If you have read my blog for any length of time you know how I feel about reading. I love to read.
My love for reading comes from my mother. She is an avid reader and as children she would take us to the public library almost every Saturday to pick up a new pile of books. As a young girl I loved reading biographies of famous women and of course, Nancy Drew! Mysteries were always a favorite of mine. As I have gotten older my tastes have grown more towards historical fiction but I can really appreciate almost every genre although Science Fiction just isn’t my thing.
I love sharing with you what I read through my Recommended Reads posts I do ever couple of months through the year and then my year end roundup of books that I recently just shared!
I am often asked how I find time to read as much as I do. Today I want to share with you some of my Top Tips on How to Read More Books this Year! Did you set a New Year’s Resolution to read more books this year? If you didn’t, you should! Did you know that only about 40% of Americans have read a book in the last year?! Don’t be part of that 60%!!
I love this quote from Dr. Seuss about the importance of reading. I want to go lots of places!
So here are my Top Tips on How to Read More Books this Year
1. Make it a priority. Just like anything else reading is a choice. It is a decision to do one thing instead of another. Turn off the TV and pick up a book. TV is a passive activity, reading is an active one, it takes effort. It keeps your mind sharp and engaged. I love a good TV show as much as the next person but if you really want to read more pick up a book instead of the remote.
2. Think you don’t like to read? My guess is that you just haven’t read the right book yet. Try different genres. I am a big historical fiction fan but also enjoy a good mystery, biography and even a dystopian novel now and then! Ask your friends for book recommendations. Check out some of my Recommended Reads posts. Check out sites like Good Reads to see what books they are recommending. Browse a book store. I love going into my local bookstore and seeing what the new arrivals are. Be sure to read the recommendations of the people that work at the bookstore make. Get a library card and talk to your librarian for suggestions. Amazon is also another great place to see what is new and popular. Read the classics. Can’t go wrong there! There are lots of book lists available online such as Top 100 Novels of all times, etc. Just Google it.
3. If you don’t like a book, you don’t have to finish it. Close the book and find another. There is nothing worse than reading a book you don’t like, unless it is for a class you have to take, then you have to read it! Life is too short to read a book you don’t like.
4. Join a Book Club. I have been a member of a book club for years now and I love it. I don’t always love the books that are chosen and sometimes I choose not to read them but many times the book club has given me the opportunity to read a book I wouldn’t normally choose and I end up loving it. It has introduced me to lots of new authors that have become some of my favorites. My book club meets every other month which is just right for me. Many local bookstores offer book clubs or start one of your own!
5. Get a library card! Don’t let the cost of books stop you from reading. I rarely buy a book. I am a frequent visitor to my local library. I go online to request the books I want and then an email comes when the book is ready for me to pick up. I am not a big electronical book reader. I like to hold a paper book in my hands and read. I do have a Kindle that I like to use for traveling but when I’m home – I want a real book. But if electronic books work for you and get you reading – do it!
6. Listen to books. I always have a book on CD in the car with me. It is amazing how much reading I get down in the car and yes, I do count listening to books as reading! My son uses Audible which is a great way to download books to your I Pad or phone and listen on the go.
7. Carry a book with you always. Whether a real book or an audio book, have a book with you, always. It is amazing how much reading you can get done when you are waiting in the car pool line, outside of piano lessons, at the doctor’s office, etc.
8. Make it a priority! Yes, it was my first tip and it is also my final tip. There will always be something else that needs to be done. Make the time to read. Now go read a good book!
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I have two kids under two. Needless to say my days are busy. I used to read before bed but these days I need every extra second of sleep I can get! I manage to get reading done by keeping a book in the bathroom. It doesn’t always work out as my toddler can’t stand a locked door, it takes me months to finish a book ten minutes here fifteen minutes there but it gets done! It’s a silly tip but hey you’re gonna just sit there staring at the wall anyway
Teri, I love your tip! A few minutes here and a few minutes there!! Take it where you can find it.
are we friends on goodreads? I set a goal to read 200 this year! Since it’s my de-stress activity of choice, this means that I’m making time for destressing!
I used to read all of the time…until I bought a smart phone. It makes me sad and I do have a goal of reading more this year. I love Audible as well, but miss the comfort of a paperback. I’ve even thought of downgrading my phone, but it’s just discipline really. Thanks for the article! 🙂
We brought in the New Year of 2015 while down visiting our kids in San Diego by babysitting while all the adults could go out together. The kids wanted us to READ BOOKS to them! This is another way to start reading more…read to your kids and grandchildren…they love it and so will you!Also if you are ever visiting downtown San Diego check out the new library on Park Blvd. It is AMAZING! You could spend DAYS there! It is several stories high! Fabulous library like no other!
My son lives in San Diego – will definitely check out the library next time I am there.
cest iterest pour moi merci beacoup esp carring a book
First of all, how adorable is your picture?!?! I love it! Thank you for your tips. I am so terrible at reading books. I love to look through magazines, coffee table books, etc. but literature just doesn’t spark my interest and as a result of that I’m not teaching my kids to love reading. I need to work on it!!
Thanks Melanie! I think you just need to find the right book. Maybe find a book you and the kids can read aloud together.
There was a little library in a little town. We checked out so many books that the librarian said that because of us they got their book buying funds raised the next year.
Love that. I loved going to library as a child every Saturday.
Great suggestions! I am particularly fond of three — get a library card, carry a book with you wherever you go and don’t keep reading if you don’t like the book. As a child, we’d make weekly visits to the library. We’d check out boxes of books, and we loved it! I had a single mom and a chronically ill brother. We never knew when we’d be at the doctor, but we were always entertained. Finally, if you can’t get into a book after 40 pages, it’s not worth it. Reading is for pleasure, not a chore! Thanks for this post!
Jessica, totally agree with you that reading is a pleasure, not a chore. Like your 40 page rule.
I am a life long reader and I read every day-no matter what. My hope is that my struggling readers will hopefully come to love reading as much as I do-they are improving! I love to do read alouds with my students-they always love the books I choose-sometimes I start a book and stop-they hate it when I do that-they have to check out the book to find out what happened! Mary Alice Monroe, Dorothea Benton-Frank, Cassandra King, Pat Conroy, Jodi Picoult, Jane Green, Jan Karon, Nicholas Sparks, John Grisham, Fannie Flagg, and Joan Medlicott are a few of my favorite authors. I love to use our local library to feed my voracious appetite for books.
Cynthia, I loved it when my children had teachers who read a loud to them, even in middle school!
I have read the NIV Bible from cover to cover in a year’s time for the past few years along with other books. Print a schedule offline and have the Bible on my Kindle ( so that I can have it anytime). Gives a very well sense of peace and a great time to REFLECT>
Judy – that is awesome. I love to spend a little time each morning with my scriptures.
I am an avid reader too. A quote I will never forget and one that I have found oh so true is: YOU ARE NEVER ALONE AS LONG AS YOU HAVE A GOOD BOOK.
Monna, I love that quote. So true!
I also love, love to read but found it hard to fit it in my day. Thanks for the good tips! I recommend Lauraine Snelling’s books. Red River of the North Series is great!!
Connie, Thanks for the recommendations, will check it out!
Love your list. I was hoping to pick up a few tips but I already do most of these things. Why I didn’t read as much this past year was due to reading not being a priority (darn you Facebook, IG, blogs, etc!) 🙂
Also I realize that you and I tend to read very similar books. I’ve added a few to my pile from your 2014 recommendations!
Kim, It is easy to get distracted by so many things, isn’t it!
Excellent post Leigh Anne. I am also an avid reader. I usually have at least three books going. An audible when I am in the car (or a conference talk), a book on my phone and a hard copy of a book. It is good to have options. Which do I like best? It depends on the day.
I love it – so many books, so little time.
Great suggestions. I enjoy reading and like you I listen to books a lot. It is amazing how much more thorough I am at cleaning while I’m listening to a book. I don’t want to stop.
Millie, Such a great idea to listen to a book while you clean! I might look forward to cleaning that way.