Hi Everyone!
Today I am hopefully going to help you read more. Reading is a very personal thing to do and you should do it for pleasure, not for a Goodreads goal or meaningless number on a screen. With that said, you probably want to read more, so here's how I read over 50 books a year. Lucy Powrie (my idol and the author of my favourite book series EVER) has an amazing video on her channel about how to read more which I highly recommend watching here. These tips work for me but they might not suit you so it's just about finding what works for you :)
I'm going to format this in a top tips style but it's very loose because it's individual to you.
1. Work out if you're an early bird or a night owl
I'm definitely an early bird so I wake up earlier every morning to read. But if your brain feels most awake at night, maybe you could make an allowance to go to bed slightly later and read. I find that if I read too late the words all merge into one and I'm reading them without understanding them or really taking them in! So I wake up somewhere between 6:30 and 6:45 to read until 7:20, when I need to start getting ready for school. Having this routine means that I can make time to read.
2. Work out how your brain works to set an appropriate goal
Lucy Powrie talks about this a lot in her video already linked above but here are my thoughts. Setting a goal, particularly on an app such as Goodreads can be a challenge and one way you can help yourself is by working our how your brain works. For example, you might find a high goal stressful and end up reading books for the quantity and not quality so set a low one. Lucy Powrie does this as she sets her goal to 1 book each year so that she always surpasses it and feels like she's ahead, which means she not only reads more but enjoys what she does read. But you might also find that having a goal motivates you then you may set your goal to 75 or 100 books. I know I'm somewhere in the middle because if I set my goal to something quite big but at the same time something I know I'll achieve then I read more but don't feel the pressure as much. I set my goal to 50 books this year which I surpassed in June, so I think I'll do something similar next year. Maybe I'll even set it to 60 books!
3. Set aside a specific time to read
For me, a time I know I usually want to read is just before bed (as long as it's not too late!). I use reading as a way to wind down and every evening I read a bit, even if it's just one page. If you have a commute to work or school then this is a great time to read or you could say that every day between certain times you will read. Or you could set a timer on your phone and read until it goes off. Do whatever suits you but there are a few ideas!
4. Are you a mood reader?
A mood reader is basically someone who has to be in a specific mood for a book. If this is the case for you then you probably won't want to plan what you read but rather have a selection of different books ready to read so that you can go for whatever takes your fancy. If you don't think you are a mood reader then you might want to plan what you want to read during the month. This will motivate you and give you some direction. I do this for several reasons. Firstly because I have a lot of books I want to read so starting each month with a clear list is very helpful! I also take part in several readathons and my school book club and some months, like last May, got very chaotic so doing this means I can keep all the books I need to read for certain things organised too!
5. Watch Booktube!
Booktube is honestly such an incredible community of people and you will always find recommendations and ideas and it just motivates me to read so much! I have a whole Booktube recommendations section on my blog which you can view here. There are so many more and my subscribers list seems to be ever growing! They are amazing! In case you never click on links I put in, here are my top 3 BookTubers:
Lucythereader- click here!
CarolynMarieReads- click here!
Mary Among Stories- click here!
I highly recommend checking these channels out they are my absolute favourites! <3
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I hope this has helped you read more! Obviously, some of you will have a goal to read 10 books a year and others maybe 100 and as I've already said it's such a personal thing. Also, for some people certain of these tips don't work because of the nature of your day-to-day activities!
Happy Reading!
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