Read Before Bed
I know this is kind of an obvious one, but I happen to think that reading before bed is one of the greatest times to read, because it's a great way to relax without the blue light distraction of televisions, phones, or iPads. I personally am someone who often has a little trouble falling asleep, so I love nothing more than reading until I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. For me, having a Kindle that glows in the dark is a great help with this, because I can be lying in bed in the dark while my husband is sleeping without disturbing him, and then literally go straight to sleep when I'm done reading. Of course the downside is sometimes I get a little too into my book and stay up too late! But even if you're someone who reads for 5 minutes and then falls asleep - hey, at least that's 5 more minutes in your day of reading. Or head to bed a little earlier for a little extra reading time.
Read During Your Commute
I never understood those people who sit on the subway or train just staring blankly into space - why not take that time to read? Even when I lived in the city and my commute was only 20-30 minutes and involved switching subways and often standing squished in the middle of a subway car, I always had a book in my hand and mastered the art of reading with one hand while holding onto a subway pole with the other. Reading something you enjoy while commuting is a great way to turn an otherwise annoying time of day into "me time." Or if you drive to work, consider trying audiobooks. I personally am not an audiobook person , but have several friends who swear by this, including one of the members of my book club who often had trouble finishing the book club book in time for our meeting until she started listening to the book in the car on the way to and from work.
Join a Book Club
Speaking of which, consider joining - or starting your own - book club! What better way to motivate you to read a little more than a get together with friends where you can both discuss the book and socialize? And it doesn't have to be anything fancy or intellectual if that's not your speed. My book club meets around once a month, we try to pick books that are 350 pages or less, and we don't debate symbolism or literary analysis or anything like that - we just talk about whether or not we liked the book and why, whether it was believable, what we would have done if we were the character, etc.
And you don't need a big group to have a book club - in addition to my bigger book club, I'm in a second book club that is literally just my friend Sarah and I. We are interested in a lot of the same books, so we just pick books to read and try to coordinate reading them. Sometimes we actually meet for lunch to discuss a book - but other times we just e-mail or text to talk about the book. And occasionally I turn our discussion into a post on this blog, though I haven't done that in a while (see posts here, here, here, and here). Sometimes we agree on our opinions on a book, sometimes we disagree, but it's always fun to have someone to talk about it with. So if a book club sounds too daunting to you, maybe try just doing a buddy read with someone you know enjoys reading - a friend, your mom, a sibling, a child, whatever! And if you need help trying to decide what to read, here's a post I wrote a while back on book club books.
Cut Down on Your Time Online a Little
Do you spend hours on your phone browsing through social media, surfing the internet, playing mindless games, reading news that depresses you, or otherwise surfing the internet? No judgment if you do and you enjoy it, I certainly do my fair share myself. Just pointing out that if you do, you actually have more time than you think, because you could spend some of that time reading instead! I'm not saying you have to give all that stuff up. Just think about how that time adds up. If you're spending hours a day noodling around on your phone, choose to spend just a little of that time reading instead and you might find that you actually do have time to read!
Read on your Phone
Which brings me to my next tip - why not try reading on your phone through the Kindle app and/or Overdrive through your local library? I personally don't like to do all my reading on my phone for a myriad of reasons, but I know several people who exclusively read on their phone. But even if you usually like to read real books or on a dedicated reading device like a Kindle, consider reading a second book on your phone for those times when you'd otherwise be playing a game on your phone or otherwise killing time online.
I significantly increased the amount of books I read last year, and a big part of that was that I read A LOT more books on my phone. Since I am usually reading another book as my main book, I pick things for my kindle that I don't mind reading in little bits and pieces - non-fiction, short stories, middle grade fiction, particularly light or goofy chick lit or young adult books. And then since I always have my phone on me, it's easy to work in a little extra reading any time I have a few minutes to kill - while waiting on a long line at the supermarket, waiting in the car somewhere for my kids to come out from wherever I'm picking them up, waiting for a friend to show up for lunch, etc. And of course sometimes I really get into the book and then end up spending more time reading on my phone than whatever my primary book is at the time.
Change Up the Type of Books You Read
One way to spend more time reading is to find a book you can't put down! So don't worry about what anyone else says you should be reading, find something you really love. Honestly, sometimes critic favorites and award winners are slow and boring, so who says you have to read them? Find something you really enjoy and read that instead. Return to a type of books you used to read when you read more, or try a new genre all together! If you need ideas, browse through some of my older posts on all kinds of genres, from chick lit and contemporary women's fiction to mysteries and thrillers to dystopian fiction and many many more. Or take a gander at my many top 10 lists, or my top 20 books of 20 years for Jen-approved awesome selections. Or hit me up for a personalized recommendation, I honestly love recommending books to people!
Or if you're reading a book you're not enjoying, you can just put it aside and try something else instead. Now this is definitely a "do as I say, not as I do" situation, because for some reason I'm apparently constitutionally incapable of doing this; I always force myself to finish books even if I'm not enjoying them, just in case they improve. Which sometimes they do! But other times I just grow to hate and resent them all the more for taking up my time, and start reading slower since I'm not compelled to pick them up. So if you don't have much time to read, don't be like me, and just say life is too short to spend time reading something you don't like.
Don't Feel Guilty About Taking Time For Yourself
Last but not least, give yourself permission to take time for yourself to read! I still remember a few years ago when a friend of mine said she didn't read much because doing so felt self-indulgent. I still remember how befuddled I was at that moment! Why the heck shouldn't you do something self-indulgent, especially if it's something as harmless to yourself and others as reading?! I get it, a lot of people I know are moms, and it's really hard not to have some guilt about taking time for yourself. Some are full-time working moms who feel like every minute at home should be spent either with their kids or doing something domestic, while others are stay-at-home moms who feel like the only thing that justifies them not working is to likewise spend every minute at home either with their kids or doing something domestic. But come on people, give yourself a break! Moms are allowed to have fun too, you know! And doing things for yourself that make you happy are so important to retain your sanity! And bonus, if you show your kids by example that reading is important, they might be more likely to read for fun themselves! So go ahead and indulge yourself, I give you permission!
No comments:
Post a Comment