When I tell people that one of my yearly goals is to read 200 books a year, I tend to get a lot of astonished reactions. Granted, reading is my #1 hobby, part of my day job, and I’m blessed to be a very fast reader, but I also think that there’s a number of things that I do that help me reach this goal, so I thought I’d share.
- Audiobooks. I’ve mentioned this before but I read multiple books at one time, and one of them is always an audiobook. I get them free through the library. While I read faster in print than listening to an audiobook, audiobooks let me listen to books while cooking dinner, running errands, painting etc.
- Children’s Picture Books. A couple of years ago I decided to read the award winners in the various children’s book categories and I realized I’d been missing out on a whole selection of books with my ageist snobbery 🙂 Now when I’m lagging a little in my goal, or when I get in a reading lull I pick out a pile of children’s picture books, find a comfy library chair and dig in. The art and distilled stories are often a breath of fresh air.
- Having the next book ready. I try to have my next audiobook already downloaded, my next library book checked out, and even a basic plan for the next few books I’m going to read. In fact, if I have time, I’ll often start a book, even just the first few pages, immediately after finishing the previous book. That way I’m set up to keep moving forward.
- I avoid mindless internet surfing and playing with my phone. It’s remarkable how much time you can get back in your day by limiting social media and random scrolling. If I catch myself doing that I try to stop myself and pick up a book instead. It’s not that I don’t check Facebook and Instagram, I do, I just don’t need to do it 12 times a day.
- I mix up “want to reads” and “should reads” with emphasis on the former. Yes there are classics, and history books, and the latest greatest literary phenomenon that I probably should read, and I do work some of those in, but mostly I read whatever I’m in the mood for – I love well written fluff and I’m not ashamed of that.
- I have set times when I read each day, even if it’s just a few pages. On most days I sneak a few pages in on my lunchbreak at work, and I always try to read a chapter before I go to bed at night. That keeps things moving.
So here’s to a year of reading!
Jenel Alan 