So today I wanted to share something that I feel will be useful to quite a few of my readers and friends here. In recent weeks I have received quite a bit of feedback from the number of books that I have been able to read and wondering how its possible that I can read so many. For those of you that have been with me on my blogging journey, especially from the very beginning, will remember that I used to read 3 books a day and that was before Audiobooks were a thing and yes my first two years of blogging i was reading that much and its very possible to read more. I know quite a few booktubers and bookstagrammers that read like 60-70 books a month, so its very possible, I think it truly dependent on you and your personal priorities. I do think the amount of reading is really determined on what is high priority for you. And I do think that no matter how much you read, whether its one book a month to 50 books a month—-it doesn’t matter, read at your own level and pace and “be who you be”. I think all that matters is that you DO read, and LOVE what you read. Everything else is just background noise at the end of the day. I wanted to share some methods that will help you read more and how I am able to read more.
Listen to Audiobooks—this is the one tip that I think will allow you to read more books in your week. I have pretty much stopped watching TV and only watch a movie every once in a while, and what makes this different is that replace it with audiobook listening. Now the speed level you listen to is really up to you. I listen between 1.5 to 2x speed. I rarely will listen to it faster than that, because audiobook listening is an “experience” for me. But you would be amazed that if you replace audiobook listening with music or tv, how many books you could read in a week. I literally listen to audiobooks when I do cleaning, cooking, driving or running errands and even when I am working on blog stuff. I will listen to music when I am writing reviews though so that is when I do my music listening. Because I do love music. But I get through 2-3 audiobooks a week just be listening to audiobooks like this.
Replace TV/Movie watching with Books—-I wanted to read more books and I looked at how much TV/Movies I was watching and it was a TON!! I cancelled all of my subscriptions, and replaced my TV watching with book reading and y’all….this is a GAME CHANGER!!! And I will still watch a movie once or twice a week, but I realized that book reading is much more valuable to me than watching TV. This isn’t going to be the case for everyone, as I know some people are big on film and that is awesome if that is the case for you. But I do think, if you want to read more books and do watch TV a lot, try replacing some of your TV watching with book reading and you will see a difference in the amount that you are able to read.
Bring your device with you everywhere you go—So another big tip is to READ EVERYWHERE!! I have a kindle oasis, and it fits my purse perfectly and I will read it everywhere I go. So if I am standing in line at the store, or reading books on my breaks at work, or those little moments where you might have a few minutes of time and read within those spare moments.
Have a Set TBR-Whether you are a mood reader or a TBR reader, always try to have a set TBR for the week or the month. Have a list of books that you want to get to, and that will help. Because I think something we will scroll through our digital libraries or look at our physical libraries and spend unnecessary time choosing a book to read. I have a list of series I am currently working on and that I rotate out if I am having a hard time choosing. I also have a random wheel where if I am having a hard time choosing what to read, then it will pick a random sub genre to read in, I will then go to my Goodreads shelves and choose a book on my wishlist that is within the sub genre that sounds good and one you want to pick up.
Participate in a Readathon or Reading Challenge—I don’t do these too often, but these are great if you are looking for ways to get a bit more reading in every month. There are always fun reading challenges or create your own or do a readathon once a month and set it for a weekend, to get more reading in, and set the time aside to just read throughout the weekend. This will help focus on doing more reading.
Be Picky About What Your Read—I can’t tell you how much this has helped me out this year!!! I am sure you all have noticed how much more I have gotten reading done. And one of the methods that I have used is to more particular about what I am reading. Pick up books from authors that will be page-turners and hard to put down type of books. If you are picking up books that aren’t super engaging, it’s going to burn you out and you will struggle to pick up books at times. But if you read books that you know you won’t want to put down, it will bring a level of excitement for reading as well.
Look At Your Priorities—This is how I read 10-15 books a week. Look at where you are focusing your time and see what you can change to allow more time for books. I know it can be difficult especially if you have kids and things. But see what you can do to find a bit more time every day to read, maybe stay up a little later or get up a little earlier than you normally do, or try to manage your time to give yourself more time for reading. It just depends on what your priorities are and what is most important to you. For me my priority is reading and blogging, so I make the most time for it.
I have times where I read a ton of books within a month and then there are other times I can’t get into anything. I read way more then I writes reviews for. I’m a little bit lazy.
haha I have just written full-length blog reviews for every book I have read. But my reading has been way higher than normal lately so I going to reduce it to about 305 reviews a week and do the rest on Goodreads. I think even if its just a paragraph on Goodreads and Amazon, that is good too. And I have been experimenting this year on methods to try out to keep me from slumping and so far its working as I hate not being able to get into a book
Yes, I have done less television and more reading. I have seen where there has been improvement in the number of books read.
Audiobooks have been a game changer for me too!
Audio books really help me too. I have no TV at the moment so that helps. These are wonderful tips, Renee! 🙂
I still wouldn’t be able to read as many books as you, but audiobooks used to be a great way for me to read more when I could multitask at work. I miss those days.
These are some great tips. I picked up audiobooks several years back and always have one audiobook and one ebook going at the same time. I agree 100% that a big part of the number of books depends on personal priorities and circumstances. I listen to fewer audiobooks now because I no longer have a 30 minute, one-way commute to work. There went a huge chunk of my “reading” time. My daughter is also at an age where we like to watch TV and movies together, so that cut down on my ebook reading time. I also find my mind wandering when I pick up a book. Too often, I can’t finish a chapter before I’ve set the book down. Maybe after the kids are off to school, I will get back some of my reading mojo.
I am always listening to an audiobook and reading a book at the same time. Usually different genres. Like you, I work from a list of books over a six-week period and pick from those. Great ideas you have there!
These are all great tips! I’m not there yet with audiobooks, but I hope to one day be as in love with them as you are 🙂
These are great tips! I do a lot of them. I mostly read instead of watch TV and spend a lot of time reading while waiting for my kid to finish up sports practices.
I usually have 1 kindle book and 1 audiobook in work at any given time. I sit and read in the evenings, and I listen to the audiobook on my commute. I love using both to read. 🙂
Awesome tips! Once I kick my reading slump, I will try some!