed isn’t so bad and actually makes you pay better attention. Put a book on during a house cleaning sesh at 1.75x speed and tell me you don’t clean faster. 🙂 Plus, if you’re into a good book, you’re more likely to listen to that rather than scroll social media, and because you’re listening, your free to do a more productive task at the same time. That’s a win-win!
Carry a Book with You Wherever You Go
If I don’t have a physical book in my purse, then I have my Kindle Paperwhite. This, of course, lets you have a book with you at all times. When you’re getting your hair done, sitting in line at the bank or the pharmacy (have you seen those lines lately??? Holy cow!), waiting at the doctor’s office, waiting for your child’s practice to be over, quite literally any time you are waiting, you could be reading a book.
Set a Timer
I learned this from Laura Tremaine. She’s an author of Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First and the creator of the 10 Things to Tell You Podcast. On her podcast and her instagram pages, she often talks about setting a 20 minute timer where all you do is read. You put your phone away or across the room and you only read. This gives you uninterrupted reading time and can likely finish a book a month with this method depending on the length of the book and how fast you read. I love this method of reading more. Soon you get used to it and you start to crave the reading time. I also find that I’ll start the timer over and read an additional 20 minutes if the book is really good.
Set Intentional Reading Time
A lot of parents do this for their young/school age children. However, I think it’s a good idea for adults to do, too. If you’re a morning person, schedule reading time before everyone else is awake when you have the peace and quiet. If you’re a person who likes to decompress in a quiet space after work, make that time your designated reading time. Find what works for you, be intentional about the space and the actual time you spend reading (set that timer!). I think you’ll find that you will devour books when you intentionally set aside time for just reading.
Don’t Be Afraid to DNF a Book
DNF- Did Not Finish
I know some of us couldn’t stand starting a book and not finishing it. But let me ask you this: If you get started with a book you don’t want to finish, don’t you end up setting it aside and not picking up ANY books because you didn’t finish the one you started? It is not worth your time! Put that boring book down and call it a loss. Move on. There are so many more books waiting to be discovered. In all honesty, this took me a while to get comfortable with, but it’s been worth it in the long run.
Join a Book Club
Most book clubs guarantee one book a month, and twelve books a year is a fantastic number of books. There’s nothing like a group of friends sharing a meal or a drink and discussing the book you all read. If you’re the only literary one in your friend group, pick a juicy romance or a suspenseful thriller and tell them that you want everyone to read it. Something like Verity by Colleen Hoover will sort of cover both of those as it’s a racy thriller. Ask them just to try it then host them at your house with a bottle of wine and a pasta dish and I bet they’ll be wondering what the next book is by the time the meeting is over.
You can always go the virtual route for book clubs. Here are a few ideas:
Read with Jenna
Reese’s Book Club
4 Reading Women
Ashley Brooke Book Club
I’ve been keeping up with my reading life since 2015 when I only read 19 books that year. Some years have been more, some less. 2021 was my biggest reading year to date. These practices have been essential in getting me to read more books. Could you see yourself doing any of these? I bet you could. Let me know what you try.
