This post starts with my background as a reader, moving into the real tips on how I got into reading.
If you came here just looking for my tips, do yourself a favour and move into the second section of the post!
The beginning of the journey
Ever since I was a little girl, I’d spend my entire free time surrounded by books. This was specially a problem when it was three in the morning and I’d be under my sheets, with my lantern, finishing a story I simply couldn’t put back.
Of course, the ending would always be the same: one of my parents rushing into the room and taking both my book and lantern from me. To be fair, it was quite late for a ten years old to be reading. However, this wouldn’t always get me into trouble as reading a book isn’t quite the worse thing a child can be doing at three in the morning.
The problem would repeat along the years and evolve from Roald Dahl to Stephenie Meyer, Suzanne Collins, and Nicholas Sparks. It didn’t quite matter the genre, or if it had lots of chapters or pages. Actually, the more the merrier, specially to keep me up until the late hours.
However, as I grew older, other things started getting in the way. Specially this big one called college, I’m not sure if all of you are familiar with it. Well college made me replace my exciting and sleep-depriving friends for bigger, heavier, and less interesting books. Some about management, marketing, finance, whatever the boring topic of choice – all part of my new TBR (To Be Read).
As college, internships, thesis, parties, and work got in the middle, my relationship with books grew further and further apart. Just like those couples you see having a meal, both looking at their phones the entire time and speaking more to the waiters than to each other.
It was only last year that I was able to revive this long-lost love and return to a habit that made me so happy. I started by sixteen books in the last six months of 2022 and so far, November 2023, I’m at my thirty-fourth of the year. And counting! Bear in mind we still have a month and a half as I write this post!
With my relationship with books stronger than ever, I did what every gen-z/millennial would do: share it on social media!
It started as a challenge and commitment with myself: every year I would make the goal to read twelve books (one per month of the year) and, each year, would fail that goal dismally; so, what bigger commitment than committing with your entire group of friends, family, and work colleagues? By sharing an Instagram story each time I finished a book?
The number of books I read grew exponentially from 2022 to 2023. So did the number of messages asking “how?”. “How could I read so fast?” “How could I read so many books?” Just: how? And, I know, I’m a hundred percent aware the number of books I read per year, month, week, is nothing compared to what you see around the book online community. But it’s enough for me and for the long-lost book lover child that got her reading habit back.
Reason why, I decided to share a few of the tips on how to get into reading and ignite the flame once again.
Here are My Tips on How to Get Into Reading (Again!)
1. Surround yourself with book-related content
Why did I choose this as the first tip? Because it was my trigger back into reading. I was a huge fan of this podcast a famous Portuguese comedian has with his wife, where books were a constant, not only in the episodes but in their own social media platforms. At a certain moment in their podcast (I binge-listened to it as I had just emigrated to a new country and missed hearing my home language), the wife starts a podcast with a friend about… books!
When I was finished with the first one, becoming more a fan of hers than expected, I decided to give it a try. She was, and is, a good communicator so… why not? Why not hear more of my home language and hear two friends speak about one thing they’re passionate for? I easily became obsessed and did something more than binging their podcast because it was really amusing.
One cannot simply hear so much about books without wanting to read them, especially when the two hosts are such ambassadors.
From the podcast, I started following their social media, following other people they mentioned on the podcast (on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, you name it!) and I realized: my social media was infested (in a positive way) by book content. Which translated into growing my TBR because one cannot simply read or listen to book reviews and ignore them.
So really choose your platform of choice or social media you use more often and search for people you find likeable and whose content you like, worst case scenario, you end up finding new genres, authors, and topics you didn’t expect to enjoy.
A very simple step to take, whichever the platform you select, is going into the search bar and write “#books”. If you want, be more specific. You like TikTok the most? Search for “#booktok”. Instagram is your go-to? Search for “bookstagram”. More into YouTube? “#booktuber”. Now, you might not like everyone’s favourite book influencer, but you’ll find your crowd. And, once you do, you just have to hit follow and wait for theirs and similar content to flood your feed – it is worth it, I promise!
Podcasts about books are also an option. I was very lucky to bump into one with such good energy and with which I matched so easily, but this suggestion might be trickier as you need to listen to more content to understand if you enjoy it or not whereas in social media you can just spend a few seconds watching videos or reading a post to understand if it does any good in your get into reading mission.
2. Always have a book with you
Throughout our busy lives, it’s very easy to have an extra 10 minutes for a doctors’ appointment, waiting for a friend or even an extra 30 minute on public transportation commuting to work. Always having a book in hand helped me filling these slots where I’d mostly be looking down on my phone, scrolling down on another social media platform.
Now, I take my 40 minutes public transportation commute to read my book, both going and coming from work.
This has also really helped with my anxiety because, let’s face it, most of us take this time to check on work emails, our company chats and building that “I have to do this when I arrive at my desk”, “can’t forget to send this document” or “need to update agenda for the meeting”.
It can be super productive for some people to take this time and prepare for the workday or check if something happens when you leave; in my case, it only made me more anxious as I saw my mailbox increasing with unread mails and my company chat pinging.
Is the eight in the morning commute the time when I read the most? No. But as a night owl, it helps connecting my brain in earlier mornings. One thing I do is choosing a lighter book for these moments – let’s face it, eight in the morning is not the time for Leo Tolstoy (at least for me).
3. Find your format
Following the “always have a book with you” tip, an important topic is format. You’re not going to always have a one-thousand-page book with you in your backpack or handbag. First, it might not fit; second, it gets heavy; third, reading “on-the-go” has its challenges and if you’re standing in the subway as a sardine in a can, it’s not practical to hold.
For that you have paperback editions that are usually smaller and more “on-the-go” formats that you can easily sneak into your work accessory of choice.
Another tip that might help here are e-readers.
I know, it might be quite the investment when you’re trying to get into reading but, in a long-term vision, it’s so worth it.
Most books have way cheaper versions that, with time, help you reach the breakeven with the investment. Not to mention that this also contributes to the “always have a book with you” tip, how? You can have multiple books in your digital library (at the weight and size of a e-reader), and you are most likely able to access the store and acquire a new book simply with a wi-fi connection. Which is especially useful if you’re going in vacation and prefer to fill your bag with clothes rather than books.
4. Read your interests and what entertains you
I believe a common mistake a lot of people do when trying to have a reading routine or create a reading habit is going for the classics or books that will help your personal or professional growth. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad idea but one size does not fit all.
A tip I give my friends is read the genre of your favourite series or movies! Why? You like it! You’re into predictable rom coms? Go for them! There are hundreds of writers completely dedicated to them! You’re more into horror and thrillers? The list goes on and on and on. History documentaries are your Friday night binge watch? So many historical moments so well transcribed into books, from different centuries, more romanticized or more factual. The vastness of book genre awaits you!
Most importantly is you spending time with something you enjoy. Why? You won’t feel obligated to do so. There won’t be a “oh, there it is, the time for reading, AGAIN” (please add an upset voice in your head). You’ll be going back into something you are having fun with!
And remember, there’s no shame. We don’t need to feel obligated to read to educate ourselves or to become a better person. You don’t even need to tell people what you’re reading about if it helps take pressure off it.
5. Join a book club or community
Connected to the first tip I gave you; it came a time when the book podcast I was addicted to create a book club. Not any club, a virtual one. Which was perfect for me as an expatriate in a foreign country needing that homey bond.
With time, I realized a lot of book content creators I followed had their own clubs – digital ones or physical ones, there were a lot of places for me to connect with other book lovers who’d share their recommendations, their opinions and with whom I’d go into monthly readings and was able to discuss what I was reading.
Because, even though it’s a passion of mine, it’s not a passion of all my friends (and sharing what I was reading in my own social media platforms, really helped me knowing who from my circles liked to read and what – in the end: more people to talk about books with!) and it doesn’t have to be. But I found a lot of different places where I had this sense of community with other book readers.
Of course, the virtual option is not the only option. It’s the one that works best for me because it helps surrounding myself with book content. However, there are more bookstores than you expect running book clubs, with monthly joint readings, invited authors and other book related events. And this can be a great way not only to increase your reading will but, also, to get to know new people and expand your visions in what you’re reading!
6. Define a goal and find a way to commit
As I previously shared in this post, I had this yearly goal of reading a book per month of the year. Maybe at first that was a bit too optimistic, I’ll admit it. But it’s important that you set yourself a goal and work your daily routine around to reach it and get into reading.
It can be to read ten pages a day, twenty, thirty; it can be to read two books in one year. Whatever suits you and isn’t too optimistic for starting. It’s best if you go over it and have to adjust the goal rather than feeling constantly anxious by seeing your goal further and further away and feeling less and less motivated to reach it.
Be reasonable with yourself and focus on creating the habit slowly.
7. Understand the reading routines that work best for you
During this post, you’ve been provided with several suggestions on how to include reading in your routine. Whether is on your daily commute, in empty spaces of the day or when you’d be watching a movie. However, these might not be the best options for you to include this habit in your life.
One thing I wanted to, and I’ll join this to the goal tip, was to stop going through social media before bed to help me disconnect and get better sleep. When I opened any platform while in bed, I knew the next thirty minutes would be spent scrolling, even if I wouldn’t admit it to myself. In the end, that’s what these platforms are made for: to keep you there, scrolling. And that trick got too many hours of my sleep!
So, when starting this journey, I’d tell myself “Bedtime is book time”. I’d disconnect my phone’s Wi-Fi connection and open a book. I wouldn’t get past the fifth page because my eyelids would become too heavy (depending on the book, some woke me up more than help me disconnect!) but I was reading! At some point, I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep without reading a line or a paragraph, even in days I felt exhausted I needed to put my eyes on some words.
Here is also a section where format is important. Why? Reading a book in bed might not allow the most comfortable positions and there’s lighting which keeps some awake. In my case, my e-reader was key because with the self-lighting in it, it allows you to turn off the lights. It also allows you, in a weekend morning, when you’re not feeling like getting out of bed still or turning on the lights and you’re just in for a lazy morning to grab your e-reader, stay beneath the sheets and just read!
In the end, starting a reading journey isn’t easy and really depends on one person to the other. I hope sharing my path and the tips above has helped you in some way!
Don’t forget to leave your favourite tip in the comment section!