Fall is here, which means it’s the peak cozy reading season. It also means midterm season and peak studying season are upon us, with every college student preparing for final presentations, projects, exams, and more.
If you’re anything like me, this also means no time for reading for fun.
As an English major, I already have to read so much for class, and the last thing I want to do is read after spending my whole day reading. Unfortunately, this has caused me to completely abandon my “To Be Read” list, along with my personal reading goal, and I hate that.
That was all last fall semester, though. This fall, I’ve been able to finish three of my “fun” books (books I’ve chosen to read), while simultaneously reading three books assigned for class.
How did I do it, you ask? By adopting the 30-page method, perfecting my reading environment, and reading in transitional moments.
The 30-Page Method
This may sound obvious, but consistency is key. In order to create the habit of reading for fun, you need to do it almost daily. Otherwise, you will never find a pattern that becomes second nature.
The best way to establish this habit is by practicing the “30-page method,” or some variation of it, like the “30-minute method.” As stated in its name, the 30-page method consists of reading 30 pages of a book every day to build up a reading routine.
Sometimes, we try to get back into reading and set huge goals for ourselves that just won’t happen. Setting aside time in your day to sit and read 30 pages, or even 10 pages, is a great way to get back into reading if you haven’t done it in a while. At first, it might be hard to find time to do it, but as time goes along, you will be doing it naturally.
The point is not to finish a book as fast as you can, but to become a consistent reader.
The Perfect reading environment
The truth is, there is no perfect environment for reading, so if you keep waiting for the “right time and place” to start reading, you will be stuck with the same stack of books you’ve been waiting to read since 2023 (sorry, not sorry).
Instead of waiting for the right place to read, you need to create the right place to read. Let me explain.
Imagine this: you finish your homework early, but it’s too early for you to go to bed, and you don’t know what to do next. You just did your nighttime skin care, and you’re tucked under your blankets. You could A) read your summer read that has turned into a fall read, since you haven’t been able to finish it, or B) scroll on TikTok until you fall asleep.
You are more likely to do the latter if you don’t have a book near you, because no one wants to get out of bed to go find a book. However, if your current “fun” read is sitting on your nightstand, you will be more inclined to grab it and read.
Make the choice to read easier for yourself. You can do this by curating your surroundings to force you to read. Free time after dinner? Read the book you left at the dinner table. Free time after studying in the library? Read the book you keep in your backpack. Long car ride ahead? Read the book you keep in the car or listen to an audiobook while driving.
By constantly surrounding yourself with books, you eliminate an extra obstacle that could prevent you from starting your next read.
Reading state of mind
I used to think that I couldn’t read two books at once because I would mix up the stories or forget the details of each plot — that is, until I tried it out this summer.
The reason I changed my perspective on this was because I discovered that reading more books at the same time allows you to change books based on your current state of mind. No, I don’t mean that you should have a book for every mood (but go for it, if you want to), but you can have different books to satisfy your various reading cravings. Sometimes, you want to read a 500-page historical fiction, and other times, all you want is a silly little romance; so, don’t force yourself to read something you feel like reading at that time.
What I did this summer that helped me understand this was reading Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren during the same period I was reading Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. Christina Lauren’s book, a friends-to-strangers-to-lovers summer romance, was my way of balancing Collins’s telling of the gruesome 50th Hunger Games. When the romance was slow, I changed to the action of Sunrise, and when the combat was too much for my sanity, I transitioned back to the feel-good romance.
Doing this not only helped me maintain interest in both books, but it also removed the pressure I previously felt to finish one book so I could start the next.
Now that I am in school, I keep this balance by having my books assigned for class (usually realistic or historical fiction) and my “fun” books (BookTok romances or other novels on my TBR). This helps me avoid getting bored by one or the other, and it also maximizes the number of books I can read in any given period of time.
Closing
As I said earlier, the goal is to consistently read, so that even during our busiest days, we still find time to do what we enjoy, which is reading. While the process of doing that may be slow or rocky, we should not have to stop doing what we love because we are too busy doing what we have to do.
Good luck with the rest of the semester, and happy cozy fall reading!