The New Year inspires people to promise themselves something grand… which often ends in dropping it after the first week. “I’ll start reading”, “I’ll get back into reading”or “I’ll read every day” are common resolutions and I want to help you stay on track with them if you’ve struggled with keeping up with reading.
We’ll start with how. How do you make sure you make reading a habit and follow your reading goals?
Tip #1
Firstly, I like to decide how much time I want to spend on a specific book. It can be a week, two or more but the most important thing is to identify the number of days you are aiming for. Then take the page count and divide it by the number of days. If you are just getting into reading, 10-25 pages is a good start, and you can always adjust this method in the process.
Personally, I like to mark the ‘target’ page with a page marker so I can visibly see what I have to reach. Reaching your daily quota is very satisfying and it can inspire you to read even a tiny bit more, which lowers the number of days you aimed for and feels like an additional achievement.
Tip #2
Try having a specific time of day you read, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. In the morning, just after waking up, maybe in the afternoon, during a study break, or at night just before sleep (which helps you to fall asleep or, if the book is captivating, ruins your sleep schedule, so take this into account). Implementing reading into your routine guarantees that you’ll read at least a little bit every day and adds up to finishing the books faster than expected.
But what do I read?
Finding the right book is difficult, especially if you don’t know yet what you like, and everyone’s taste is wildly different, so here is a short list of easy-to-read, engaging books of different types:
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Witty and captivating, this book can make you audibly laugh. You follow an angel and a demon from the beginning of time to the end of the world, the latter of which, of course, happens in England. The writing flows well and the fascinating characters lead the story in funny and unexpected directions.
Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Life by Bryan Lee O’Malley
Graphic novels can definitely help you get into reading. Beautiful illustrations, great stories, they seem to have it all. The Scott Pilgrim series are mostly known for the Edgar Wright movie, but I would argue that the comics are worth the read and include details that would have made the movie better.
Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language by Gretchen McCulloch
Do you prefer non-fiction? Have you noticed how emojis and their meaning changes over time? Do your grandparents write ellipsis/dot dot dots at the end of every sentence…? This book has the answer to this and many other linguistic questions that are presented in an accessible but interesting way.
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 is written in a simple, clear style, and is so realistic, it hurts. This account of one (and every) woman’s life is a piercing look into the way women are treated in South Korea but will resonate with people of all backgrounds. Another book at just 150 pages long, it is perfect for getting back into reading.
I hope you’ve found this list helpful and added something to your to-be-read list! Best of luck in your reading journey.
