“There’s just no time anymore!” “I wish I could read more!” “High school English ruined reading for me!” “I used to read trilogies in a single night, and now I go months without so much as touching a book!”
Any of this sound familiar? If so, this post is for you.
It is, regrettably, a rite of passage among bookworms to grow up and realize that we simply can’t read as much as we used to. In the words of Jay Kristoff: “Too many books, too few centuries.” Even when we have “free time” to read, there are so many things constantly demanding our attention in this age of information that we may even end up not reading by accidental choice, or by incidence.
Further, if you’re like me and used to devour books in one sitting as a habit, rather than as an occasional thing, you’ll know the pain of realizing that it just isn’t practical to consistently carve out two to eight hour time slots to read a book from cover to cover anymore. I’ve personally struggled with this as I don’t have an established reading habit (i.e. some of my friends always read for fifteen minutes before bed) so I will sometimes read four books in a weekend and then not read again for four months.
The other problem which many readers face is the infamous reading slump, where you just can’t seem to get yourself in the mood to read. Whether it’s because a book you’d anticipated let you down or because your brain chemicals have spontaneously decided to give you a hard time, this can be another leading cause of *Wants To Do Thing* *Finds Time To Do Thing!* *Doesn’t Do Thing* syndrome in relation to reading.
All of which is ridiculous, because despite my brain’s destructive machinations to the contrary, I love reading and I want to do it more. If you’ve made it this far, presumably so do you. So here are some tips that I have gleaned from attempting to actually start reading regularly again.
1. Set A Manageable Goal.
This is coming from someone whose Goodreads profile records 198 books read for the year 2017. Maybe you will eventually be able to build yourself back up to the reading level of your tween years (or whenever your peak was), but personally 198 books in a year is a little out of my league and probably will be for a while. My reading goal for that year was actually 150 books, a fun suggestion by my mom for Canada 150. The following year, I thought it would be fun to set my goal at 151, and increase by one every year following.
Predictably, that strategy immediately crashed and burned. I apparently managed to squeeze out a solid 138 in 2018, but even though that’s a wacky high number for me now I felt disappointed at not reaching my goal. I set my 2019 goal at 152, thinking I could do better. Wrong. I only managed 50 books that year.
Don’t get me wrong; 50 books is a good amount. But I felt like my identity as a reader was in jeopardy. How come I hadn’t managed to do better? Why was everyone else reading 100 or 200 books when I couldn’t?
Obviously, this comparison is a total fallacy. You shouldn’t compare yourself to others any more than you should unfairly compare yourself to your past self. And most of us know this, but it’s a little hard to internalize.
I get it. Just focus on taking one step at a time, and you will eventually reach your goal.
2. Focus On Habit Building
This is for all my binge readers consumed by guilt at not reading regularly anymore. Make reading part of your routine (every night before bed, for example), or read in little sprints and force yourself to put the book down after 10 or 15 or 20 minutes. That may keep you interested enough in reading that you’ll want to continue doing the sprints the next day and the next, until reading is integrated into your life again.
This is a good one for when reading seems like a chore, too (because let’s be honest—everyone dreads their hobbies sometimes). If you’re in a reading slump, just pick up a book and read ten pages or even just one.
If you’re like me and you’ll probably end up finishing the book if you sit down and start it, pick up either really long books or really short books. One way or another, you may find the reading habit more manageable this way. Ultimately, this tip is about discipline and finding what works for you.
2. Read Stuff You’re Actually Interested In
Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to arbitrarily read classics or nonfiction or the hottest new #TrendingOnTiktok romance because it seems like everyone else is. Find books that you’re interested in; there are lots of platforms to help you do this, including Goodreads, which I use to track my reading and find books that I’m interested in. You could also just go to the library or bookstore and give the shelves a good old fashioned browse.
There really are books out there on every conceivable topic. It can seem overwhelming at times, but “there’s just nothing I’m interested in right now” really isn’t a good excuse if reading is something you actually want to do.
4. At Some Point, It’s About Your Priorities.
As much as I wish it weren’t true, it just isn’t possible for most older bookworms to read as much as they did when they were carefree little tots. If you want to read, you have to intentionally make it a priority in your life to do so.
I hope this post finds someone out there who, like me, as been struggling to read as much as they used to lately. Happy Reading!
