READ MORE (AND ENJOY IT!)

I have a love-hate relationship with reading. I love the act of reading and I love having read books, but I hate getting myself to read them.

Sound familiar?

Whether you’re a writer, a reader, or you aspire to be either one, sometimes it can be difficult to get down to business and just read. There’s no catch-all solution to getting out of a reading rut, but I’ve got tips and tools that can help get you on the path to reading—and hey, you’re already reading this blog post. That’s a step in the right direction!

why should you read?

Reading takes us to new worlds, lets us experience other people’s lives, and expands our minds to new cultures and ideas. It teaches us how to tell stories and how to empathize with others. It can be a history lesson or an escape from reality. And for many of us, reading is simply fun.

If you’re a writer, the world of books opens up a vault of information that can improve your storytelling. Reading good books is a quick way to level up your own writing, especially if you are an active reader, which you can learn about here. Want to write in a new genre? Read books from that genre. Want to develop a new style? Read books in similar styles. Want to write from a new point of view? Read books from that point of view.

It sounds simple, but so many writers think they can get away with not reading or reading as little as possible, when in reality they’re dismissing the fastest and easiest way to learn the craft. You can listen to videos on craft all day, but if you never see prose in action, that knowledge will go nowhere.

But let’s say you’ve already written your book. You don’t need to read now. Do you?

Well, where are you going to find comp titles if you aren’t reading? How are you going to stay up to date with genre conventions for your next book? How are you going to write a good blurb if you aren’t picking up books and reading the inside flaps? Where are you going to find inspiration for your next book? How will you expand your vocabulary?

Whatever your goals are in literature, the act of reading will only help you get there. And if you start reading regularly, you might just enjoy it!

mental hurdles

You’re here because you think you aren’t reading enough. That’s fine—many of us think that about ourselves. But that mindset may be the exact reason why you’re not reading as much as you’d like.

You’re never going to convince yourself to read if you shame yourself over not reading. Take it from me, because I’ve been through it: if you tell yourself you aren’t reading enough, you’ll end up in an anxious cycle, feeling like you’re not good enough to be able to read, which leads to you feeling even worse about yourself, and you’ll give up before you even start. We need to break that mental cycle and start fresh.

It’s okay to be in a reading slump. It’s okay to be a slow reader. It’s okay to not like reading all that much. But if you want to do it, you have to work with yourself.

Remind yourself that this is all about you and your connection to reading, not about what anyone else thinks. You’re trying to foster your relationship with books. Why is that? Think of a goal that’s tailored to you that will motivate you to read. Personally, I want to read because I want to improve my prose, and to do that I need to read a wide variety of books from different authors. You may want to read to immerse yourself in a fantasy world or to learn about certain historical events. All goals are good goals; it’s just important that you have one at all.

meeting your goals

Once you have your goal, remember that any step you take toward it is valid, and you don’t have to make progress every day to benefit from reading. Something I struggle with is being consistent. I may set a goal to read 30 pages a day, but I only end up reading every other day. That’s okay! I can adjust my goal. Instead of reading every day, my goal can be to finish one book a month. Now, even though I only read half the days in each month, I can still meet my goal.

But we aren’t always able to meet our goals even when we adjust them. In that case, you have to remember to be kind to yourself. We’re all trying our best out here and shaming yourself over not meeting your goals will only put you back at the beginning of the cycle. Set a new goal and keep trying until you find something that sticks.

Similarly, shame can come from not finishing books—even ones that you don’t like. If you’re reading for fun or to learn about a genre or to improve your own writing, there’s no need to force yourself to finish books you don’t enjoy. Trying to slog through a book that isn’t a good fit will only make you resent the time you spend reading and it will take away time you could have spent reading a book you actually like.

Allow yourself to put a book down for good. But make sure you pick up another one in its place.

getting out of a rut

If you’ve been reading a lot of books that you haven’t enjoyed lately, maybe you’re stuck in a reading rut. In that case, try something new. Whether it’s a genre you haven’t read before, a new author, or a graphic novel, try something that gets you out of your comfort zone. It can spark some excitement that you might not be getting from the books you’ve been trying to read, and it might get you out of your rut.

In the opposite corner, maybe you’ve been staying away from the books you really want to read for fear of embarrassment. Everyone has guilty pleasures, and they shouldn’t be looked down upon. Who cares if you’re reading something that some people find boring or cringey? You’re reading, and that’s a much better way to spend your time than making fun of people who are just trying to enjoy themselves.

Try to break down the barriers that keep you from reading books you truly love. Even if that means hiding the cover of the book from family or friends, don’t let it keep you from reading. Maybe someday they’ll express their love for the book too.

plan your reading

Once you’ve got that book in your hands and your overall reading goal, it’s time to make a plan. Everyone is different and you may not respond well to a plan, but I find that it can be helpful to have one to start with. You can get rid of it when you are regularly reading.

I’m sure there are other ways to plan your reading schedule, but these are the ones I’ve tried and they all have pros and cons:

read every X days

If you read every two, three, or four days, you might end up skipping days because of prior commitments that you didn’t foresee. Sometimes it can be difficult to keep on top of a schedule that doesn’t repeat daily. However, it can be a relief to not have to read every day, so if you choose this plan, try to put these days into your calendar so you remember.

read X days per month or week

This option gives you more wiggle room. You could read every weekday, or read only on the weekends. You could plan to read every other day but make up for days you have to skip. The downside to this plan is that if you are prone to procrastination, you might save all your reading days for the end of the month or week and overwhelm yourself.

read X pages per session

Whether or not you plan which days you read, you can set a goal to read a certain amount of pages per session. This works well for me because I like the precision in knowing exactly when I can finish a book if I keep reading every day. But some books are harder to read than others, and sometimes 30 pages feels a lot more like 200, so make sure you adjust this goal based on the book you’re reading.

read X minutes per session

Similarly, you can set aside 30 minutes or an hour to read without bothering to count the pages. It’s much easier to plan out the amount of time you read rather than the pages because it can take different amounts of time to read X pages of different books. However, it’s easy to get distracted and not read for the entire amount of time, whereas with pages you’re locked in to a more specific goal.

read X books a month

This is a nice goal to have in addition to the previous plans, but it can be hard to hit sometimes. If you’re a fast reader and you have a yearly book goal, setting a monthly one can help you get there. Or if you want to read faster, you can set a goal of just 1 book a month and by the end of the year you’ll have read twelve, which is honestly a lot! Just make sure you don’t spiral into a shame cycle if you don’t end up finishing as many books in a particular month as you did the previous one.

Still stuck? Try these solutions

If you’re still having trouble picking up a book, you can try changing up the format in which you read. There are several ways to read and some people focus better using one than the others.

audiobooks

We’ve all heard the ads for Audible—you can read books with your ears nowadays! If you love podcasts or just hate the feeling of paper in your hands, try an audiobook. Some libraries loan out audiobooks on their website. But if you have trouble focusing on speech for long periods of time, you might lose the plot. Literally.

audiobooks + physical books

For those who focus better with audiobooks but can’t sustain that focus for an entire book, try reading along with the audiobook. This can be more expensive if you don’t have a library copy of the book you’re reading, but the benefits may outweigh the costs. By reading along while you listen, you process the book in two ways, which helps solidify the information in your mind. But if you have misophonia or you don’t like the audiobook narrator, this might not be for you.

physical books

I’m sure most of us have read physical books, but if it’s been a while since you’ve picked up a paperback or held a hardcover, scurry on down to your local library and pick up a few of their dusty old tomes. Sometimes all it takes is holding the book in your hands and feeling its weight to get you excited about reading again. And if you like to purchase your books—I recommend buying used if you’re on a budget—you can break out the highlighters and sticky notes for maximum retention and focus.

Looking for used books in the US but you don’t live near a used bookstore? Try abebooks or thriftbooks. I’m not affiliated with them; I just love them!

ebooks

Finally, there are ebooks. You can read ebooks on almost any device, provided you’ve downloaded an e-reading app. Some libraries loan out ebooks, so you don’t even have to leave your house to borrow one! They’re incredibly convenient, which means you’ll never have an excuse not to read (kidding, of course). Ebooks are also cheaper than physical copies if you prefer to buy your books, but they’re not always as cheap as used paperbacks. Most apps allow you to highlight and take notes in your ebooks, but you don’t get the same feeling as you do when you take notes in a paperback.

Also, consider your comfort level when it comes to looking at screens for long periods of time. Some people—myself included—find it difficult to read on a screen. In that case, you may be better off with a physical copy or an audiobook.

conclusion

That was a lot of reading, wasn’t it? But you made it to the end! And now you know how to pull yourself out of a reading rut and get back into the driver’s seat of your personal bookmobile. Whether you read a book one book a day or one a year, you’re taking steps toward success—and you should feel proud!

Which book would you like to read next? Tell us in the comments below! I’m always looking for recommendations!