15 Ways To Read More

I set out this year to once again read a minimum of 52 books. This is my third year of reaching for this goal, and since I am constantly sharing what I am reading with others, I often get asked just how I make time to read so much.

15 Ways To Read More

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My husband and I are both avid readers and some things on these list are what work for me and some are what work for him.

1. Put a kindle app on your smart phone

I know there are still people out there without smart phones, but for those of you who do have them make sure to download the kindle app and then have at least 3 titles at all times downloaded to it.

Our phones tend to go every where with us and by having a kindle app a book will also be with you at all times. This has been a life saver for me several times when I have had to wait somewhere much longer than expected and didn’t think to bring along a book.

2.  Consider buying  a Kindle or a Tablet

I love my kindle paperwhite because it is so light and the screen looks so much like a real book. I paid for mine with Amazon gift cards earned through Swagbucks.

Due to being so light, the kindle is easy to bring along with me places. It also sits perfectly on the ledge of the elliptical I use at the gym so I can read while I workout.

I can also prop it up while knitting and read at the same time.

The kindle app also works great in turning a tablet into an e-reader, giving you a similar convenience of a kindle.

3. Listen To Audio Books

I am not a huge fan of audio books, but my husband and children are. I just find I miss too much being distracted by other things. My husband likes them for solo car rides and my kids love them while they are cleaning their rooms or just hanging out in their room.  I know others that love them for working out (I tried but prefer music).

4. Have a set time to read each day

From 8 to 9 most evenings you will find me curled up on the couch reading a book. I find it the perfect way to wind down to sleep (that is, of course, providing I don’t get wound up in the story so much that I miss my bedtime by hours 🙂 ).

5. Always have a physical book and an e-reader book going at the same time

E-readers run out of batteries, but old fashioned paper books don’t. Some individuals find the light of e-readers and tablets mess with their sleep, paperbacks don’t do that (well, unless the story is so good you can’t put them down).

E-readers can be balanced on an elliptical ledge so you can read while working out, paperbacks can’t. E-readers can be loaded with several books at once so if you finish one while you are out somewhere you can easily start another. Doing the same with paperbacks can get heavy.

6. Have a home library

You local library is of course free to use, but a home library can be so convenient and it doesn’t have to cost a lot. If you get snowed in and have a surprise day off, you can’t make it to the library but you can make it to the bookshelf in your family room to pick out a book.

I wrote a whole series on building a home library for less but some great sources of free books are Tyndale Rewards, Paperbackswap, and for e-titles I really like Spirit Filled Kindle. A great way to pay for those books you can’t get free is by using Swagbucks for gift cards to Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

7. Bring several on vacation

If you are vacationing with little kids you might not get as much reading done as I do with teenagers, but chances are you will get a few extra moments to do some.

My husband and I don’t  travel anywhere without at least 3 books a piece in our luggage.

8. Turn off the TV

TV isn’t much of a distraction for me, but my hubby tends to get wrapped up in it for time to time. I will often catch him turning it off and reading a book instead, even when he could easily watch just one more show.

9. Take advantage of waiting time

This is why I mentioned number one. Once you get a kindle app on your phone waiting time is no longer a bore. Read a book while waiting in line at the post office. Read a book while waiting at the grocery store. Read a book while waiting at the doctors office. Read a book while waiting for your class to start. You get the idea.

10. Don’t go home

I get a lot of reading done while on mom taxi duty. Often I could drop off my child and then drive home for an hour or two before returning to pick the child. Instead, I will pack a book along, a pillow and blanket, make myself comfortable in my SUV, and read a book while I wait.

11. Work reading into your workouts

I often read on the treadmill while warming up or cooling down. I also read on the elliptical. If you like audio books, then every workout can become a time to read.

12. Hold reading dates

This is only going to work if your spouse is a bookworm as well. I am blessed that my hubby is. For our anniversary last year we packed up a blanket and two pillows and drove to a neighboring city for lunch out followed by an afternoon of reading side by side under a tree in a local park.

13. Read only what you love

Guess what? You are not married to a book. You can break up with it if suddenly a few chapters in you discover you are just not that into it. This will help you read more because if you don’t love a book you tend to read slow, or avoid it all together. Break up and move on.

14. Make a goal and chart it

My husband 100% disagrees with this. He says it takes the whole fun out of reading, but it totally depends on your personality. For me, making a goal to read 52 books a year and to keep  track of them here on the blog spurs me on to look for ways to read more.

A great way to begin making reading goals is to start with a loose plan. I love Modern Mrs. Darcy’s 2015 Reading Challenge. It includes just 12 books, and you get to pick them. She even created a pinterest board to help give you ideas of what titles you might want to pick.

15. Surround yourself with book lovers

In the paying off debt world the advice you hear again and again is to surround yourself with frugal friends who won’t ask you to blow you budget on expensive dinners out, and who will share tips with you for living on less.

I think the same thing applies to bookworms. If you want to be one start hanging around people who are. We bookworms come in all different shapes and sizes, there are as many different types of us as there are book genres.

Book lovers will share books with you, get you excited about new authors, and most importantly share with you their secrets for how to fit in more reading

What would you add to my list?

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