By Maria Couto
If you took silent reading time way too seriously or devoured book after book as a child, but can now barely get through a chapter per year, say ‘aye.’ Between work, school, internships and other adult responsibilities, reading for pleasure can be difficult to incorporate into your daily life. While losing your love for reading may be funny to joke about on Twitter, it can be distressing to see all of your childhood reading habits dissipate as you get older.
Over the last year and a half, I’ve cultivated some ways to nurture that part of me again.
Here are helpful ways to take a break from your class readings and fall back in love with your own; it’s what your inner child would want.
Try listening to audiobooks
Audiobooks are an extremely convenient way to squeeze in some ‘reading’ throughout your day. They allow for multitasking and can make even the most mundane tasks enjoyable. Although audiobooks can be purchased through various platforms, Libby is a public library app that allows users to borrow audio and ebooks for a limited amount of time. While some may say audiobooks “don’t count” as reading, consider that starting a book is about immersing yourself in a story—it doesn’t matter how.
Make reading part of your daily routine
What better way is there to start your morning than with a cup of coffee, a comfy chair and a book? While engrossed in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, we can forget the benefits and necessity of slowing down. A 2018 study conducted by the University of Sussex suggested that reading before bed can reduce stress by more than 68 per cent. Bringing reading into your morning or nightly routine, even just one chapter, can work wonders to improve how your day starts or ends.
Keep your options open
While it may seem counterproductive to juggle a few different books at once, you can often get more reading done this way. Sometimes we want to read, but aren’t really in the mood for the single story we’ve been focusing on. Sometimes you might rather listen to a book than read a physical copy. Reading two or three books from different genres and formats means you can pick one up no matter what you’re feeling and get excited by a fresh storyline every time you’re itching to read.
Exchange doom-scrolling for reading
How is it that we can find time to aimlessly scroll through TikTok or Twitter, but when it comes to flipping through a few pages of a book, we just can’t bring ourselves to it? Oftentimes, it’s because it’s easy and convenient to go on our phones instead of getting up and grabbing a book. With all the scary stuff going on in the world, a break from Twitter is a good idea. This can be an easy fix just by keeping your book on hand when you sit down to scroll. It can help develop the habit of switching out a book for your phone and taking a bit of a break from reality.
Set reading goals, but don’t feel dictated by them
Reading goals can be the number of books you want to read in one month or simply just the number of chapters. Reading trackers can be a helpful tool to keep you on schedule. StoryGraph is an accessible app that tracks your reads and schedules your future stories. However, there’s nothing worse than getting so overwhelmed by a goal that you stop working towards it altogether, so find a system that works best for you and take it day by day.
When we were younger, before we had social media and mandatory readings for class, reading was one of our few sources of entertainment and escape. Now with all these distractions, it’s something we must continue to prioritize. As difficult as it can be to get the pages turning, finding a book so good you just can’t put it down can be a reminder of how satisfying reading for yourself can be.
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