Read More: The Simple System I’m Using to Read 30+ Books Per Year

Here are eight strategies that can help you read more this year. “Reading is one of the best inventions that humans gave humanity, and people completely take it for granted,” Wolf says. According to a MS Interactive 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, 23% of adults in the U.S. didn’t read any part of a book over the previous 12 months. Some research suggests that literary fiction, in particular, helps people develop empathy and critical-thinking skills.

Ideas For How To Read More

• Here are eight strategies that can help you read more this year.
• You almost always have your phone with you, and will thus almost always have a library at your fingertips.
• "Commit to just five minutes. This helps to kickstart the challenge and will often lead to doing it for longer," she says.
• With our archives now 3,500+ articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Sunday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past.
• For e-reader devotees, you can try Kindle Unlimited, which has a free trial and charges you $11.99 a month for access to 4m titles, including audiobooks.
• He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits.

I don’t listen to too many audiobooks; it’s just not my preferred method of consuming literature. With our archives now 3,500+ articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Sunday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. For e-reader devotees, you can try Kindle Unlimited, which has a free trial and charges you $11.99 a month for access to 4m titles, including audiobooks. Maybe it’s listening to a self-help audiobook while cleaning.

How to Read More

Psychologist Loo echoes her advice, recommending setting "small, realistic goals." One day at a time. Zang, on the other hand, often listens to an audiobook at the start of a book, then switches to a print copy. You can read a physical book, listen to an audiobook or peruse on an ebook.

Set a daily goal

Speed reading certainly plays a role in my reading technique (more on that later), but it’s not my killer secret. When people ask me how I read so many books, they’re usually fishing for a speed reading technique that will allow their brains to swallow books whole. This article was originally published in February 2018. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. James Clear writes about habits, decision making, and continuous improvement.

I’m hoping to attend this upcoming event, where novelist Frieda McFadden will speak about her newest book, Dear Debbie. I’m a part of a monthly book club that has helped me foster relationships as someone new(ish) to New York City. For years, I’ve used Goodreads to stay organized, adding the books on my “to be read” list. To fit reading into your routine, find a medium that matches it. Recently, I tested this stylish option from Papier, which has space to track 32 titles, create a reading wishlist and write book reviews. I’m a night-time reader, and its softly lit screen always helps me sneak in a few pages in bed without having to turn on any lights.

Plan your reading list ahead

I created a public reading list where you can see all of my book recommendations across a wide range of categories. Before you move on to the normal bustle of the day, invest in yourself. What if you woke up an hour before you needed to each day and worked on yourself? Most people spend it getting dressed, getting ready, and rushing out the door.

If you’re on the road a lot, your drive can be a golden opportunity to consume a big ol’ library of books. Next time you’re traveling by plane, instead of loading your phone with apps and movies, stock it with books. My favorite time to get reading done is when I’m on a plane. I never get in any good, focused reading when I read on my phone. Five minutes later the itch comes back, and I repeat the cycle.

Related Posts

“We can talk about time-management strategies all day, but if a reader doesn’t have good books at the ready, then there’s a duty—but no motivation or enthusiasm,” Bogel says. Or maybe for you, it’s reading fiction on Sunday evenings to counter the Sunday Scaries. Or maybe it’s not weird at all — because reading feels even better when it’s a social experience.

Research shows more than four in 10 U.S. adults read as part of their bedtime routine — averaging 36 minutes of reading time each night four (or more) nights each week. There were times, too, when I didn’t feel the call to read at all. Over the past year, I’ve reveled in the feeling of pouring myself into a book after pouring myself a cup of coffee, awake in my imagination before the day begins.

A spare “moment” lasts about 5-15 minutes, or about the amount of time I can read on my phone before the itch to check another app arises. The other advantage of paper books is that I find it easier to highlight and make notes compared to e-readers. You almost always have your phone with you, and will thus almost always have a library at your fingertips.

After the research I did for my article on how to get better sleep, I have added reading to my “prepare for bed” routine as well. If time allows, I’ll read more at other times as well. Most people can finish reading 20 pages within 30 minutes.

But regardless of what happens during the rest of the day, I still get my 20 pages in each morning. And if you do it first thing in the morning, then the urgencies of the day don’t get in the way. As of today, I’m 100 pages into my 7th book. So, I had to figure out a strategy that would allow me to read more books without letting typical distractions get in the way. Now, there are plenty of excellent articles on the web, but generally speaking, the quality of good books is better.