Try the Best Reddit Tips for Reading Additional Books
“ How can I develop a stable reading habit? – asks redditor 6hlooo at r / TrueAskReddit. “I’ve always been the type of person who reads a book and stops reading after a few pages. I know the benefits of reading, but I just can’t seem to motivate myself to read constantly. What am I doing? “Redditors give great advice on how to get used to. The secret is to allow yourself to read what you like and take practical steps to make it easier to find the book. Here are the best of 60+ comments.
Follow your pleasure
If you want to read more for the sake of reading, start with what gives you the most immediate pleasure. You need to develop a habit of reading before you can challenge yourself further.
“Read the storybooks!” says u / DeeplyMoisturising. “Like you, I cannot get carried away with novels. However, I read one story at a time, and before I even realized it, I finished the book. ” On the other hand, u / kikellea sticks to fantasy series. “I don’t know how to write stories, and one-off books are usually disappointing because they end so quickly.” Learn everything that makes a book attractive to you: its volume, design, sense of humor. (I recently realized that it’s hard for me to read a book that never gets covered. Some of the greatest tragedies have a sense of humor.)
You don’t need to go beyond your favorite genres and styles just yet. “Reread your favorite books to build a habit,” advises u / _rfm. But at some point, you may want a change.
It is difficult to predict which books you will like. But it’s best to start with your favorite books and find something similar. Use Goodreads, advises u / r_sails. Find a book that you like and find other books related to it: in the list in which it is presented, or in the list of recommendations. On Goodreads, rate books not by stars, but by what people say in their reviews. I found some great books after reading one-star reviews – people who hated Asimov’s cropped style or Umberto Eco’s obscure references. These reviews make a legitimate service!
If you hate the book, give it up. But if you think you’re bored too easily, build up some stamina. Set a minimum for reading, such as one chapter, 30 pages, or four sessions. “A lot of books are pretty boring on the front pages or even in chapters,” says u / tuenap. “Sometimes it happens because in order to build the plot, you need to introduce characters and so on. You have to go through everything to get to the good parts.” If the book is so bad that you miss your scheduled reading time, put it aside and try a new one.
Carve out time
Yeah, “scheduled reading time.” To put it bluntly, reading more books means spending more time reading books. You need to pick up a book more often and read longer. ( Speed reading is terrible for fun. ) Here’s how to actually spend more time reading.
Set a goal first. A very tiny goal that you used to reach without trying, but this time a goal to be achieved every day . u / Xosomeblonde offers just ten minutes or pages. u / Placeholder2169 had set a goal of producing five pages a day, which would give them about six books a year, but usually they would rush past those five and keep reading.
“Set an alarm on your phone every day when you know you have 15-20 minutes to sit and read,” says u / fallenwater. “Set a timer on startup and keep reading until the timer goes off.” The timer allows you not to think about distractions. Is it time to pick up the phone or go to wash the dishes? No, your brain is just bored for a few seconds and will calm down when you renew your attention to your book. Nothing more will be done until the timer expires. (You can of course continue reading when the timer runs out.)
“If you are competitive, then contrast yourself with your past self,” says u / xosomeblonde. “Or come up with a reward system! For every page that exceeds my previous record, I will watch ten minutes of my favorite show. “
Download books
When you finish reading a book, or just get bored of it, you should have another book ready to take its place. You can stock up on cheap paperback books, subscribe to Goodreads sale notifications , borrow packs of books from the library in one go, or get free public domain e-books on standard e-books .
But one of the best ways is to stock up on library e-books. “Download the Libby app for your phone,” says u / __stare. Libby is a great app for viewing library ebooks without going into the library. The app has its own decent e-book reader, but it also lets you open some e-books in the Kindle. (I had to do this when Libby messed up the footnotes in Terry Pratchett’s novel. Pratchett fans know you should read the footnotes.)
Read books in any format convenient for you. “I have found myself to be much more receptive to some non-fiction books in audio format,” says u / CarlJibbs, “while I prefer to read most of the fiction books on paper or the Kindle.” Many library systems offer all of these formats.
Replace social media
“One thing that always helps me a lot is taking a break from social media,” says u / Tzipity. “On the phone, move the e-book app to where you previously hosted the social media app,” says u / __ stare. “Now that you’re waiting in line and need to kill some time, instead of going to Reddit, you’re looking at a book.”
If you’re still browsing your Reddit and Twitter apps, try uninstalling them entirely until you develop your book habit.
“Remember, every story you read will be a lot more interesting than a bunch of little dramas on Reddit, and every topic you read a book on will tell you a lot more than just looking at Wikipedia articles,” says u / placeholder2169.
Of course, if the book gets repetitive, and you really prefer to polish the topic with one article, that’s essentially not a bad thing. Many non-fiction books are just supplemented articles, and you can find a longread New Yorker that covers all the issues competently! But you are not allowed to read the articles in your allotted time. You should go to another book.