I have a confession. I used to hate reading. At most I would read 2 books a year and thought it was extremely boring. But I gave it another try last September. I didn’t have high expectations, but I ended up loving reading. Soon I was reading multiple books in a week and that became the main way I spent my free time. This year I created a goal of reading 100 books and as of April I am currently at 37 books. I had to learn a lot about my reading style to learn to love reading. Here are some of the tips I realized that helped be successful at reading a lot this year when in the past I failed.
Read What You Want
I think a major reason why so many people lose or never gain interest in reading is because they believe they need to read the “right” book. School systems tend to only value the classics and shame other genres like fantasy, horror, and romance. But reading is reading! Read what interests you and keeps you engaged. Consider what types of movies or TV shows are your favorite. Maybe you actually are already reading but it is through the form of fan-fiction. Find books that match your taste in fan-fiction (plenty of authors started-off by writing fan-fiction, you can definitely find books that create the same feeling).
Sub-Tip: Change what you read every once and a while. You might find something you like you didn’t expect too and you prevent yourself from getting bored.
Read How You Want
What I mean by this is there are many different ways to consume books. There are physical copies, digital versions, and audiobooks. Most people assume that physical books are the best way to read. While I do love reading physical books, I found that, for me, digital books are the most productive. Reading on my phone or Kindle allows me to be able to read whenever. So instead of mindlessly scrolling through Instagram before class, I can read a chapter or two. Try reading in many different ways to determine what’s best for you!
Sub-Tip: For digital books or audiobooks, most libraries use apps like Libby. This not only creates easier access to books but can save you a lot of money.
Don’t Be Afraid of DNF-ing
DNF means “did not finish,” which a lot of readers believe they need to avoid. However, if a book is not working for you, don’t push yourself! Reading should be fun and if you are not enjoying it, you need to find a different book. When I push myself to read a book I know is going to be one star, I usually end up in a reading slump and it takes a while for me to really enjoy reading again.
Create Anticipation
When reading, decide ahead of time what book you are going to read next. Get yourself excited for it. Some ways to do this is by talking to your friends about their favorite books or finding recommendations through social media. BookTok is extremely popular and seeing other people being excited about a particular book helps make me excited for it too. There is also Goodreads, where you can find reviews and of course YouTube (my personal favorite is Jack Edwards’ channel. His book recommendations are always very good and he is also extremely entertaining).
Sub-Tip: Remember how I mentioned the app Libby? This is another way to build anticipation because the most popular books usually require you to place a hold. I find the waiting actually helps me get more excited for the book. If I have easy access to a book- I already own it- I tend to put off reading it for longer.