Having Trouble Reading Your Book Pile? Here Are 5 Tips I’ve Found Useful
How many times have you made up your mind to complete that book? How many times have you managed to start reading a book, but barely made it halfway before you dropped it and never bothered to pick it up again? You may have even managed to get halfway, but that’s as far as you could read. There’s something you should know — You. Are. Not. Alone. Yup. It’s such a common concept that there’s been a term for it as far back as the 1800s: Tsundoku. The Japanese word basically means “To pile up reading materials.”
Not that it’s a good club to find oneself, but I dare say it’s a popular topic, the inability to finish reading a book for one reason or the other. It becomes a cry-for-help situation if, like me, you can’t seem to say “No” to buying new books. The fact that you have the desire to cultivate the habit of reading is great though, and that is why I put this article together to help you. By diligently following the steps outlined in this article, you’ll soon become an avid reader. Without wasting any more time, let’s get into it.
1. Set Reading Times
If you’re serious about cultivating a habit of reading, then you need to begin by setting reading times for yourself. Set a few minutes apart every day to read for a couple of minutes — at least, 5–10 minutes daily. Set your mind to read at these times, regardless of whatever might be going on around you. You can decide to read during lunch and dinner, when you’re on the bus, and just before bed. Whether you realize it or not, you have just created four separate times to read in the course of one day, giving between twenty and forty minutes of your day to reading. Amazing, huh?
2. Carry a Book Wherever You Go
A superb method to get yourself to read is to go everywhere with a book in hand. Fam, wherever you go, take a book with you. Of course, you cannot read everywhere. But who knows, you just might have a need to wait, freeing up some time and giving you the perfect opportunity to bring your book out and do some reading. Besides being a great way to pass time, it’s also a beautiful way to build your reading habit.
3. Quit Reading More Books
I understand that this sounds quite contradictory, but stay with me. You see, one reason and a strong motivation for reading is enjoyment. The truth remains that the more you enjoy a particular book, the more likely you are to continue reading it. It’s that simple. Sadly, this usually happens in reverse. For some strange reason, we bury our heads and minds in books we do not enjoy, expecting to finish such books at all costs. Fam, because there is little to no motivation to read such books, you’ll continue struggling to finish a single page. You do not have to read books you do not enjoy. Somehow, we have been wired to believe that we should go ahead and read books, even when we do not enjoy them. We just believe that we must finish a book once we start it. Newsflash- you do not. Life is too short to focus on reading books that you find unenjoyable.
4. Summaries & Podcasts
Rather than wait to get into a book only to realize that you hate it, make use of a book summary. This way, you can completely avoid getting into a horrible book early enough. There are tons of websites that offer great, factual, and concise summaries of the best-selling books out there. Their libraries are also updated constantly, so, you’re sure to find at least one in three books.
Another way to avoid getting into books you might not find interesting is to make good use of podcast interviews with the author. Especially when the book is new, there is a huge likelihood that the author would go on what is known as a podcast circuit in a bid to promote his new book. All you have to do is dedicate some time to listen to the podcast, and see if this book is worth your time at all. You also get to discover what the author’s thought pattern is like, which in many cases could be a good way of determining the quality of the book itself.
5. Discover Your Why!
It’s usually very difficult to get ahead with a particular task when we do not even why we decided to do it in the first place. It is important that you identify and clarify why your reading habit is essential. By slowly and gradually understanding your reason and motivation for reading, you’re on your way to making reading a part of your identity.