Want to Read More Books This Year?
Have you set a goal to read more in 2020? I have been an avid reader from the moment the magic of written language was open to me. When my kids were young, I plowed my way through endless stacks of books. How you ask? Because we didn’t own a TV and every single time Is at down to nurse a baby, I had a book in my hand. Think of the cumulative minutes, hours, DAYS, of book reading that translates into.
Replace the Mindless Scroll with a Book
I think most of us who own a smartphone are “guilty” of the mindless scroll. In waiting rooms, in line at the grocery store…or any time we are waiting. For anything. Those are exactly the times I used to read books (okay, not in line at the grocery store). I am working to replace the mindless scroll with reading books instead. To do this, I always take my kindle with me when I leave the house…and if I forget I have the Kindle app on my iPhone.
Read More Books by Establishing Good New Habits
Like anything in life, if you want to read more, it is important to establish habits and we all know the best way to start a new habit it to replace an old habit. Take a time when you normally scroll through your phone and read during that time instead. Get in the habit of taking a book with you when you leave the house. Instead of scrolling social media while you drink your morning coffee, read a book.
Read Before Bed and Get Better Sleep
We all know that the blue light from screens messes with melatonin production and can have a negative effect on sleep. How about replacing your before-bed-scrolling with before-bed-book-reading? Not only will this help you log more reading time, but it may also help you sleep better.
Read More Books By Setting Reading Goals
Goodreads makes it really easy to set reading goals and to track your reading. I set a goal to read 30 books last year and ended up reading 41! If you have a Kindle and connect it with your Goodreads account it will track your reading automatically. Another way is to snap a picture of every book you read as you finish it and store it in an album on your phone. I had a lot of fun last year making a highlights album on Instagram tracking each book as I finished it and plan to do the same this year.
GoodReads also lets you keep a list of books you want to read which is handy when you aren’t sure what to read next.
Browse Your Local Library
I love walking among the shelves at our library and just looking at all of the books. The first thing I do is check out the new book selections, then I wanted among my favorite genres. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but let’s be honest. We all do it.
Worried about library fines? Check out my post How to Avoid Library Fines and Use the Library Without Going Broke.
Visit Village Books in Bellingham, WA
If you are local be sure and browse Village Books. Located in historic Fairhaven, Village Books has been open since 1980. It has everything you could possibly want in a bookstore. Endless shelves of books, new, old, and quirky. Funky reading inspired memorabilia and most importantly, a coffee shop!
I have often been asked how many books I read a year. No idea, was my standard answer. Last year I kept track. 85 last year. I will admit that 4 of the where children’s books, because they looked interesting or had something to share with what I was interested. But after that its a good mix, but my husband worries my pile of true crime and holocaust history books are bound to depress me. I enjoy all kinds of Non fiction, but i did have a nice selection of historical romance mixed in.
As you can see…I’m a big fan of true crime, horror, and tragedy