July 13, 2016, by Emma

How to read more?

When I was a kid, I almost always had my head a book. Whether it was at the dinner table, walking down the street, in the shower, if it was possible to read a book, I would be reading one. My parents actually had to tell me off for reading too much sometimes. But since I got to uni, I found the amount I was reading dwindled and dwindled until I just kinda… stopped. Uni just sucked up a lot of my brain power, and a lot of the time I would have spent reading before, like during breakfast or before bed, was taken up by socialising or doing something else.

However, I  did quite miss reading, so this year I’ve set myself the challenge of reading 50 books over the course of the year. That’s basically a book a week. Yeah. I knew that I could read a book in a week, given it wasn’t too long, but a new book every week has been a bit of a challenge. I’ve read 8 so far. Not so great. Having said that, it hasn’t been a total fail, and I’ve definitely loved getting back into one of my old favourite hobbies. I’d definitely recommend the challenge. If you do fancy trying to read more, here are few tips that I’ve found have helped!

1. Work out your best time of day to read.
   • My absolute favourite place to read is in the bath. It’s relaxing, quiet and whilst you’re in there, you have no responsibilities. Other than keeping your book dry.
2. Choose books you’re excited about
   • One of the worst things about reading is when you’re stuck reading a book you don’t care about. Boring books are the bane of my life, because I hate giving up on them so I end up reading the same books for months. If you choose books you’re really excited to read, you’ll always be looking forward to your next chance to get stuck in.
3. Always have your next book lined up.
   • If you’re just looking to read more, this tip doesn’t really apply. But if you’re thinking of doing any sort of book challenge, make sure you always know what your next book if gonna be. When you’re reading a book a week, you can’t afford two day trying to decide what to read next!
4. Make the most of book-reading opportunities
   • Trains are great for reading books. I also find myself reading way more when I go abroad because I find myself with a lot of time travelling and lounging by the pool. Regardless of where you are, if you find yourself with nothing to do, get out the book and have a read.

And there we go! I’ve really enjoyed doing this challenge, even if I’ve not been that successful with it. One of the best things about it is writing down a list of the books I’ve read, meaning I’m a lot more likely to remember my favourite books when it comes to choosing new ones, or reviewing them later!

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