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Psychologist Loo echoes her advice, recommending setting "small, realistic goals." One day at a time. Zang, on the other hand, often listens to an audiobook at the start of a book, then switches to a print copy. You can read a physical book, listen to an audiobook or peruse on an ebook.
Speed reading certainly plays a role in my reading technique (more on that later), but it’s not my killer secret. When people ask me how I read so many books, they’re usually fishing for a speed reading technique that will allow their brains to swallow books whole. This article was originally published in February 2018. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. James Clear writes about habits, decision making, and continuous improvement.
Pages Per Day
I created a public reading list where you can see all of my book recommendations across a wide range of categories. Before you move on to the normal bustle of the day, invest in yourself. What if you woke up an hour before you needed to each day and worked on yourself? Most people spend it getting dressed, getting ready, and rushing out the door.
Combine your habits
There are 20 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. There’s also, she points out, a built-in community waiting for you at your local library. “They make it feel more like a communal thing that you’re doing.” Or if you’re driving, walking the dog, or folding the laundry, why not turn on an audiobook? Then the pandemic arrived—and I realized that the easiest, safest way to access library books was to opt for the e-version. Wolf, for example, reserves 15 minutes every morning to read; if she’s unable to, she opens her book at night instead.
Follow simple yet effective ways to squeeze more reading into your schedule.
But regardless of what happens during the rest of the day, I still get my 20 pages in each morning. And if you do it first thing in the morning, then the urgencies of the day don’t get in the way. As of today, I’m 100 pages into my 7th book. So, I had to figure out a strategy that would allow me to read more books without letting typical distractions get in the way. Now, there are plenty of excellent articles on the web, but generally speaking, the quality of good books is better.
With that said, in addition to the books I read specifically for the Art of Manliness last year, I also managed to read 2-3 books every month for pleasure. It’s not that impressive when it’s what you do for work. When I write articles, I read books for research.
- "Commit to just five minutes. This helps to kickstart the challenge and will often lead to doing it for longer," she says.
- When people ask me how I read so many books, they’re usually fishing for a speed reading technique that will allow their brains to swallow books whole.
- For e-reader devotees, you can try Kindle Unlimited, which has a free trial and charges you $11.99 a month for access to 4m titles, including audiobooks.
- See what feels best, and feel free to mix it up!
I don’t listen to too many audiobooks; it’s just not my preferred method of consuming literature. With our archives now 3,500+ articles deep, we’ve decided to republish a classic piece each Sunday to help our newer readers discover some of the best, evergreen gems from the past. For e-reader devotees, you can try Kindle Unlimited, which has a free trial and charges you $11.99 a month for access to 4m titles, including audiobooks. Maybe it’s listening to a self-help audiobook while cleaning.
Plan your reading list ahead
“We can talk about time-management strategies all day, but if a reader doesn’t have good books at the ready, then there’s a duty—but no motivation or enthusiasm,” Bogel says. Or maybe for you, it’s reading fiction on Sunday evenings to counter the Sunday Scaries. Or maybe it’s not weird at all — because reading feels even better when it’s a social experience.
If you’d love to read the bestseller everyone is talking about, Libby’s “smart tag” feature lets you turn on notifications for books months before their release. If you love a specific author, consider attending a book signing or panel discussion. At the start of each month, I like to outline the three to five novels I plan to read, placing holds at my library and downloading titles to my Kindle. I participate in Goodreads’ annual challenge, which lets me and other readers track our goals together. And if you’re on the hunt for an e-reader even lighter than the Kindle, we recently tested a new smartphone-sized e-reader that was revealed at the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. If you have a long drive to the office, try downloading a few audiobooks to keep you company during your trafficky commute.
Being open to different formats, including e-books and audiobooks, is a great way to squeeze in more reading time, Moreno says. If you don’t want to put a number on it, pledge to spend a specific part of each day reading. I also like the Goodreads app; It’s a fun way to easily log the books you have or want to read, see what your friends are reading, and peruse other readers’ reviews. I love to read—and wish I could do more of it—because it’s an effective and entertaining way to quiet my always-busy brain. Maybe you’ll find that, like me, it’s reading in the morning.
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Here are eight strategies that can help you read more this year. “Reading is one of the best inventions that humans gave humanity, and people completely take it for granted,” Wolf says. According to a 2021 survey by the Pew Research Center, 23% of adults in the U.S. didn’t read any part of a book over the previous findmsinteractive.info 12 months. Some research suggests that literary fiction, in particular, helps people develop empathy and critical-thinking skills.
I’m hoping to attend this upcoming event, where novelist Frieda McFadden will speak about her newest book, Dear Debbie. I’m a part of a monthly book club that has helped me foster relationships as someone new(ish) to New York City. For years, I’ve used Goodreads to stay organized, adding the books on my “to be read” list. To fit reading into your routine, find a medium that matches it. Recently, I tested this stylish option from Papier, which has space to track 32 titles, create a reading wishlist and write book reviews. I’m a night-time reader, and its softly lit screen always helps me sneak in a few pages in bed without having to turn on any lights.