How I Started Reading More

Modern life is filled with distractions. Movies and shows to watch, games to play, work to do. With all of that, it can be difficult to sit back in silence and read a book.

After high school, I pretty much stopped reading for a while. I wanted to read; I still had dozens of books on my shelf that I hadn’t gotten around to at that point. But there was always something else to do. Eventually, the contents of my bookshelf ended up going ignored.

Thankfully, that is a problem that I have more or less managed to overcome. And not just because I review books on Wednesdays (though that definitely helped). Reading has become one of my go-to activities for relaxing after a long day. And all it took was a little practice, persistence, and patience.

It’s like breaking an addiction. Only… you’re forging an addiction.

The most important step is making a habit out of it. Find ways to get some reading done at a steady, consistent pace. It doesn’t matter if it’s every day or once a week, or if you only read one page or a whole chapter. Even if it’s only for a short amount of time, and it’s only once a week, just get into the habit.

If you need to make some time, maybe try and use it to reduce on bad habits. Spend too much time doom-scrolling on Twitter? How about reading a page or two out of your current book instead? Trust me, you’ll feel better about that than you would with whatever fresh nightmare you’ll find on social media.

Digital books are also a huge help. While reading a physical book and flipping the pages is a wonderful experience, it can be a bit of an issue in carrying them around. Keeping an app for reading e-books is exceptionally helpful. Waiting for your coffee in your favorite café? Load up a book on your app and do some reading!

If you need an extra-easy way to get through a book, there’s always audio books. People might tell you that listening to an audio book is ‘not reading’, but they’re dumb and wrong. Usually, you’ll pay more attention to the story listening to it than you might reading it. Put one on in your headphones while you’re cleaning the kitchen or folding the laundry; it’ll make the chores a lot more entertaining, if nothing else.

Music? A movie? No thanks. Only books.

This is what worked for me. It hasn’t turned me into a monster who burns through fifteen books a month (I worked with a lady like that once; she was a frightening woman), but it’s helped me develop a habit. Ultimately, however you go about it, it’s all about taking it slowly, going one day at a time.

It’s like life. Only far more rewarding. Let’s be honest, fiction is so much nicer than reality these days.