How to read more

I like to read every day if possible. But sometimes I get these little obsessions with certain books and have to read them right away. I try and cram in as much of the book as possible when I have the time for reading. Sometimes I get so lost in the book that I don't do anything but read until it's done.

I try to take a book with me when I'm going any place I might have to wait. Doctor's office usually nets me from 30-45 minutes or more of reading.

I also read while walking on the treadmill. I force myself to do two good things-- exercise and read. =)

I often read while in the kitchen waiting for the pot to boil.

I also read while waiting for Hubby. I spend a lot of time waiting for Hubby to get ready to go out. I'm ready before him most of the time, so I try to read for a bit.

I also read while I eat. This is harder with little books, but sometimes it's worth it. Or get big hardcover books from the library. Those stay open better on the table. Just don't spill... =)

Stop watching TV, and you'll suddenly have all kinds of time to read.

Or cut out the internet.

I stockpile during book sales. Then there's always something around to read

Reading slowly is a great habit that has been lost for a while. Now, the fastest one reads, the better. Learn to savor your books, take your time with them, enjoy them, get the feel of them. Really appreciate them, learn to read slowly, as if you were tasting a great wine.

I carry a "waiting" book. It is amazing how much time is spent waiting for things, people, taxis etc.

I take the light rail to school, so that gets me 40 minutes of reading each way--so that's an hour and 20 minutes just from sitting on the train, everyday. I read whenever I have downtime at my job, which can be pretty frequent. I also read when I get to class early, and I usually read in bed for awhile before I go to sleep.

And yet, I've only finished one or two books this year. D:

What's helped me is setting daily goals for myself. Everyday I read one chapter, or ten pages if the chapters are long. That's a minimum.

It doesn't matter what time of day I do it or where, just as long as I get in ten pages/a chapter a day.

Also, I desert books that haven't hooked me in 20 pages. I find if I'm not feeling the book I'm less enthusiastic about making the time for it, and I start to slack on my reading. Why do that? It just puts me behind where I want to be and there are so many other books out there that could engross me completely. I feel 20 pages is enough to give a book a fair chance.

I used to think that I didn't read much (and compared to some, I don't, but compared to others I've always got a book in my hand). I started keeping an Excel spreadsheet for the year, and start the list with the top 5 or so on my TBR stack: Title and Author. I also note why I'm reading it (Research, Critique, Re-read) if it there's a reason.

Because I like color coding, I color code what kind of book it is (Romance, Non-Fiction, General Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Other).

I also keep track of what I thought of the book (Wallbanger, So-So, OK, Good, Keeper), which is also color coded.

I found that by keeping a list (I've done it since 2002), I actually read 35-40 books a year, can see where my reading interests lie, how much I'm reading for pleasure (though some NF books are totally pleasure, not research) and there's a small sense of accomplishment in being able to say "I've read 20 books so far this year."

I also had a lot of abandoned books last year (I read 8 total), which is disappointing, but now I know I did read them and didn't not read at all like it feels like.

Don't know if that would work for you, but it helped me quite a bit.

I, too, only read 3 books last year
Off to a good start this year, though.
This will sound like a no-brainer but a key to reading more is to get books you're really into, which is what I've done thanks to a helpful librarian at my local branch who managed to get me some out of print nature novels from the 40's and a 19th century Russian short story anthology with a bunch of really great tales in it

I watch a pretty fair amount of television, but am almost always reading at the same time.

It's a very rare television show that really needs all your attention and can't be enjoyed more by reading something good and just looking up when it sounds like something interesting is happening.

Or maybe that's just for me...

I usually have to be in a quiet room... I find myself reading a lot over the holidays ... mainly because I don't have a computer outside of College so there isn't a need to procrastinate or waste away in front of one.

When I start a new book, I always read the first hundred pages as soon as possible. That's usually enough to decide whether the book is worth reading. My interest in a book tends to be lowest during those first early pages, so for it's a case of getting over a hump.

And when I finish one book, I always pick up the next one and start reading it immediately. And so it goes on....

I always make sure I have a book with me. I am the slowest reader in the world. My 13 year-old son was reading faster than me when he was 8. (I'm not kidding...my wife tells me she curses over words and that most people do and I don't even understand that concept. I read each and every one...even the/and. I digest each word and she says that's my problem.) For me, I have to take every opportunity. I have a book when I go to the dentist/doctor/my son's hockey practice/even line-ups at the grocery store if I'm alone. And, like Clair, when I'm waiting for a pot to boil. I often make supper...I'm stirring and reading, usually. I read on my lunch, when I get the house to myself, etc, etc. The empty moments, I fill with reading. It's the only way I can fit so many books into a yearly reading schedule. I get so depressed when I see that my wife has read 5 or 6 books to my one. My list is so incredibly long...I never get through it. Just carry a book with you for those found pockets of time.

I always carry a 'waiting' book. (One of my favorite memories is of my dad leaning against a wall in NYC, reading, while my sisters, mom and I were looking at some sort of merchandise prior to a Broadway show.) I also read during breakfast before I go to work. Don't read as much during the evening as I would like. Although I have been trying to find books on CD to listen to.

I also read a minimum of a chapter of a day, but that's a chapter in each of three books. One fiction, one non-fiction, and one inspirational. I hesitate to sit down with a book unless I have a stretch of time to read, because I know I get absorbed and everything else falls away, but if I sit down thinking, "Just one chapter," I'll actually sit and read four or five chapters.

I've read at least a dozen books so far in 2009. I probably didn't read that many all of last year.

I jam as much reading as possible into every spare minute.

I lost my mojo last year due to a) reading the Twilight saga and b) problems with noisy neighbours which meant I couldn't relax in my own home. Even when things were quiet, I was jittery, waiting for the racket to begin again.

But that's all sorted now and I've read eight books so far this year. Aiming for 120, hoping for 150. Last year was slow, only 115, or 114 if you take into account I read one of those twice.

If I didn't watch (and review) so many DVDs I might read more than I do. At the moment it tends to be confined to lunchbreaks at work and train journeys and I probably estimate I get through 10,000 words on an average day. That's two weeks for an adult novel, or anything from 2-4 days upwards for a YA.

On the other hand, I do try to make sure I do that reading. I completed 51 books last year, and hopefully I'll do the same again this year. That said, I'm two thirds into my second book of the year - which is over 200,000 words by my estimate, so that's a three-weeker.

As I also review books occasionally, I have to schedule them as I'm not a fast reader. I have Dan Simmons's Drood coming up (also over 200k words) but I'm scheduling a short YA novel before then.

I try to keep a book with me at all times, and anytime I'm going to wait somewhere with nothing to do for more than ten minutes, I bring out the book. I usually only have real trouble finishing a book if I'm extremely busy or if I am simply not interested in it. I also cut back on some of my other hobbies to make time for it, because I figure that it's more important than watching reruns of CSI.

KTC said:

I read each and every one...even the/and.

Click to expand...

I thought anything else was skimming!

I'm a very slow reader, too. At university, people tried to teach me speed reading. As a result, my reading speed dropped yet deeper, as I constantly had to go back re-read because I felt I missed so much.

That said, my reading speed depends on the book. I was breezing through Harry Potter, and I'm reasonably fast with Terry Pratchett. Right now I'm reading Greg Egan, and that's always slow for me (can't get much slower). Often, slow reads are more rewarding. If that's not the case, I quit.

I honestly don't know how much I read. I just know that at some point I may need to kick out tables and spread table cloth over books instead, so I have a place to store them as well as table-like structures...

Yeah, I read three books in 2008, also. Maybe four.

But I know exactly what happened to my reading time. It turned into writing time. Even those five minute waiting moments -- half of my writing time comes in quick little snatches like that.

So I can only read if I don't have a project going -- which has been pretty rare this year.

i read during commercials. I read if I'm in the gym and not running (walking or doing the eliptical...sometimes I don't run just so I can do something that will allow me to read)

I read before bed.

i read in the waiting room for my attorney/doctor/therapist.

I read in the car (if I'm not driving which now, I have no one to ever drive for me...)

I bring a book to my mom's and read if I'm bored or while my baby brother is watching the cartoon network.

I bring a book with me everywhere and read when I can.